Delurking...

Hello All, It's been 2 months of reading your wonderful and knowledgeable posts to get up the nerve to actually sew something...anything. I just had to finally dust off and use the Pfaff 1122 sewing machine that my mom gave me for Christmas.

And now I have - 2 projects under my belt. First, a simple tunic(McCalls

4968) made from georgette, which I didn't know to measure the pattern before cutting & so had to give it to my sister because it was too big for me. Second, a straight skirt(McCalls 2364) made from raw silk with a flounce at the bottom. I am pleased with the skirt, except for a small pucker on the waist from where I couldn't get the pieces to match up and the hem on the flounce - folding fabric cut on the bias is not easy.

I am now halfway through my next project - the same skirt but with a ruffle at the bottom.

Here is my question to all of you talented people... How do you make the ruffles even? After the flounce, I thought, "Ruffles, no problem!" However, now that I'm doing it, I can't make the gathers even AND make it fit around the bottom of the skirt. What are your secrets?

Thank you! Judy

Reply to
Judy
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Did you measure *you* and cut out the size that related to your measurements? Pattern pieces are the measurement size plus wearing ease. Tunics like that ate usually 'loose fitting', so with 4"-6" ease in addition to the body measurement.

I can't find that pattern at all: it tells me 'no matches found'. When matching things up, remember that it's the SEAM LINE that needs to match up, NOT the cut edges!

For your gathered frill, sew with TWO lines of stitching, about 1/4" apart, just inside the seam line, and gather up both lots of thread... Divide the UNGATHERED frill length into four equal sections, and pin at these pints to the side seams and centre front and back: gather up to fit, and then tease the gathers out so they are even before pinning in place to sew.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

The only ways I know are either to use a ruffler attachment or else (and I haven't tried this but know of many places where it's recommended) to zig-zag over elastic thread and then pull the elastic thread to make it gather evenly.

Personally, I look better with small tucks instead of gathers, so I've given them up.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

When I don't use a ruffler, I zig-zag loosely over dental floss and then pull the floss at both ends AFTER dividing the length with pins.

To avoid that pucker, you need to ease the longer fabric into the shorter fabric. That is accomplished by having the shorter fabric on the bottom (where the feed dogs are) and holding it tight while easing in the upper fabric. Sometimes you have to do short machine basting on the longer edge to ease it in. When I was new to sewing I used tons of pins, but as I got better, I used tons of control and few pins. Any who...any fullness should press out.

Which is another area: DO NOT skimp on a good pressing iron. Good pressing makes the difference between hand made and home made.

Reply to
Amy Stinson

Heheh...No I did not measure *me* - and I now realize that that was my first mistake. I promise from now on to "measure twice, cut once."

Kate, I'm sorry, you couldn't find it because I had a dyslexic moment...the pattern number is McCalls 2634. I do know that I have to match the seam lines and not the cut edges. This is definitely something I figured out at the start when I realized my cutting skills are not that exact and not very straight.

Yes, this makes sense to me - thank you. Breaking it down into 4 sections makes sense to me and I can deal with that very easily.

Thank you very much Kate!

Reply to
Judy

Still no matches found. Try a copy and paste - I'm dyslexic, I know how that works! :)

That comes with practice. Cut slowly, keep the scissors ON the table, cut to the end of the blade, not in short pecks, and use decent quality scissors, kept sharp, and used ONLY for cutting fabric!

Cutting the pattern out fully and completely before pinning is also good for accurate cutting.

You're welcome. I find this works better than any other method, most of which are bulkier and need to be removed after the seam is sewn, making extra work. remember that longer runs of gather can be broken down into shorter sections. :)

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Is that an older pattern? Still comes up "search results for '2634' No matches found"

Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

Get out that ruffler and a few yards of old sheeting or some other woven scrap with length to it. Start playing with the different settings on the ruffler to see what they do. I think you have the old Singer/Griest type ruffler? It can be set to make teensy pleats, which I think is what you want, and it does them fast and easy. Looks very good, too - not bulky.

In the top picture at you see the "projection" and the "adjusting lever" -- there are 4 slots for the projection. When you lift the lever and move the projection into each slot, you get a different rate of gathering, or tucks instead of gathers.

Once you have done this and found out how fast and easy it is, you must exert great control -- DO NOT PUT RUFFLES ON EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE!!!

Reply to
Pogonip

It's discontinued, try here:

Reply to
Phaedrine

ROTFLMAO!!! Please, Joanne, a little restraint!

Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

Well, I'm not the OP, but I make 0.5- to 1-inch pleats. They look neater and more flat than ruffles of any sort.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

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