Is there a way to gather for a ruffle using machine or serger without pulling the thread?
Dana :)
Is there a way to gather for a ruffle using machine or serger without pulling the thread?
Dana :)
Yes, if you buy a gathering foot or a ruffler foot.
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.
Are they generic or do I need to buy one for my machine specifically?
Dana :)
Yes. There are shirring/gathering feet available for most machines, either 'own brand' or generic, and there are gathering feet available for most sergers. There are also rufflers available for most sewing machines. These make small tucks or pleats at regular intervals you set on the foot.
Depends on how much gather you want. On a serger, try setting the differential feed all the way to "gather" and see if that's enough for you. If not, it's only a couple minutes work to run a tapestry needle threaded with something strongish through the serger stitches and gather it a bit more.
On a sewing machine, try just setting it for a long, straight stitch. Now park your left thumb firmly behind the presser foot and start stitching, letting the fabric pile up against your thumb. When it gets too thick, let loose, park your thumb again and continue. (This is called "crimping" or "ease plus stitching" and is a handy way to prepare a set-in sleeve cap, among other uses.)
If you don't mind a little thread pulling, and your machine will take a double needle, thread up for a double needle straight stitch. Lay a strong thread under the center of the presser foot, back to front of the machine, and lay the fabric over the top. Stitch, keeping the strong thread centered. You'll get two lines of straight stitching on top, zigzag on the back, and the stronger thread under the zigzag stitches. Pull it to gather.
Or you can zigzag over a strong thread or cord (a multi-hole cord foot makes this very easy). Pull the cord to gather.
Or you can straight stitch with a long stitch length and elastic thread wound on the bobbin by hand.
Me, if it'll possibly work for my project, I'll use either the serger differential or crimping -- mostly depending on what machine I've got in front of me.
There are also rufflers and gathering feet available -- have never felt the need to own either.
Kay
Try looking at
Sharon
There are also rufflers available for most sewing
Hmm, that goes down as one of my 'back of the kitchen cupboard' buys, like the mandolin (I much prefer my super sharp knives), and the gas-pressured cream dispenser (fine until you got towards the end of the cream, when it squirted out all in all directions)......
I tried the ruffler several times, using a variety of materials, fiddling with all the adjustments, but it just didn't work successfully. The ruffles always come out very unevenly spaced.
Any other nominations for BotKC gadgets?
Electric cheese grater, received as a gift, never really got the hang of it. At least with a traditional grater I can only blame myself for grated knuckles.
Lizzy
"Rice Steamers"! What were they thinking???
e:
Thank you all sooooo much. I have pasted and copied everything onto a printout to hang by my machine.
Congratulations! ;-)
MY DH was a gadget freak, he gave it to me several years ago. I found it somewhat useful for steaming asparagus, but I use a pot and the stove for steaming rice, works just fine. And it doesn't have all the fiddly bits to be cleaned up after....
My DD now owns the "rice steamer". And I gave the "Super Dooper Electric Meat Slicer" to the Goodwill. Along with the "Fry Baby"....
This is funny. I have had nothing but success with my old Singer rufflers - it's almost like watching a magician. Really amazing. I also have a rice cooker that I like very much. I have had another that didn't do such a good job. I got the rice cooker before I got my Anolon cookware, though, and it was such a treat to have the rice come out right every time. With the Anolon stuff, it does, too, but it has no timer. ;-)
A favorite, currently, is another Aroma product (the people who made the rice cooker I like) - it's their "Super Pot"
Between that and my new Cuisinart toaster/convection oven, I hardly need the stove anymore.
Worst buy? Some years ago I got a Rival "Cut Above" which is a sort of blender-mixer that attached to the bottom of the upper cabinet and had containers that fit. It rattled the whole kitchen. I've also got an unused, still in the box, Melitta coffee roaster. Yeah. I'm really gonna do that when my grocery has Peet's and Starbucks on the shelf.
For the record, I do not own or work for Singer, Aroma or Cuisinart, nor am I a stockholder in any of those companies.
And a bugger to clean!
All three of mine work perfectly. You do need to remember that they are for light weight fabrics.
Elastic foot. Bought years ago and never used...
//snipped//
Uh, duh, and last night I also forgot to mention the sort of ruffles that don't need gathering, semi-circular. These are segments of a circle, sewn together. Because the outside edge is larger than the inside, you get fullness without any bulk where the ruffle joins the main body of the garment.
They do look different and hang differently from gathered-on-the-straight- of-grain ruffles.
Some photos of some used on sleeves:
Kay
You can also adjust the tension so the cloth will gather as you sew. You can do this with both the SM and the serger. Just practice first with scraps. Barbara in Central FL Land of the Killer tornadoes
Dana, you will get the best results with a ruffler foot, imho. They do look intimidating at first, but if you set yourself up with a metre of scrap fabric and test, test and test again, you will become more familiar with the ruffler.
Make sure you keep it lightly oiled on the moving parts, because if these become dry the ruffles/pleats will become uneven. There is lots of adjustment with this foot, as it actions on the first, sixth and twelfth stitch, so by selecting a longer stitch you get tight pleats or more open ones.
I prefer to use the ruffler foot than drawing up threads or adjusting tensions as I find these don't get the same effect and definitely not as even. Actually I have three ruffler feet....one for each machine and one spare because the small spring steel part that activates the cam has broken a couple of times and as usual, it's been when I've had to meet a deadline.
H> Dana Compt>
Oh yes everyone has been helpful!!! TY ALL so very very much.
Last question on this one, does the brand of "feet" matter? Are some better than others?
Dana (who is very grateful for the help)
We-ell, our rice steamer is a part of the steamer, and we'd not be without the steamer for vegetables. Used the rice cooker bit once, just to see if it cooked the rice any differently, but it's saucepan for us for rice....
The brand that is best for your machine is the one made by the same company for that machine: that way the 'footprint' of the machine will match the feed dogs of the machine and feed the fabric correctly. I have two 'generic' walking feet for my low shank machines, and one Husqvarna one for the Lily. I prefer the Husqvarna one and use it whenever I can as it is much sturdier. Next comes the Allbrands one: it was £18 (rather than the £40 of the HV!), and it's much better than the 'Singer Fit' unbranded one, but I have to choose whichever of these fits the machine I'm using best!
One thing to remember with all these gadgets like walking feet and rufflers (all my rufflers are either Husqvarna or old 'Semanco' Singer made ones for cast iron era machines) is that you must go slowly! No hammering down the back straight as if you were Formula 1 sewing! And use the rufflers on LIGHT WEIGHT FABRICS! They were not built for anything heavier than quilting cotton! They also work better on crisp cottons and silks rather than soft drapy fluid things like knits and liquid satins.
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