How to Sew a Ruffle Detail
Aurora SisnerosDescription
Aurora Sisneros introduces you to a new and simpler sewing method for adding ruffle detail to your projects. Go through each step with Aurora and find out the tricks for making your ruffle details with crochet thread. It is time for you to start incorporating ruffles into your sewing projects while utilizing these helpful tips and techniques!
I love to add little bit of a ruffled detail to the bottom of a little girl's skirt or pinafore or dress. They're really adorable. But ruffles can be tricky to do. So normally, when you are making a ruffle, you're going to do a little stitch like this, called a basting stitch. It's the widest stitch length that you have on your machine and you don't do a backstitch. Then, you find the bobbin thread and you pull and see how it starts to gather? This is how you do a cute little gather. But you can see what a hard time I'm having doing this on these little threads. And sometimes if you pull too hard, you break them. So there's another method of doing a ruffle and it just involves a little bit of crochet thread. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take that crochet thread. And I am just going to zigzag stitch right over the top of it, all the way down the piece that I would like to gather. Once you're finished with your zigzag stitch, and you pull it out. You can see how there is a really nice zigzag right over the crochet thread. And then all you need to do is simply pull on the crochet thread on one end and spread the gathers out all the way down your piece from both ends. And just like that, you have a very easy gathered ruffle.
Britta Erickson has the best method of making a ruffle that is easy to sew on: Make 2 lines of large length stitches about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart. Pull on both bobbin threads together to gather the material to a flat, gathered area between the 2 stitches. You will now have a "highway" of gathered fabric which is very easy to stitch to another piece. While the single line of gathering is easy to do, it is quite difficult to attach to another piece without ending up with tucks, bunches, and an uneven length of the ruffle. Mainly because, as you can see in the video, the fabric is bunched and tucked on both sides of the gather with no flattish area on which to sew.
There is an easier way to gather the fabric. First increase your stitch length - I generally increase it to 4mm or 5mm.- Sew 2 lines of stitching (about 2mm apart) within the seam allowance on the "right" side of the fabric and when completed, pull the threads of both lines together from the wrong side of the fabric. Voila! You have gathers.
Your ideas are great - I think after reading the comments, just adding a little bit more to the explanations would help beginners. Just a suggestion because I think its a great site and reasonable - keep up the good work. For example, talk a little bit about the crochet thread and where you can find it. I know because i'm almost 70 and been sewing for a long time, but I love to see younger women loving the needle crafts. Just wonderful.
Better, if you want the ruffled fabric to lie flat so it will be easy to sew onto something, is to sew two lines of stitches. So using this method I suppose you would sew two lines of zigzags over crochet thread.
I am thoroughly confused ,is thecrochet thread used as a top or bobbin thread and are you picking up the crochet thread top or bottom or the original thread?
the crochet thread shown in this article is found in the craft dept. in most stores in the yarn area. It is a thinner yarn, almost like string. Aunt Lydias brand is very good. It is size 10. You'll find that on the package and it is on a cardboard spool as shown up above.
What is crochet thread?