Ruffles are a fun addition to garments, but they do add bulk where they attach. If you want something more elegant you’re probably in the market for a flounce (aka circular ruffle!).
A flounce is basically a circular or rounded piece of fabric that doesn’t need to be gathered because the fullness is already at the lower edge. There are several ways to achieve this, but here are some mock-ups to show the variation in effects. I’m using knits that don’t fray so it’s easy, but you’ll want to experiment with your own fabrics to see how they drape. Keep in mind the flounce is going to be on the bias due to the curve of the pattern, so you’ll want to stay-stitch the smaller edge as soon as it’s cut so it doesn’t stretch out 🙂
My mockups are all the same size: 8” wide and 5” tall. The samples on top are a light weight knit, and bottom samples are a heavier knit from the same pattern to show the difference in drape.
These were made with a donut shape that has an 8” inner circumference (yes, that little hole in the center is 8″ around!!!), which is a 2.5” diameter. That circle gets a second circle drawn 5” away and a slash up one side to open it up.
These were made with a slight curve, and again the curve was extended 5”. This slight curve made a much more subtle flounce.
And these were made with a 5×8” rectangle that was slashed and spread about 5” in the middle. Then I blended the lines and drew in the curve. See how the flounce only has one big…flounce (?)…in the middle where I slashed and spread the pattern? You can dictate exactly where the flounce fullness should be by doing this!
You can do all kinds of fun shapes with flounces – I’ve even seen some that are spirals! But flounces do eat up yardage, so keep that in mind 🙂
