Ruffles
Oh, my, I have been visiting the other blogs to see what everyone has RUFFLED up! So many wonderful ideas and projects. I want to start making some of everything! I must thank Amy and Madame Samm for gathering so many of us to ruffle our way into this blog hop. I thought it sounded like a great blog hop. I wanted to see what I could come up with. Also, I wanted to share some ruffling tips with others. I have learned more tips from others, too.
A few tips to share
1) When sewing stitches for gathering, lessen the top tension on the machine. Use a thread that is a bit heavier in the bobbin, like hand quilting thread, #30 or # 40 weight, (even dental floss if the fabric is thick). Use two colors of threads to know which is the bobbin to pull. Anchor the top thread at each end and pull the bobbin thread to form the ruffles. I do this by placing a straight pin at each end and winding the top thread in a figure 8 style around the ends of the pin. Since the bobbin thread is not pulled up into, or close to the fabric, it pulls very easily. Tie the ends or secure in the straight pins.
2) For very nice ruffles such as on a dress or pillow, sew 2 rows of gathering stitches, one a bit less than the seam allowance and the other 1/8" away from those stitches on the raw edge side of the ruffle. Follow the same steps as in #1 above, but pull both threads as if they were one.
3) After gathering the ruffle the length needed, sew a smaller stitch 2.5-3.0 at a regular tension setting to hold the ruffles in place so they don't move as you pin or sew.
4) If you are making long lengths of ruffles, sew the gathering threads in smaller sections such as 22". Leave long thread tails at the start and finish of the smaller sections. Secure every other set of thread ends in pins or tie them. Pull the loose ends of each small section to form the ruffles and then secure when they are the length needed. This helps because you are not pulling yards of thread through yards of ruffles and reduces the possibility of breakage.
My Project!
So what did I come up with? A Christmas decoration! (Why not start early?)
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| 9" tall Christmas tree.
I have lots of fabric. I had a styrofoam cone (base 4", height 9"). I
measured around the cone to estimate the length of ruffle needed.
I started cutting 3" x WOF strips and got 7 from my fabric. I cut the
fabric ends at 45 degree angles and sewed the strips together,
end to end.
I folded and pressed the fabric strip in half lengthwise with the right
side out. I folded the starting end inside to hide the raw edge.
I sewed gathering stitches as described above and sectioned them
off about every 22".
 
I gathered the entire length of the strip section by section. Pulling that
loose bobbin thread.
When completed, I sewed a smaller seam to hold
all the gathers together.
I began wrapping at the base, pinning with T-Pins.
I angled up a bit when I came to where I started.
I spiralled around the cone up to the top.
I cut the extra length of ruffles, leaving about 1 1/2" to tuck inside the end
to hide the raw edge of the end.
I made a circle cap (and it really looks like a hat on top) to cover the
end of the styrofoam. I sewed two circles together, cut a slit in the
center to turn it right side out. Pressed the edges.
I pinned around it to keep it in place and tied a bow
to cover the pins. I will probably think of something else later, but for now, it works.
I thought it might be fun to sew some rick-rack or beads on the folded edge
of the ruffle for decorations. I might try making the ruffles wider at the bottom
and narrower as they go up.
Visit the other Think Ruffle bloggers today:
March 12th
And don't forget there are 2 more days of ruffles at these blogs:
March 13th
March 14th
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