Gathering fabric is surprisingly difficult. It takes a long time to do, and it doesn’t always look the way you want it to. Gathering is so useful though, it is very common, it is used used to make sleeves, ruffles (like this apron), full skirts, in lieu of darts, pleats or to add volume. I am going to show you three different ways you can gather your fabric.
The Classic
This is the classic way to gather fabric, it looks good, and works well for light to medium fabrics, it is the common method on clothing. First, set your sewing machine to the longest stiches it makes: this is a basting stitch. Sew along the length of the fabric you need to gather inside your seam allowance. Create two rows (or three if you are really worried about the way your gathered fabric is going to sit).
Take a pin and wrap one end of the threads around your pin to keep the thread in place
Gently pull on the threads on the opposite side of the pin, pull only on the top thread. Pull the ruffles down your project so they are evenly spaced. If you pull too hard, you can break your thread, so be gentle. Once you are at your desired level of gathering, take a second pin and place it on the end of your fabric that you have been pulling the gathers and wrap your thread around your pin.
Sew your gathered fabric to your next piece of fabric. Make sure to place lots of pins to keep your gathers from getting flattened out.
Use Elastic
This method is great for skirt or dress waistbands, as well as sleeves. It works best with woven, non stretchy fabrics. You will need a piece of elastic for this method.
First get your elastic and divide it into even sections (you will probably want at least 4, maybe 8 or 12 if your sewing something longer) Divide your fabric into the same sections. Pin your fabric to the elastic.
Sew your fabric down to the elastic, make sure you have a fairly long tail so you can hold it tight. You will need to be able to hold a lot of tension using this method. Stretch your fabric flat and pull your elastic tight, sew.
Using a Piece of cording, yarn or floss
This method is great for heavy fabrics that don’t gather well, or really long projects, since the classic method is more difficult the longer the project is. I used a piece of cording for this, but you can use whatever works for you. You just need something that is narrow and not stretchy. I’ve heard of people using fishing wire for this as well.
Line your cord up in the middle of your presser foot. Set your machine onto a zig zag stitch. Make sure it is wide enough to cover your cording, but that it stays inside the seam allowance for your project. Sew over your cording, making sure not to catch any of the cording in the stitches.
Use a pin to keep one side of the cording from getting pulled through your fabric. Pulling on the other side, create your gather. Once you have it where you like it, pin it to your project and sew
Pull the cording out and keep it for the next time you need to gather something.
That’s it! You now know 3 different ways to gather.
