Tutorial: Gathering and Ruffling the QUICK Way!

We all know gathering and making ruffles are a basic sewing skill. However, sometimes making them can be a tad time consuming. We also all know that you see ruffles everywhere right now. So with that being said, I am sharing my 'little secret' to quick gathering and making ruffles. (It probably isn't that much of a secret, but it sounds much more intriguing when I put it that way.)

I am a proud owner of a ruffler foot for my sewing machine. I love it, it is handy, and is perfect when I am doing loads of ruffling. However. My one miff with the ruffler foot is that it's not at all conducive for a 'quick' project. Meaning, I wish I could have a dedicated sewing machine for just my ruffler so I didn't have to take it on and off, adjust the settings, etc. All of you who have a ruffler are nodding in agreement.

So. When I need to gather or make a ruffle in a flash this is what I do. Oh..and say bye bye to double rows of long stitching and pulling thread.


1. Set your stitch length to the longest length on your machine. (Same as regular gathering.)

2. Increase the tension. This is where it becomes a little 'dependent on your machine'. You may want to play for a few quick minutes to play around with the tension to see the outcome.

This is how it works on my machine:
increase my tension to + 1 = a light gather

increase my tension to + 2 = a good ruffle, the fabric comes out to be just about half it's original length
increase my tension to + 2.5 = a fuller ruffle, the fabric comes out to be a little less than half it's original length
increase my tension to + 3 = very full ruffle

You can see the gather/ruffle getting tighter and fuller as I increased the tension.

I should also add that this way of ruffling is VERY forgiving. You can always pull the strings to make the ruffle fuller.  You also can push the ruffle around to redistribute the placement or to reduce the fullness. (Just make sure you leave nice long thread tails on both ends!)

3. Once you've increased the tension and set the stitch length the longest it will go, the fun begins! First, pull your machine threads so you have a nice long tail.

4. Start ruffling your fabric using 1/4" seam allowance.  (If I need to fold under the edges of my fabric later, I start ruffling about 1/2" in from the short edge.)  IMPORTANT: Hold on to those long thread tails for the first few stitches so they don't get pulled into the bobbin causing a royal mess! (I always hold the thread tails when I begin sewing anyways but it is especially helpful in this situation.)

Start sewing and watch as the gathers appear!!! WOW!!! (Do not backstitch.)

5. Stop gathering about 1/2" from the edge of the fabric again. Do not backstitch. Remove the fabric from the machine and again leave a long tail of thread. 

6. Depending on your project you may want to secure the ruffles at this point. Do that by setting your machine for regular sewing. Then just sew on top of the stitching line for the ruffles. Or you can simply tie off the long thread tails at either end of your gather or ruffles. Once you do this, you will not be able to adjust the ruffles.

 Result: Quick and easy ruffles! Ta-da!

 The end. Like the pictured project?  Don't worry, it is coming. :)

Thanks for reading,

LeAnne ;)

Tutorial: Quick Drawstring Bag

Here is a great sewing 'basic'. The drawstring bag. I remember the first time I made one...I dunno why, it is not like it was a momentous occasion.  The first time I made one was for a laundry sack to take to my church Girls' Camp. I recently came across it and I laughed so hard. It is like 1 1/2 yards long and 18 inches wide. I remember thinking it was so cool. Thanks mom for not bursting my creative bubble at age 12. ;)

With that being said...on to the tutorial. 
 
{quick drawstring bag}

1/2 yard of fabric, this makes a great basic size
1 1/2 yards ribbon or cording
large saftey pin

 

I used a serger to finish my raw edges. If you don't have a serger, directions are given in parentheses.

1. Cut two 13" x 15" rectangles. (You can easily increase this size if you need it bigger, just add an additional 2" for seam allowances and whatnot.) (No serger: On the top edge of each piece, fold under 1/4" and press. Fold under 1/4" again and press.) Fold under 1 1/2" from the same top edge. Press to crease.

2. Unfold the creased edge and place the pieces right sides together. (No serger: Also unfold the 1/4" you folded under twice.) From the pressed/creased edge measure down 1/4" and pin. Measure 1/2" from the first pin and pin again. This marks the opening for the drawstring. Begin sewing at the top, stopping at the first pin and back-stitching. Remove bag from your machine and trim threads. Begin sewing again at the second pin, back-stitching. Continue sewing to the bottom of the bag. Stop sewing at this point.

3. Press open the seam you just sewed. Try not to iron out the crease you made. My finger is pointing to the opening you should have.

4. Flip the bag over to the front. On the right side, sew on either side of the opening to hold the opening open. Place the wrong sides together again, pin, and sew the rest of the bag together. Leave the top open. Press seams. (No serger: Finish raw edges with a zig-zag stitch.)

5. Flatten the bottom of the bag. Make the side seam come come to a point as shown. Measure 1" from the point and mark. Sew on the line you marked.

6. Trim about 1/4" from the seam you just sewed. Repeat for the other side of the bag. 

7. With the bag turned right-side out, fold the creased edge down. Turn the bag right-side out and sew the creased edge in place about 1" away from the top edge. (No serger:With the bag turned right-side out, fold the creased edge down. Turn the 1/4" folded edges back under. Do not turn bag. Sew on top of the 1/4" folded edges about 1/8" away from the edge.)

8. Pin a ribbon or cording onto a safety pin and thread through the opening. Seal the raw ends of the ribbon or cording. Fill with whatever items you need!

What is that in the background? You will see very soon!!!

Tutorial: How to Shirr

First things first.

Shirring involves elastic thread. You can find elastic thread with the other elastics at your fabric store. It comes on a cardboard tube and costs under $2.00. Nice.

A few pointers about using elastic thread to shirr:
1. You only use it in your bobbin. You use regular thread on top.
2. You wind it BY HAND. It only takes a second. I usually prewind 2 or 3 bobbins before I make a dress.

K. Now that you are all set on that. Let's actually shirr...well almost.

1. Thread the top thread with regular thread. You can get creative with this part. Since you will see this thread you can have it match, contrast, or have each row be different. (I want to make a white dress then have each row of shirring be a different color: red, pink,  yellow, green, etc....so cute!)
2. Load your bobbin into your machine. Bring your elastic thread up before you start shirring.

This is the part that varies per machine; the stitch length and machine tension. Some machines you can shirr without changing the length or tension on your machine. Mine doesn't work that way. For my machine I set my length to almost the longest length and I set my tension as high as it will go. You may have to play around. So play around by doing the following:

1. On a scrap, line up the edge of the presser foot with the top edge of your fabric. Hold your loose threads with your hand and start sewing, back stitching a few times. Then continue sewing regularly. When you are done back stitch again. Remove scrap from your machine and clip away threads.

2. Place scrap on machine again, this time lining up the outside edge of your presser foot with the last row of stitching. Repeat the same process from step one.

3. Do this a few more times. Remove your scrap from your machine. Now all you have to do is spray your scrap with water or steam it with your iron.

4. When you are done the elastic will shrink and the result will be adorable. ( I only did two quick rows...see the below picture for the full effect.)

Shirring is such a great skill to learn! If you need further help, check out these other shirring tutorials:

Sandi Henderson's 
(Also available on her blog on her right sidebar about halfway down, it is called 'Shirr Madness'.)
Ruffles and Stuff

So fun and summery! Click on the photo below to see the tutorial for the Sweet Summer Dress!