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Tutorial: ruffled crepe paper streamers


  Hello everyone! I am so excited for today's post! :) I want to welcome all the readers coming over from See Kate Sew. Please stay a while and look around. :)
If you haven't ever been to Kate's blog go and check it out!!  She prints her own fabric, made the coolest clutch from a vintage book, and I am thrilled to be a part of her Ruffle Event! Check it out, for three whole weeks there will be guest posts, inspirations, and giveaways all about ruffles! :)

For my ruffle post I am showing you how to ruffle crepe paper streamers. I am using my ruffles to decorate origami boxes, but you can do anything you want with yours! The possibilities are endless!

 Lets start ruffling! :)

Materials :
  • Crepe paper streamers
  • sewing machine (or needle and thread)
1. The first thing you need to do is sew a straight stitch down the middle (or side depending on what kind of ruffle you want). If you want two layers sew through two streamers at the same time.
In making ruffles of any kind you Do NOT back stitch, the threads need to be loose and pull-able.
2. Next, tie a knot in the threads at one end.  This enables you to pull freely without the worry of pulling the thread completely out. (Something I did so many times it's not even funny, thus the creation of this step).

 3. Now pull one of the threads at the end that that has no knot. You can gather the ruffle loose or really full whatever you want! :)
4. Once you have the ruffle to the desired fullness, tie a knot at the other end (the end with no knot) and trim the excess threads. 
5. (optional)  If you want to you can sew on top of your ruffle after you have gathered it to keep it from sliding around on the thread. (I was impatient and ready to move on, so I opted out on this step for some of my ruffles).

You're done!

Now is the fun part where you get to figure out what to do with your ruffles! :)  I had been itching to make origami boxes again so I did. :) While at the thrift store a while back, I found a huge old ledger book full of ledger paper, I tried using it for origami and I am smitten!  It is just the right weight and looks so pretty all folded up! :) I used the ruffles to decorate the boxes and since ruffles are so textured you really don't need anything else on the package. 
  I was having so much fun so I did two color schemes; sherbet (above), and blues (below).
I was going crazy making ruffles so I sewed some to card-stock and made a matching card. I also made the envelope out of the ledger paper by tracing another envelope.

For this package I added a pretty blue ribbon on top of the white ruffle to give it an extra pop.  I also used ledger paper to make a simple ruffled card.


Thanks for stopping by! :)

Post a Comment

25 Comments

So pretty! Who knew crepe paper could look so good? Well I guess you did :) Thanks for sharing.
kate said…
This is so gorgeous Lorajean! I am so excited to make some paper ruffles!
Juliette said…
I love this! Now I just need to find crepe paper streamers in Germany... =P
I am in love with this idea! Thanks so much for sharing! What a beautiful touch!!!
Anonymous said…
So adorable. I have a drawer full of streamers just destined to be turned in to ruffles!
The crepe paper ruffles are so cute...and I absolutely love your packaging ideas and origami boxes. Definitely going to try them! And I'm a new follower...saw your post at See Kate Sew. :)
Caiti said…
i love this! thanks for the tutorial!

i'm a new follower. :)

caitimae.blogspot.com
Susan Woods said…
Perfect for baby girl's birthday party next month. Thank you!
What an incredible idea!! I just shared this on my blog today:

http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/04/wednesdays-wowzers-everythingisjustsopr.html

Thanks for inspiring!
~Alison
Oh my gosh, I LOVE it. Who knew??? Thanks for sharing!

Just Another Day in Paradise
Unknown said…
This such a genius idea! I need to get my hands on some crepe paper!
Craftberry Bush said…
I made some pretty crepe ruffles for my nieces
Party but never thought of using them as gift wrapping!
I love everything you do! Thanks for inspiring I'm your newest fan! Xo
Lucy
lindalou said…
Crepe paper...seriously. They are beautiful. What a great way to dress up a gift or card. Can't wait to try it.
Annie Carie said…
You are too much awesome for me. Love you girly.
Charissa said…
Oh man. Beautiful job as always - both the execution and the styling!
these are SOOOO pretty! They would look awesome as wedding favors!! I'm totally bookmarking this, and I'm your newest follower! yay! :)
Love this! Enter your tutorial into our Party Tutorial Contest (http://www.purejoyeventsblog.com/2011/06/party-tutorial-contest-2.html) for a chance to win some fabulous prizes totaling over $200. BTW, I'm a new FB fan.
great!!! i´ll feature on my blog. Hope you don´t mind
hugs from Brazil
Karisa said…
this is GORGEOUS! I just wanted to let you know that I've included this in our giftwrap roundup on the FaveCrafts Blog: http://www.favecraftsblog.com/link-love-cute-gift-wrap-ideas/

Please let me know if you're ever interested in publishing your tutorials/patterns with FaveCrafts!
Melanie said…
That's sooooo lovely! I really need to do more DIY projects! I will keep an eye out for your blog updates!
JoyHey said…
So so sweet.... your blog is amazing! Thanks. Trackback: http://blog.joyhey.com/2012/04/12/inspiration-springy-packaging-ideas/
Heather said…
This is a fabulous idea. Thanks fort sharing this,.I will be using this for my gift wrapping
Anonymous said…
You are AMAZING girl!
Awesome!
Thank you for sharing the love!

Marie