I am trying to make my one year old a mock Hanna play dress. I have the KSFT book and cut out everything, after measuring Mary etc.

My problem is the ruffle!!!! I can't figure out how to make it soft and even. I have a foot on order from a local quilt store, but can't believe it is this hard!!! I have tried long stitches, then pull them together, I have tried zig zagging over a piece of dental floss.

I'm sick and waiting for some hemp so I can make Mary diapers so I thought this would be fun and easy---- but last night discovered not only did my gathering bite but I sewed the arm sleeve on in side out.......

I just set it down, turned off the light and went to bed.

Other frustrations-- my digital camera is at my parent's house and I wanted to ask about some sewing feet I have that I have no idea what they are for. My DH doesn't want me posting anymore becuase of a situation on another board--but I can't stop reading and posting here!!

Being sick doesn't help I guess LOL!!

Okay okay. Off track.

What do you do to ruffle evenly?? Should I try elastic??

Meg

try a long stitch and pull up the bobbin thread on the bottom, that's what works for me :)

Where exactly are you having the problem gathering?

I baste a long stitch around the entire skirt, then pin the sides on to the top and pull the threads and smooth it around to be evenly gathered, and then pin it and serge it.

You can run two parallel basting stitches along the edge. Then, pull one top and one bottom thread evenly from one side. When it's about half gathered, knot it. Then, pull the same two threads from the opposite side. When it's the length you want, knot that side too. Then, gently gather the fabric along the stitches until it's even. HTH

my secret is that I don't gather at all LOL I pleat now instead ;)

Originally posted by hannahsorchard
my secret is that I don't gather at all LOL I pleat now instead ;)

With a pleater? Or just your fingers as it goes through? A lot of my problem is being sick and on sudafed LOL!!! I think my other problem is I don't make it stretchy enough. I think I pulled it too tight. I also try to take too many short cuts, I'll bite the bullet and just pin it like the book says.

Thanks for all your ideas!!

Meg

Originally posted by CookiePantsMama


With a pleater? Or just your fingers as it goes through? A lot of my problem is being sick and on sudafed LOL!!! I think my other problem is I don't make it stretchy enough. I think I pulled it too tight. I also try to take too many short cuts, I'll bite the bullet and just pin it like the book says.

Thanks for all your ideas!!

Meg

I just pin the bodice to the sides and then the middle of the back and the middle of the front. And then start just taking little pleats and pinning. I like the pleated look much better anyways and it is faster.

I use to pleat before I bought a ruffler. I just did it as I serged the skirt to the bodice and didn't pin. I just used two points on the serger foot to make sure they were all pleated evenly.

I use 1/8" elastic. I'm a total cheater. :D

use the longest stitch that I have on my machine, and make 3 rows of stitching from the edge at 1/4", 1/2" and 7/8" inch. I then pin the skirt to the bodice, and match the seams and pin those. Then I take 1 thread from each row and pull up and gather it evenly, until the entire skirt it gathered. If there is side seams on the skirt, I usually will pull threads from both seams, so I don't have to gather the entire skirt from one end. When it's gathered enough, I pin every 3 inches or so. Then I stitch the 5/8 in seam allowance, removing pins as I go. When I am finished, I turn it right side out, I check to make sure that I didn't catch any fabric that I shouldn't have, then pull out that 7/8" basting thread. Then I serge over the gathered seam, to finish it. Yes this takes some time, but when you gather with 3 rows, the 7/8" row, holds the gathers in place so that when you are stitching, they can't really move, resulting in nice even gathers. :)

Originally posted by grtlyblesd
I use 1/8" elastic. I'm a total cheater. :D

...Never considered this possiblity! I may have to try this next. Thank for the tip Shecki. :)

I gather my dresses the same way as Dina only I just run one stitch. Just make sure to arrange your gathers underneath as you sew so one doesn't go crooked. I always make sure to face the bodice up because I've caught it too many times...

I also bought ruffler a few weeks ago and did use it once. I think it works better on dresses that don't need "gathering". It makes pleats, really.

HTH!

Have you tried adjusting the length of the pleats? If you do them tiny, it gathers.

Originally posted by arasmama
Have you tried adjusting the length of the pleats? If you do them tiny, it gathers.

Allison, I've experimented a bit. The problem is that wbhen I'm makingb my patchy dresses I have the skirts lined in muslin. Even when I stich the two layers together at the top, I still find that the ruffler has problems picking up both layers. Maybe I need to play around with it some more.

I stil haven't figured out what the little knob does...The one with the numbers. (I understand the one that controls how many stitcbhes in between gathers...)

:)

like I said, I think my main problem is the sudafed and sewing do not go together LOL!!! At least for me!!

I'm gonna try the elastic too--how do you cut it? The same size as the front then stretch?

Thanks again!!!!!!!!

Meg

I absolutely used to HATE gathering until I found this tip online.

I take a long piece of dental floss and sew a wide zigzag stitch over it ... kind of "attaching" it to the top of the piece to be gathered - as close to the edge of the fabric as possible. Do not actually sew ON the floss or it won't work.

Once you have sewn over the floss you can just gather the fabric along the floss and sew your typical seam allowance. The floss is great ... gathers smoothly and it's strong so it won't break in the middle of your project.

Hope this helps someone! I don't mind gathering a bit now!

and I have wanted to try do it that way. But I'm intimidated! By looking at the seam, it appears as if the elastic was applied during serging but I can't figure out how that would happen since it only gathers the skirt, not the bodice. So do you think what they did is sew the elastic to the skirt first, then serge the skirt onto the bodice right over the elastic? That must be how it's done. It looks really nice and neat. And it gives the playdress wonderful stretch and recovery (and these are very stretchy knits, actually very fine rib knits I think).

Schecki, is that how you apply the elastic when you do it? And do you cut the elastic first, or just stretch it as you sew and then cut off whatever's left over?

TIA

Originally posted by groovybunny

I have a ruffler now but haven't tried it on knits yet, but Heather says it works well on knits! ;) If that's what you ordered, I predict you will love it. I have the gathering foot for my machine also...but the ruffler is more even and more reliable imho. Did you order from Country Sewing Center? ;)



Why yes I did!!! LOL!!!

Bill ordered it for me, and I had to give him a down payment LOL!!! (this is a 10.00 item)

I'm hoping and praying for a serger for my birthday in February. sigh.....

I love the country sewing center!!! Emily loves the free m and m's at the counter, and one of the ladies that works there is the one that set up my dh and me!!

sigh----I'm seriously ruffle impaired. I think the knit I am using is too stretchy. I'll try on some woven first. I have to stop for a while tho, it's making me want to cry!!!

Meg

Originally posted by martinanne
So do you think what they did is sew the elastic to the skirt first, then serge the skirt onto the bodice right over the elastic? That must be how it's done. It looks really nice and neat. And it gives the playdress wonderful stretch and recovery (and these are very stretchy knits, actually very fine rib knits I think).

Schecki, is that how you apply the elastic when you do it? And do you cut the elastic first, or just stretch it as you sew and then cut off whatever's left over?

TIA

Yep, that's how I do it. I'm attaching a pic of the inside of the pansy at the seam so you can see what it looks like. I mark the elastic a couple inches *shorter* than the bodice width. (I mark with a washable marker.) Then I zig zag the elastic onto the inside top of the skirt pieces. When I serge the bodice to the skirt (or the skirt to the bodice, depending on how you look at it...) I aim for the elastic going under the needles. This trims just the top smidge off the skirt, and encases the elastic in the serging, leaving one nice, clean seam.

I'll try that this afternoon!!! You are sooooo awesome!!!!

Meg