I know, I took another hiatus. Unfortunately, when cleaning out my classroom on the last day of school, I broke the SD card all my pictures were saved on. :( Most of the really important ones were saved on my computer, but I lost a lot of the tutorial ones I took for this blog and had to redo them. Hopefully, I am back on track. I will be finishing up this series soon, and posting a new crochet pattern before too long! :)
Without further ado, I present my favorite way to gather! I probably didn't invent this, but I use it constantly and share it with as many people as I can, I like it THAT much! :)
Why "gather?"
Gathers are often used to add volume in the form of ruffles to a skirt. The result is typically a bit more gentle than what would result from pleating. You may also see it on a dust ruffle for a bed, or in the 'poofy' sleeves of old-style dresses. (Anne of Green Gables, anyone?) Gathers may barely be noticeable (sometimes called ease stitching on more modern sleeves), or it may be more severe, like in a skirt.
What makes this method better?
Another popular way to gather involves a loose machine basted stitch and then tugging on the bottom thread. While this method does work, I personally kind of hate it. I always break a thread and it doesn't work for the large gathers I typically use. I will use the basting method to do the ease stitching part of a sleeve, but that's about it. For Miranda's dress, I had to gather a HUGE amount of fabric into very tight gathers and this technique was a lifesaver!
Materials:
You'll need your fabric (obviously), any color crochet thread (I think this is size 10 and can be found near the yarn. Regular yarn may work too, but it's a bit too flimsy for me. Regular thread is too weak.), and finally your presser foot. I love to use this foot, which my machine calls a 'braiding foot.' If you have a piping foot, it would work as well. That being said, I used a regular, straight-stitch foot for a long time, and while it's just as effective, the braiding foot is awesome because I don't have to worry at all about accidentally stitching through the crochet thread.
The foot has a small hole in the front the crochet thread fits through and the bottom of the foot has a groove that allows the foot to sit flush against the fabric while still sewing over the thread.
I seriously suggest investing in this if you know you'll be completing a project with a ton of gathering. For everyday, occasional stuff, you can survive with the regular foot, I did, forever. :)
Steps:
1. Get your machine prepared. If you plan on ripping out the sewing thread, choose a contrast color, if you don't mind leaving it in (I always do) choose a color that matches your fabric. The crochet thread will always be ripped out, so it doesn't matter too much what color you use. You'll be setting your machine on a zig zag stitch just wide enough to stitch over the crochet thread. Once your width is set, match the length. (My width is set to about 2.5, so I matched the length to about 2.5 as well.) If you're using a regular presser foot, you may want to set the width just a bit wider to make sure you don't accidentally stitch onto the thread.
2. Stitch, DO NOT stitch over the crochet thread. (This is easy with the braiding foot, be more careful if you're using a regular foot.)
3. Cut your thread and begin sliding the fabric up and down on the crochet thread. It reminds me of the way you'd move curtains up and down a curtain rod.
4. Use a straight stitch to secure the gather the way you like, or go ahead and attach it to the rest of the project. When you're finished, you should be able to just pull the crochet thread out completely. Ripping out the zig zag stitch is optional, I almost never bother, it's not noticeable at all.
Note: For Miranda's dress, I attached the under and over skirt together by straight stitching it onto a piece of 2 inch ribbon the same length as the bodice. The ribbon helped hold it steady and keep it at the correct length, I then attached the whole thing to the bodice. I pulled out the crochet thread, but left the ribbon. At that point, it was too hard to rip out. :)
Voila! Step back and admire those beautiful gathers! :)
~Farm Girl Teacher
P.S. I recently found a new blog I am seriously IN LOVE with. This blogger recreates mouth watering foods from her favorite books. If you love to read and love to eat, this blog is for you! (and if you don't love those things, I will be very disappointed in you!) Seriously, head over there and explore, you'll walk away inspired!
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