Hey everyone! Holly here again! I have a really fun and easy River variation for you today. You see, I’m sorta the queen of ruffles. And when Megan gave me my first glimpse of River, I immediately pictured some sweet little ruffles sleeve details along the raglan seam.
I chose to do it on the front only (and I chose the v-neck as the front), but it could be done on both the front and back for extra sweetness!
Alright, I’m going to show you how to add this little detail. Let’s go…

Start by measuring along the raglan sleeve seamline.

Now we need to create the pattern piece for the ruffle.
Fold a long piece of scrap paper in half lengthwise. Square out from the folded edge and draw a line for the length of the measurement you took above.

Measure up 1 3/’4” and draw a parallel line, creating a long rectangle.

On the non-folded end of the rectangle, measure up 3/4” and make a mark. Use a curved tool to blend from this mark into the top long edge.

Cut along your drawn lines. Once cut, unfold to reveal your full ruffle pattern piece.
Cut out 2 pieces from your fabric (if you want ruffles on both the from and back, then cut out 4).

Turn in the bottom edge by tiny 1/8” (you can finish the edge first if you want) and edge stitch to finish the outer edge.

Sew a line of long-basting stitches 5/8” from the raw straight edge.

Lightly pull the end of the basting threads creating a gather. Gather until the length of the ruffle is in line with the length of the raglan seamline.

With the right side of the top facing up, place the ruffle right side up along the sleeve seam edge and pin.

Sew in place 5/8” from the raw edge.
That’s it! From here you can continue construction as usual, following the pattern instructions. And remember – you can do this on either the v-neck or round neck, or both!
LOOKING FOR MORE RIVER POSTS?
Here’s the full list of River posts and tutorials:
- Inspiration and ideas
- Pattern Tester roundup
- Staystitching and Pockets
- Flat raglan sleeve insertion and side seams
- How to insert raglan sleeves in the round (this post!)
- Neckband View A & C
- Bias-bound neckline View B & D
- Hemming
- Belt and belt loops
- Variation: ruffle raglan sleeve detail
- Variation: patch pockets and contrasting fabrics (View A)
We absolutely love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNriver and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
