New Gathering Foot

There are settings on the foot.....if you want a gather for each stitch you set it on 1......for every 6 stitches, set it on 6 and so forth. Also.......shortening or lenghthening the stitch will effect the gather. As far as I know, it is not a question of tension.........

Brenda,

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Gathering approximately every eighth inch is about the best a gathering foot will do, if I remember correctly (I haven't used mine in recent years, since DGDs were little). As you've discovered, tension and stitch length are the controlling factors. The foot is a great timesaver when you have lots of ruffles to do, but results won't look quite the same as gathering by pulling the threads of double or triple lines of stitching.

Doreen in Alabama

Pat,

I believe what you're explaining is the ruffling foot. If what Brenda is using is a gathering foot, it doesn't have the options you mention.

Doreen in Alabama

Try to get someone to demonstrate a ruffler before you invest in one. Ruffling feet (that I'm familiar with) gather fabric by making repeated tiny pleats, or tucks. Very helpful for certain home dec projects, such as bedskirts or ruffled curtains, but it seems to me a ruffler has limited usefulness in clothing construction unless you make a lot of costumes, ballgown underpinnings, or garments of that nature.

Doreen in Alabama

If you have a older sewing machine sometimes you can get the feet on ebay cheap. I've seen box sets on ebay. And have won some myself. And I've seen the gathering feet too.