Ruffled Sleeves

I saw this dress on Kelly Osbourne last year and loved it! I love the ruffled sleeves. Strong shoulders are really in, so I knew I wanted to make a dress with some type of poofy sleeves.

I used a pattern for the dress and then experimented with the sleeves. For the most part I don't really know what I'm doing, so I just play around and then sew things together and hope they work out. I'm not very good at starting over when I mess up, as I am not a perfectionist. I generally do the best I can and hope no one notices any flaws. I have to say these sleeves are definitely flawed.

I ran into a few problems with this dress. For one, I made it at least 2 sizes too big, and therefore the v-neck is a little off (not too noticeable). Secondly, like I said, I really didn't know what I was doing with the ruffle sleeves. Basically I just cut long strips and gathered them. I tried sewing this all together and my machine just wouldn't budge. It was too thick for the needle to go through. I ended up sewing them on by hand.

There were many lessons to be learned with this dress. If I were to make it again I would maybe use a thinner material for the sleeves. I would also figure out a way to get rid of the thickness and be able to use my machine instead of hand sewing. My mom gave me a few helpful hints so you may see this dress again. Maybe in another color?!?

Here's a look at the finished product. It's a tad too short, so I'll have to lengthen it before I wear it out. Holiday party anyone?!?

 

I found this similar dress by French Connection.