How to Sew Your Own Ruched Dress

Choose a dress pattern with plain sleeves and a simple skirt hem. You may also add ruching to a sleeveless dress to create a cap sleeve effect.

Create the dress according to the pattern instructions. Set aside fabric remnants if you plan to make the ruching from the same material.

Measure the distance around the inside of the hem and each sleeve or armhole. Reduce each measurement by 1/4 to 1/2, depending on how tight you want the ruching. Cut a section of elastic to each calculated length. An elastic strip that is half the original dress measurement will create close and full dress ruffles, while elastic cut to 3/4 the original measurement will make looser and more flattened ruching.

Multiply your hem and sleeve measurements by no less than 1.25 and no more than 2 to calculate the amount of fabric needed for ruching. The more material used, the bigger and fuller the ruffles will be.

Reverse the garment and pin the elastic in place along the seam stitch. Run the garment through the sewing machine on the basic settings to attach the elastic to the sleeves and hem. Turn the dress right side out.

Turn the stitch mode setting on your sewing machine to the zigzag stitch. For looser ruching, set the number at or below 3. Achieve tighter, fuller ruffles with a sewing machine number setting of 4 or higher.

Align one edge of the ruching fabric with the garment's natural side seam. Pin the ruching as desired along the hem and sleeves to achieve ruffles with the desired fullness. Feed the dress through the machine at a steady rate.

Backstitch approximately 1/4 inch to reinforce the stitches between the dress and the ruching. Remove the garment from the machine and cut off the excess thread and any loose fabric. Tie off thread ends to prevent unraveling.