Universal Flutter

a free tutorial and pattern

Diva
from tie dye
 Universal Flutter Free Tutorial and Pattern © Tie Dye Diva Patterns All Rights Reserved

Materials:

• Sleeveless dress pattern size 0 months to 9/10 years with a lined bodice and
sewn shoulders (not tie-top, button-shoulder, etc.), and all materials required for
that pattern.
• 1/8 yard fabric OR ½ yard lace trim at least 3” wide.

Some Tie Dye Diva Patterns that work well with these flutters are Fair & Square Dress
and Top for Girls or for Baby, Butterfly Dress for Girls or Butterfly Top for Baby (as an
alternate flutter shape), Open Back Baby Dress and Perfect Party Dress.

Fair & Square with lined flutter Perfect Party Dress with unlined flutter Fair & Square with lace flutter

Print the Flutter Pattern Piece:

Be sure this document is opened with Adobe Reader and not any other PDF viewer or
browser, and print page 7. When you print, verify:

• “Print Scaling” (also called “Page Scaling”) is set to “none”

• “Auto Rotate and Center” is NOT checked
• “Fit to Page” or “Shrink” is NOT checked. (should be “Actual Size” or Scaling=100%).

Check that the 1” box is measuring correctly.

Cut around the pattern using the solid line for fabric flutters and the dashed line for lace
flutters. The ½” seam allowance is already included.

2
 Universal Flutter Free Tutorial and Pattern © Tie Dye Diva Patterns All Rights Reserved

Cut the Fabric or Lace:

Fabric flutters: You can choose to hem the flutters or line

them. For hemmed flutters, cut 2 on fold. For lined flutters, cut 4
on fold. For a fun look, use a contrasting fabric for the liner.

Lace flutters: Cut 2 on fold, placing the pattern piece on the lace with the dashed
outer edge aligned with a finished edge of the lace. If your lace has very deep scallops
or motifs, you might want to align the inner edge of the scallops or somewhere in the
middle, depending on how wide you want the finished flutter.

Sew your Garment:

1. Join Front Bodices to Back Bodices. Follow your pattern instructions to join
front and back bodices for the main fabric and also for the liner fabric. Don’t join
the main and liner bodices together!

2. Prepare the Flutters.

a. Unlined Fabric Flutters. Hem the outer (straight) edge of each flutter by
folding the edge under ¼” and pressing, then ¼” and pressing again and
stitching close to the fold.

3
 Universal Flutter Free Tutorial and Pattern © Tie Dye Diva Patterns All Rights Reserved

b. Lined Fabric Flutters. Lay the flutter pieces in pairs, with main fabric and liner
fabric right sides together. Sew the outer (straight) edge of each using ½”
seam allowance.

Trim the seam to ¼”, flip the pieces so they are wrong sides together with raw
curved edges aligned and press well. Topstitch along the straight edge.

c. Lace Flutters. You do not need to finish your lace flutters.

For all styles, sew long, loose gathering threads down the inner (curved) edge of each
flutter, one 3/8” from the raw edge and one 5/8” from the raw edge. Gently gather to
about half their original length (about 6”-8”) as a starting point for your gathering.

3. Attach the Flutters. Lay each flutter right sides together with the main fabric
bodice armhole, raw edges aligned. Below, the blue fabric showing face up is my
flutter liner.

For yoke-style bodices (those that do not include the full

armhole, such as Fair & Square and Butterfly) leave at
least ¾” clear at each yoke edge. Adjust the gathers so
the flutter fits to the armhole leaving this gap at each
side and pin, and then baste, in place.

4
 Universal Flutter Free Tutorial and Pattern © Tie Dye Diva Patterns All Rights Reserved

For full-armhole
bodices like Perfect
Party Dress, mark the
approximate midpoint
between shoulder
seam and underarm
on both front and
back armholes, being
sure the distance
from the shoulder seam is the same on front and
back, and on left and right. Pin the center of each
flutter to the shoulder seam and the ends to the 2
points you have marked on each armhole, and adjust
gathers to fit.

With the bodice main fabric facing you, flip the flutters to the outside as shown, so
you are looking at the main fabric of both bodice and flutters. Lay the bodice liner
right side down on top of the main bodice, matching raw edges all around the center
back bodice opening and the neckline. Pin, and then sew the back bodice opening
and neckline as shown (for Tie Dye Diva patterns, use a ½” seam allowance). You
do not need to finish this seam.

Next, flip the flutters back to their original right-

sides-together position with the bodice, rolling
them up as needed to fit between the bodices
and out of the way of the armhole seam you will
be sewing next. Then sew each armhole (again,
for Tie Dye Diva patterns, use ½” seam
allowance). You do not need to finish this seam.

5
 Universal Flutter Free Tutorial and Pattern © Tie Dye Diva Patterns All Rights Reserved

After stitching, clip the curved portions around the armholes (and neckline, if
applicable) by snipping perpendicular to the seamline every 1/2”, very close to but
not into your line of stitching, and also clip across the corners. For square necklines
like Fair & Square, clip diagonally into each inner corner as well. These steps will
help the bodice lie flat when it is turned. For smaller sizes you might like to trim the
seam allowance down to ¼” to reduce bulk through the shoulders.

Reach through the opening at the front bodice

and turn the bodice right side out. (Here’s a tip,
try to grab each flutter as far down as you can
and tug gently, it should turn the bodice almost
entirely right side out for you.)

Press the bodice well. Continue with your pattern

instructions, including topstitching the bodice at
this time or not, as directed.

Enjoy your Universal Flutter!

Fabric featured is from the Luckie Collection by Maude Asbury for Blend Fabrics.
Photo thanks for Luckie collection dress photos page 2, 3 and below to Miss
London, and center photo page 2 to Miss Sweet Pea!

Copyright Tie Dye Diva 2016

All rights reserved. This eBook and its contents are protected by
U.S. and International copyright laws; any reproduction of this
eBook or any portion thereof, including electronic transmission to
third parties, is strictly prohibited. Items produced using the
information in this eBook may be used for personal use, as well
as for sale in limited quantities by in-home sewers. We request
that items for sale state that the item is made with a Tie Dye Diva
pattern.
Reach Tie Dye Diva by email at
[email protected]
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Over 90 instant download PDF patterns at

http://www.tiedyedivapatterns.com/

6
 1”

1”

1 1
0-3 3-6 6-1 2-18 8-24
siz size

Cut 2

fold
cut 4)
mo mo 2 m mo mo si s
i
siz s
i s i e

Flutter

on fold
o n n z
nth nth nt th th e e 3z e z z
4 e 5 e 6 7/8 9/10
lace flutter cutting line all sizes s s hs s s 2

(lined flutter,
Universal Flutter
© Tie Dye Diva all rights reserved.
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