I am trying to make a ruffles look on some tulle. I am trying to "gather" but it doesnt work. im new to sewing too btw :)

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How to Gather Fabric and Make Ruffles

How to Gather Fabric Sewing Machine

Gathering Fabric 2 ways MADE EVERYDAY

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Gathering on Serger

Baby Lock Ruffling Foot

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwiG9L3_mNfSAhUmrVQKHej2D_AQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbabylock.com%2Fftp%2Fwhitepapers%2FEvolve_BLE8W_InstructionRef.pdf&usg=AFQjCNG5N-rR0p7Yt9kKcq3BMQ6v1bBVsA&cad=rja

You can use a ruffler foot if you have one. If you don't have the special foot zig zag over a piece of yarn. Put a knot in one end of the yarn (or hold it securely in place and pull the other end.

I was just reading in the manual for my antique Montgomery Ward Model 30. It described shirring using a ruffle foot. If we can extrapolate from this info you may be able to do shirring with yours. You'll need similar material scraps to practice.

It describes a "shirring plate" that essentially goes over the feed dog area and eliminates their pulling the fabric through. So to emulate this you'll need to lower the feed dogs. Look for a slide type switch either on the front or back of the machine near the needle area.

Attach your ruffler foot. The instructions say to remove the separator blade... that's the very bottom part of the attachment. On mine there's a screw that allows you to take that part off which only leaves the blade that tucks the fabric to make the ruffle. (hopefully modern machines have this ability) Make sure you place your screw and blade in a safe place. (I like to use masking tape... and tape it to a safe place)

Place the material between the feed dog area and the ruffler blade. Longer stitches mean bigger and more loose ruffles. So lets start with big ruffles.... set your stitch really long. Set your ruffler setting for the desired type of ruffle or Plait. Shirring is done with a single stitch plait or "gathering"

Ok here is where it gets a bit confusing because modern seamstresses don't have the variety of threads we used to (or can afford anyway) It says. "Thread bobbin with mercerized DMC floss No.3 keeping the bobbin tension loose, long stitches and thread top with stitching silk that contrasts strongly with the color of the DMC sot that the stitch of the bobbin thread will stand out clearly as a trim" It also suggests the use of the quilting guide to make your stitch rows evenly spaced.

So practice this technique on some scrap or similar materials. Good luck. ;)

Stitch length of 4, loosen your top tension by half a number and always pull up the bobbin threads.

If you need to gather yards of fabric then get a gathering foot. Janome make one - it looks like this


This foot is for creating soft gathers in lightweight fabrics. The underside of the foot is raised behind the needle and has a thick bar in front of the needle to gather the fabric. This works great to create the gathers as you sew. You can also gather and attach a ruffle onto a flat piece of fabric simultaneously, run the flat fabric through the top groove of the foot and the underneath fabric is gathered and stitched to the top piece, you need to keep the bottom piece feeding smoothly though so it takes practice to guide it evenly. Once mastered it is great to ruffle on valances and cushion frills.

Other option is use a ruffler foot, these will make a little ruffle every 12, 6 or 1 stitch so give a set result, and to obtain a more dramatic gather. They look like this.


The arm of the foot with a C'shape sits over the needle bar of the machine so it is moved up and down to activate the device. The little blade at the front moves backwards at regular intervals forcing a "tuck" of fabric into the feed to be stitched. Again you can ruffle and stitch to straight fabric at once but it is an art to master.

The weight of the fabric you are gathering is obviously the key variable, ginghams and poplins are lightweight so gather easily but if you need to gather something heavy like cordoroy it is going to be a battle and threads may break. If so, stitch two lines of gathers and don't try to do long runs, you'll just break a thread and have to start over.

Another good way is to zig zag over a length of perle cotton, taking care not to actually stitch the pearle at all. You can then gather up the fabric along it, this works well for heavier weights.

I do not have the Wave, but in the manual for my Imagine, on page 17, it states:

"at the maximum setting of 2.0 the differential feed can gather lightweight fabric to nearly double fullness.

To maximize the gathering effects, use the longest stitch length setting."

There is no indication as to the number of threads to use, but in the picture, it appears to be four.

I would use scraps of the same fabric to be ruffled and test this technique until I achieved the preferred look.

Attach the foot to the machine, making sure you have the large hook over your needle bar. move the selection to the number you want to gather.... 1 is a small pleat gather, higher numbers are larger. the fabric is placed so that it goes over the bar underneath, then over the rest until under the sewing area. Try a sample first to see how it works. It really does make a nice ruffle.

Take the foot off and check for a small burr in the area that pushes the material through. If there is a burr, it will get caught, especially on lace. The burr can be removed with a very fine abrasive stone or the emery srea from a match pack.

First, try the differential feed. I think that you set it so that the setting is less than 1 to get it to feed in faster than out. If it isn't working, try a higher number.

If you can't get enough this way, the old fashioned way would be to reduce the presser foot pressure slightly and put your left index finger behind the foot, resting on the fabric to impede its progress through the machine.

I think that the differential feed should suffice.