ruffle sleeve top

You know you're addicted to sewing when you've told your husband for 3 days straight that you REALLY are done sewing and ready to pack up your machines (since you're moving in ONE week)....and then you find a tutorial online that you just must try. And so you do. But this was just too adorable and too easy that I had to share it with you all!
Brought to you by a favorite site, Sparkle Power, Candace shares a simple tutorial for making this little top. I'm not kidding, YOU MUST TRY IT. It's the perfect nap-time or evening project.
Her measurements in the tutorial are for a 4T-5T. So....
Here's what I did for a 2T-3T:
Shirt body: 30 in x 13 1/2 in (76 cm x 34 1/2 cm)
Sleeves: 14 in x 3 1/2 in (35 1/2 cm x 9 cm)
1 inch Elastic for body: 21 inches (53 1/2 cm)
1/4 inch Elastic for sleeves: 9 1/2 inches (24 cm)

These measurements could also be adapted to an adult size. Or, try using Made by Rae's fabulous Spring Ruffle Top Tutorial.
Candace recommends light-weight material and that is definitely key. But if you find yourself stuck (like I did), there's always a way to Make it Work! (Tim Gunn would be so proud). My sleeves where a little too stiff after I added the orange/yellow stitching on the sides. So I took my trusty elastic thread and sewed a few lines next to the orange (shown below) to help it ruffle more. Hooray for shirring!

I also added buttons to the front, just for look. I need to move them over slightly though.
And after shooting these pictures, I was reminded of the picture of me below. It was taken 7 years ago after spending a week on a sailboat in Belize (in the Caribbean). I've never been so tan (or slightly red) in my life! Oh to be so free again. Those were some fun days. But I'd never ever trade them for my little beauty in front of her own green wall:
Now head on over to Sparkle Power for all the details. You'll be making this tonight.