Jungle Ruched Dress

This Jungle Ruched Dress came to life after I bought the fabric from Tessuti on sale for the bargain price of $11 per meter. It’s a 95% Rayon 5% Spandex Jersey Knit called Nouveau Jungle. I wanted an easy project which I could whip up in an afternoon.  I found the Burda style pattern 6626 at Spotlight on sale (of course) for $4, perfect!

This ruched dress pattern is described as “super easy”. I would say it is ‘fairly’ easy but the ruching takes some careful precision. You need to sew two rows of gathering stitches to the waist point, then another two below the waist point to distribute the ruching evenly. This has to be done on both front pieces which means you end up with a lot of threads to ruche. If you are a beginner this could be a bit daunting. After the ruching is done though, it all comes together quite easily.

I love the fabric. It feels really nice to work with and sews up easily, it also doesn’t fray. My overlocker has been playing up so I just used a wide zig zag but you could get away without any seam finishes. I didn’t have a twin needle for the hem and sleeves so I just made two rows of stitching.

The only adjustment I made to the pattern was the length. It is a lot longer than what it looks like on the pattern photo. I had to take the slit up also. I am petite but not that short!

It’s very figure hugging so if you like showing off your curves you will love it. I’ve already worn it out for dinner with my olive green leather biker jacket and then funked it up with a cowboy hat for a Sunday afternoon drink at the local wine bar.  Highly recommended for a quick weekend sew up.