| Gathering is the sewing technique used for | | | | material. |
| many applications in different sewing | | | | |
| projects. Ruffles are an example of gathered | | | | - Evenly distribute the gathering, and finish |
| fabric, as are puffy sleeve caps. Gathering | | | | sewing your seam according to directions. |
| is accomplished by first applying long | | | | |
| stitches, called basting, and gently pulling | | | | For very thin or slippery fabrics, you may |
| up on the threads to gather the fabric. | | | | need to use a slightly smaller stitch length |
| | | | to keep your stitches smooth. Always mark |
| - To machine baste, set your sewing machine | | | | your patterns, as you will need to line up |
| to its longest available stitch length. | | | | the gathered area with particular areas of |
| | | | another piece of your garment. If you don't |
| - Stitch this basting stitch along where your | | | | have it marked, you won't know where to match |
| seam line will be, on most commercial | | | | up the pieces. |
| patterns 5/8 inch from the fabric edge. | | | | |
| | | | When you're gathering a small area, you can |
| - Stitch again 1/4 of an inch inside the seam | | | | wrap one end of the thread around a pin to |
| allowance. | | | | keep it anchored in place and prevent the |
| | | | thread from being pulled totally out of your |
| - Two lines of stitching will keep your | | | | sewing piece. |
| gathering more even, and hold your gather in | | | | |
| case one thread breaks. This is especially | | | | Machine gathering is a technique that you'll |
| important on long gathering lengths such as | | | | use in many sewing patterns. Practice it a |
| waistline areas. | | | | few times on fabric scraps until you're |
| | | | comfortable with the technique, and you're on |
| - Gently pull up on one thread to gather the | | | | your way to more successful sewing projects. |