Okay, I know, I know: more ruffles….
But it’s the day after Thanksgiving, you know, so I needed to whip up a little Christmas cheer for my sweet girl, right? And what better than a little ruffled something, non?
So I grabbed a few of those extra red and green strips from when we made the ruffle towels and did almost the exact same steps as when we made the pink & green ruffled shirt… but just turned everything on its side.
Using a washable marker, draw graduated lines in a Christmas tree shape on the front of a blank shirt (I love the cheap Garanamals ones from WalMart. At under $4 each, they are very affordable, and with great details like the lettuce edge at the sleeves and hem, I love them).
Decide how you want to lay out your fabric strips. The strips should be about twice the length of each tree “branch.”
[Or you can make it super simple and just leave the strips long, trimming them after you’re done sewing each line.]
Then, starting a strip of fabric at the beginning of each line, scrunch an inch or two with your fingers (making sure to keep the front of the shirt smooth underneath and the back of the shirt out of the way (so you don’t sew it closed!). Sew down the scrunched area, then scrunch up another inch or two along the marker line and sew that down. Repeat until the length of the marker line is covered. Cut off any extra fabric when you reach the end of the line.
Repeat steps with each fabric strip marker row until you have yourself a lovely ruffled tree.
Add a button (oh, a star-shaped button could be lovely!) to the top of the tree to finish. [I went with a small red stacked on top of a natural wood button.] Sew your button(s) on, and you’re off to the races! [You could even add more buttons as ornaments if you wanted.]
And huzzah! Easy as that, you’re all done!
Now add a quick & easy pair of ruffle pants in the same fabric, and you’re off to the races! Woot woot!
So, anyone else out there jazzed about a special Christmas tee that doesn’t cost a fortune?! Yes, please!
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Addicted? Want more DIY ruffled cuteness to make? Read on…
CampClem 
Thank you! You always come up with the sweetest things.
Thank you for always sharing with us so generously. It is very much appreciated!
God Bless you and your lovely family!
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I tried one of these and it’s a shredded mess after being washed. Do you have any tips?
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Jessica,
I am so sorry that happened! Thank you so much for coming back to ask.
My thought is that one of two things happened:
1. The fabric you happened to use was such a wide/loose weave that it unraveled in the wash. If you are brave enough to try this again (I hope! I hope!), run a row of stitches along the top and the bottom of the ruffle fabric to lock the threads into place. It’s subtle, but you might be able to see where I had to do this with the blue floral fabric on this tute: https://campclem.com/2012/11/21/simple-fast-beautiful-handmade-gifts-ruffle-towels/
2. The typical fabric frayed a bit in the wash… You can pull/cut off the extra threads. It will not continue to fray more with each wash after the initial wash. If the fabric is folding in half too much for you along the ruffle stitch, you can lay the shirt flat to dry rather than tumbling it.
I hope this helps! If you want to post a photo to the CampClem facebook page so I can see and perhaps offer further insight, please do!
Thank you for dropping in and sharing!
g i n a
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Ok.. thanks! Those tips should work. I was making the ruffle dish towel, just ended up posting on this page. I went ahead and dried the towel too and see what you mean about the ruffles folding up. I’ll iron it and try again with more fabric. Thank you!
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