Day Four of "I could make that!" March {Ruffled Bikini}

Welcome to Day 4 of "I could make that!" March!  I am so tickled with today's project, although I am a little nervous showing pictures of myself in a bikini to the whole world (eek).  Here we go...

I actually added these ruffles in under an hour, all with hand stitching.  If you prefer to do it with a sewing machine, it could be done in minutes!

{The Inspiration Pin}

{via}

I bought the all black bikini years ago and more recently found that red and white striped top.  I started wearing it with the black bottoms and have always thought it needed a little extra something to pull the two together.  When I saw this pin I was convinced that adding a small "something" to the bottom would be perfect!

Instead of the bow however, I opted for a few rows of ruffles.  I love ruffles and it was the perfect way to incorporate both the red and the white colors.

{Here's How} 

First, buy some "swim and dance" material from your fabric store. Purchasing even 1/16 of a yard will be PLENTY of material! I ended up cutting my 1/16 into four to get it the size I wanted. It all depends on how wide you want the ruffles.

Next, stitch a row of long gathering stitches along the center of your fabric.  Leave a good amount of thread hanging at each end so that you can pull on it later.

Keep doing this until you run out of thread.  This stitching will be removed later, so it can be more than you need.  If it's not long enough however, you can ruffle it by hand too.

After you're done, bunch the fabric together by pushing it towards the center.

Once you have it bunched up, sew it to your bikini bottoms!  Since I hand stitched it, I tacked it down over each ruffle.  My ruffled piece was a little short so I simply bunched it up before each stitch as I neared the edge of my bottoms.  If you are machine stitching, change your settings back to a normal length and sew down the center. 

When finished, remove the first thread that was used to ruffle the fabric if you can.  This isn't necessary but does make it look a bit nicer.

 {One More Thing}
Just in case you're not having enough fun with "I could make that!" March, I will be participating in another blog hop with my super crafty blog buddies on March 20.  Most of them were the talented girls you met during the Ring in the New Year Blog Hop or A Lovely Blog Hop, but there are a few new ones too!  Since March 20 is the first day of Spring, all of our projects will be spring themed!  You wont want to miss all the crafty fun so mark your calendars!

{Your Turn}
Do you have an old swim suit that needs a new look? How do you like the ruffles? I would love to hear your input and of course your own progress, so please please comment! I love to hear what you have to say.

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

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