Rouching with elastic is such a quick and easy way to jazz up your basic shirt. I used my Nancy Raglan Top for this, but you can do this with any top. All you need is your shirt, sewing machine, and some 1/4″ clear elastic!
Let’s Get Started!
Measuring:
- Choose your shirt you want to rouche
- Try it on inside out
- Decide how long you want the rouching to be and mark with pins or clips
- Take the shirt back off and measure the distance between your clips
- Fold your shirt in half lengthwise and line up the other side seam.
- Transfer the markings to the other side.
- Take your measurement of the length between clips and multiply it by 65% to get the length for your clear elastic. For example, mine is 12″ between clips, so to determine the length for the elastic my math problem is: 12 x .65 = 7.8. I rounded that down to 7.75″
- I suggest stretching your elastic along the length of the seam to make sure it will reach all the way across before cutting it, adjust the length if necessary.
- Cut 2 pieces of clear elastic at that length. Make sure to STRETCH your elastic before cutting.
Sewing in the Elastic:
- Mark the middle points of both your pieces of elastic and side seams to give you a guide for how far to stretch.
- Pin or use wash away wonder tape at one clip to hold one end of the elastic in place.
- Put the needle of your machine down into the elastic and backstitch a couple of times.
- Pull firmly on your elastic and sew slowly with a long, narrow zigzag stitch all the way down the elastic. Do not stretch the fabric, ONLY stretch the elastic.
- Repeat on the other side.
That’s it! It’s so quick and easy and gives any shirt some extra flare.
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