Sew a Tee Shirt Dress with Ruffles for Spring

inside: Learn how to sew a tee shirt dress with cute ruffles for spring. Adding ruffles to a tee shirt dress is easy and simple. Sew a shirt or use a pre-made tee to create a ruffled dress.

It’s time to start sewing for spring!! I have several new spring looks planned and I’m starting with this new ruffled tee shirt dress. Today we are going to learn how to sew a tee shirt dress and how to add ruffles. You can add ruffles whether you use a pre-made tee or sew one up from scratch.

Ruffled tee shirt dress for spring

I saved a photo of a dress like this a few months ago, so now it was time to sew it up! Spring sewing is here.

Rose loves this new dress and it was really easy to make. If you can sew a tee shirt you can sew up this adorable tee shirt dress.

Over the shoulder ruffles add just a touch of frill to the otherwise basic play dress and I know we will be making more of these for summer.

I also added a tiered skirt to this version for good twirling action.

The knit fabric ruffles are easy to add and you don’t even have to hem or finish the edge. This keeps the ruffles light and loose.

You can sew this dress in any length, but I think it makes a perfect above the knee dress. Can’t wait to see what versions you create.

Can you use a tee you buy to sew a dress?

Absolutely! It’s super easy to take a shirt you bought and turn it into a tee shirt dress. Shorten the tee to the desired length. I usually like 2-4 inches below the arms.

Then you just slice the sides the same as in the tutorial below and then add ruffles to the top. I would suggest using the same fabric for the ruffles as for the skirt you are adding.

You can add just a gathered skirt, a circle skirt or a tiered skirt as seen on this ruffled tee shirt dress version. Need help with a gathered skirt or circle skirt? See this tee shirt dress sewing tutorial.

I’ve sewn so many variations of tee shirt dresses over the years, but this is my first one with ruffles on the top as an added feature. We love this ruffled dress and Rose can’t wait to wear it.

More free simple dress patterns:

• T-Shirt dress with woven or knit skirt
• Tiered Skirt T-Shirt dress
• Ruffled Circle Skirt
• Tiered Tank Dress
• T-Shirt with Maxi Skirt

How to sew a tee shirt dress

Ok! Time to sew this adorable ruffled t-shirt dress. Grab some fabric and a tee shirt pattern or a shirt and fabric and let’s get sewing. This fabric came from Sincerely Rylee Fabrics. You will cut the ruffle to size below.

I used my free fitted tee for the top of this ruffled dress. You can find the free fitted t-shirt pattern here. I recommend sizing up if using a fitted shirt, as you will lose a bit of width when you add the ruffle.

If you are using a t-shirt you bought skip the first couple steps.

Start by sewing the shoulders and neckline of the t-shirt. I shortened my tee to 3″ on the side seams.

Now we will cut the sides. Cut in the center of the shoulder seams and angle in slightly towards the middle of the shirt like this:

Use the first side you cut as a guide to make sure you cut the second side exactly the same. If you bought a tee shirt you would cut yours just like this. You may have sleeves on your tee, but it should still look like this.

Open up one side of the shirt and measure the length. You want your ruffle to be 1.5 or 2 times the length of the shirt side. Cut the ruffle 2.5″ wide. {if sewing a very tiny tee, you may want to cut it 2″ wide} My ruffle was just over 1.5x the shirt length.

Sew a gathering stitch down one long side of the ruffle piece. Need help with gathering? Here is my 5 ways to gather post. Pull the bobbin thread to gather the ruffle until it is the same size as the shirt. Because the ruffle is made of knit, I didn’t hem or finish the outer edge in any way. I just left it light and raw.

When the ruffle matches the side of the shirt, place the ruffle on the shirt side. The ruffle should have the right side up, just like the shirt.

Now we will add the final layer. Place the center of the shirt on the top of this pile with the right side down. Make sure the front and backs are in the right place. Pin or clip in place to hold while you sew.

Sew with a serger or knit stitch through all three layers.

If you happen to see any gathering stitches after sewing the ruffles, pick these out before continuing. Then repeat these steps to add a ruffle on the other side of the shirt.

If you are sewing a top from a pattern, now it’s time to add the sleeves. With right sides together pin/clip the sleeves into the shoulder opening.

I like to hem my sleeves before sewing the side seam, but you can hem after as well. I used my coverstitch machine to hem the sleeves with a 1/2″ hem.

Sew the side seams with right sides together, then turn back out. Pin/clip the bottom of the ruffles so they lay flat against the shirt. This will help when sewing on the skirt.

You can add a gathered skirt, circle skirt or tiered skirt. I used the tiered skirt tutorial to add a two layer tiered skirt. Sew the skirt first, then sew to the top. After sewing the skirt you have a gorgeous new dress.