How to sew an exposed ruffle

Today I’m showing you how you can sew an exposed ruffle, also called an exposed seam ruffle, that is folded at the top. This is also part 2 of my tutorial on sewing a ruffled maternity dress, so the instructions will be for attaching an exposed ruffle to a skirt, but the process is basically the same no matter what you’re doing. Feel free to check out the blog post for the maternity/nursing dress here if you haven’t already!

Exposed ruffles can be added to just about any sewing project! You can also change a regular ruffle on a pattern into an exposed ruffle simply by changing the seam allowance. They are a super cute, boho detail that can really dress up a pattern, and also add some texture and interest to solid colored fabrics.

This method involves finishing the seams all at once. I always disliked having to finish the seams for the main fabric and the exposed ruffle separately, and then sewing together. This method is really efficient, clean, and also saves some thread!

So gather your basic sewing supplies, and let’s learn to make an exposed ruffle!

Step 1 – Prepare your fabric

Your fabric should always be washed, dried, and ironed before beginning a sewing project.

Step 2 – Calculating the dimensions of your exposed ruffle

The exposed ruffle can be anywhere from 1.5-3 times the width of the main fabric. For the ruffled maternity dress, I did a 1.5x ruffle.

The length is up to you, but take into account a 1 inch seam allowance and your hem allowance. Make sure that the seam allowance for both the exposed ruffle AND the main fabric is 1 inch.

Step 3 – Sew side seams

Sew your side seams together. Iron the seam allowance so that it is going the opposite way of the skirt, to reduce bulk.

Step 4 – Make notches on main fabric and ruffle

Make notches on the center front and center back of the skirt and top of the exposed ruffle, as well as halfway between those notches and the side seams. This will make it so much easier to evenly gather the ruffle to the skirt.

Step 5 – Sew gathering stitches

If you are interested in a thorough guide on sewing regular gathers, you can check out my blog post here.

I’m sewing the gathering stitches with a contrasting thread for the sake of this tutorial, but you should use a matching thread.

Now you can sew gathering stitches (longest straight stitch, needle tension low, no backstitching) on the top of the skirt, with the right side facing up. The first row needs to be 3/8 inch from the edge, and the second row will be 1 5/8 inch away from the edge. If you’ve got the time, you could even sew a row between those two, 1 inch from the edge, for more control.

Because this is a rather large exposed ruffle, I sewed my gathering rows from side seam to side seam on the front and back, so I could work with smaller sections.

Step 6 – Iron 1 inch from the edge

Now iron the top edge 1 inch to the wrong side. This is to help later, so you can unfold it for now.

Step 7 – Attaching the exposed ruffle to the main fabric

Pin or clip in place and gather

Pin or clip the exposed ruffle to the main fabric, right sides together, at side seams and notches. Use pins to get the side seams perfectly lined up.

Then pull on the bobbin tails on one side to gather to the middle of the section, then do the same from the other side to the middle, until the ruffle matches up to the skirt. Add more pins or clips if needed and repeat with the other section (if you divided it into two).

Sew the exposed ruffle to the skirt

Now you can sew in place with a 1/2 inch seam allowance (this is just half of the 1 inch seam allowance for now). If you are using a serger like me, first use your sewing machine to baste the side seams in place, carefully sewing over the pins, to make sure they perfectly line up. Otherwise it’s hard to get them perfect at the serger.

Step 8 – Straighten out the gathers

At this point you have a regular ruffle. Take a moment to straighten out the gathers between the seam and the second row of gathering stitches, if needed.

Step 9 – Fold the exposed ruffle into place

Now turn your dress to the right side and refold the fold that you ironed earlier. It will be 1/2 inch from the seam and will just go right back into place. You can pin in place, but I didn’t for this project because it’s jersey fabric, and I’m terrified of poking holes in jersey, so I avoid pinning if at all possible!

Step 10 – Sew the exposed ruffle down

Now sew 1/2 inch from the folded edge. You will be sewing just inside of the second row of gathering stitches. Use a stretch stitch if applicable, but I didn’t because this is a wide skirt and it really doesn’t need to stretch over anything.

Below you can see that I just folded the exposed ruffle back into place as I went. I did need to watch to make sure that the gathers stayed in place seeing as I didn’t pin. It’s a little hard to see the crease of the fold.

Pull on your bobbin tails to remove the gathering stitches and then pull away the thread from the right side.

Step 11 – Hemming and ironing

And finally you can hem (3/4 inch for the maternity dress), give it a quick iron, and you are all done!

Yay, look how pretty and practical it is!

Here is a nice shot of the exposed ruffle from the right side.

And from the wrong side.

I would love to know if you give this dress a try, or if you add an exposed ruffle to an upcoming make!

Although I haven’t done this yet, I also had the thought that you could make a deeper exposed ruffle on a kids dress, and later let out the folded part to add more length.

Thanks for following along for part 2 of this tutorial, and I hope you got lots of value out of it!