Delurking...

Hello All,
It's been 2 months of reading your wonderful and knowledgeable posts to get
up the nerve to actually sew something...anything. I just had to finally
dust off and use the Pfaff 1122 sewing machine that my mom gave me for
Christmas.

And now I have - 2 projects under my belt. First, a simple tunic(McCalls
4968) made from georgette, which I didn't know to measure the pattern
before cutting & so had to give it to my sister because it was too big for
me. Second, a straight skirt(McCalls 2364) made from raw silk with a
flounce at the bottom. I am pleased with the skirt, except for a small
pucker on the waist from where I couldn't get the pieces to match up and
the hem on the flounce - folding fabric cut on the bias is not easy.

I am now halfway through my next project - the same skirt but with a ruffle
at the bottom.

Here is my question to all of you talented people...
How do you make the ruffles even? After the flounce, I thought, "Ruffles,
no problem!" However, now that I'm doing it, I can't make the gathers even
AND make it fit around the bottom of the skirt. What are your secrets?

Thank you!
Judy

Judy wrote:

Hello All,
It's been 2 months of reading your wonderful and knowledgeable posts to get
up the nerve to actually sew something...anything. I just had to finally
dust off and use the Pfaff 1122 sewing machine that my mom gave me for
Christmas.

And now I have - 2 projects under my belt. First, a simple tunic(McCalls
4968) made from georgette, which I didn't know to measure the pattern
before cutting & so had to give it to my sister because it was too big for
me.

Did you measure *you* and cut out the size that related to your
measurements? Pattern pieces are the measurement size plus wearing
ease. Tunics like that ate usually 'loose fitting', so with 4"-6" ease
in addition to the body measurement.

Second, a straight skirt(McCalls 2364) made from raw silk with a
flounce at the bottom. I am pleased with the skirt, except for a small
pucker on the waist from where I couldn't get the pieces to match up and
the hem on the flounce - folding fabric cut on the bias is not easy.

I can't find that pattern at all: it tells me 'no matches found'. When
matching things up, remember that it's the SEAM LINE that needs to match
up, NOT the cut edges!

For your gathered frill, sew with TWO lines of stitching, about 1/4"
apart, just inside the seam line, and gather up both lots of thread...
Divide the UNGATHERED frill length into four equal sections, and pin at
these pints to the side seams and centre front and back: gather up to
fit, and then tease the gathers out so they are even before pinning in
place to sew.



I am now halfway through my next project - the same skirt but with a ruffle
at the bottom.

Here is my question to all of you talented people...
How do you make the ruffles even? After the flounce, I thought, "Ruffles,
no problem!" However, now that I'm doing it, I can't make the gathers even
AND make it fit around the bottom of the skirt. What are your secrets?

Thank you!
Judy


--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Judy wrote:

Here is my question to all of you talented people...
How do you make the ruffles even? After the flounce, I thought, "Ruffles,
no problem!" However, now that I'm doing it, I can't make the gathers even
AND make it fit around the bottom of the skirt. What are your secrets?


The only ways I know are either to use a ruffler attachment or else (and
I haven't tried this but know of many places where it's recommended) to
zig-zag over elastic thread and then pull the elastic thread to make it
gather evenly.

Personally, I look better with small tucks instead of gathers, so I've
given them up.

Kate Dicey wrote:

Did you measure *you* and cut out the size that related to your
measurements? Pattern pieces are the measurement size plus wearing
ease. Tunics like that ate usually 'loose fitting', so with 4"-6" ease
in addition to the body measurement.

Heheh...No I did not measure *me* - and I now realize that that was my first
mistake. I promise from now on to "measure twice, cut once."

Second, a straight skirt(McCalls 2364) made from raw silk with a
flounce at the bottom. I am pleased with the skirt, except for a small
pucker on the waist from where I couldn't get the pieces to match up and
the hem on the flounce - folding fabric cut on the bias is not easy.

I can't find that pattern at all: it tells me 'no matches found'. When
matching things up, remember that it's the SEAM LINE that needs to match
up, NOT the cut edges!

Kate, I'm sorry, you couldn't find it because I had a dyslexic moment...the
pattern number is McCalls 2634.
I do know that I have to match the seam lines and not the cut edges. This
is definitely something I figured out at the start when I realized my
cutting skills are not that exact and not very straight.

For your gathered frill, sew with TWO lines of stitching, about 1/4"
apart, just inside the seam line, and gather up both lots of thread...
Divide the UNGATHERED frill length into four equal sections, and pin at
these pints to the side seams and centre front and back: gather up to
fit, and then tease the gathers out so they are even before pinning in
place to sew.

Yes, this makes sense to me - thank you. Breaking it down into 4 sections
makes sense to me and I can deal with that very easily.

Thank you very much Kate!

Judy wrote:

Kate Dicey wrote:


Did you measure *you* and cut out the size that related to your
measurements? Pattern pieces are the measurement size plus wearing
ease. Tunics like that ate usually 'loose fitting', so with 4"-6" ease
in addition to the body measurement.


Heheh...No I did not measure *me* - and I now realize that that was my first
mistake. I promise from now on to "measure twice, cut once."


Second, a straight skirt(McCalls 2364) made from raw silk with a
flounce at the bottom. I am pleased with the skirt, except for a small
pucker on the waist from where I couldn't get the pieces to match up and
the hem on the flounce - folding fabric cut on the bias is not easy.

I can't find that pattern at all: it tells me 'no matches found'. When
matching things up, remember that it's the SEAM LINE that needs to match
up, NOT the cut edges!


Kate, I'm sorry, you couldn't find it because I had a dyslexic moment...the
pattern number is McCalls 2634.

Still no matches found. Try a copy and paste - I'm dyslexic, I know how
that works!

I do know that I have to match the seam lines and not the cut edges. This
is definitely something I figured out at the start when I realized my
cutting skills are not that exact and not very straight.

That comes with practice. Cut slowly, keep the scissors ON the table,
cut to the end of the blade, not in short pecks, and use decent quality
scissors, kept sharp, and used ONLY for cutting fabric!

Cutting the pattern out fully and completely before pinning is also good
for accurate cutting.

For your gathered frill, sew with TWO lines of stitching, about 1/4"
apart, just inside the seam line, and gather up both lots of thread...
Divide the UNGATHERED frill length into four equal sections, and pin at
these points to the side seams and centre front and back: gather up to
fit, and then tease the gathers out so they are even before pinning in
place to sew.


Yes, this makes sense to me - thank you. Breaking it down into 4 sections
makes sense to me and I can deal with that very easily.

Thank you very much Kate!

You're welcome. I find this works better than any other method, most of
which are bulkier and need to be removed after the seam is sewn, making
extra work. remember that longer runs of gather can be broken down into
shorter sections.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"Judy" wrote in message
.. .

Kate, I'm sorry, you couldn't find it because I had a dyslexic
moment...the
pattern number is McCalls 2634.

Is that an older pattern? Still comes up "search results for '2634'
No matches found"

Beverly

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to send wrote:
Judy wrote:


Here is my question to all of you talented people...
How do you make the ruffles even? After the flounce, I thought,
"Ruffles,
no problem!" However, now that I'm doing it, I can't make the gathers
even
AND make it fit around the bottom of the skirt. What are your secrets?



The only ways I know are either to use a ruffler attachment or else (and
I haven't tried this but know of many places where it's recommended) to
zig-zag over elastic thread and then pull the elastic thread to make it
gather evenly.

Personally, I look better with small tucks instead of gathers, so I've
given them up.

Get out that ruffler and a few yards of old sheeting or some other woven
scrap with length to it. Start playing with the different settings on
the ruffler to see what they do. I think you have the old Singer/Griest
type ruffler? It can be set to make teensy pleats, which I think is
what you want, and it does them fast and easy. Looks very good, too -
not bulky.

In the top picture at
http://www.sewitgoes.net/smuse/attachments/ruffler/sngruf.html you see
the "projection" and the "adjusting lever" -- there are 4 slots for the
projection. When you lift the lever and move the projection into each
slot, you get a different rate of gathering, or tucks instead of gathers.

Once you have done this and found out how fast and easy it is, you must
exert great control -- DO NOT PUT RUFFLES ON EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE!!!
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.alternate-universe
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
http://stores.ebay.com/Sound-FuryRecords

In article ,
"BEI Design" wrote:

"Judy" wrote in message
.. .

Kate, I'm sorry, you couldn't find it because I had a dyslexic
moment...the
pattern number is McCalls 2634.

Is that an older pattern? Still comes up "search results for '2634'
No matches found"

Beverly

It's discontinued, try he

http://www.northbreeze.com/Patterns/...ternsPage2.htm


--
I fear me you but warm the starved snake,
Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your hearts. (Henry VI, Shakespeare)

"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
Get out that ruffler and a few yards of old sheeting or some other
woven scrap with length to it. Start playing with the different
settings on the ruffler to see what they do. I think you have the
old Singer/Griest
snip
Once you have done this and found out how fast and easy it is, you
must exert great control -- DO NOT PUT RUFFLES ON EVERYTHING IN YOUR
HOUSE!!!

ROTFLMAO!!! Please, Joanne, a little restraint!

Beverly

Pogonip wrote:

Get out that ruffler and a few yards of old sheeting or some other woven
scrap with length to it. Start playing with the different settings on
the ruffler to see what they do. I think you have the old Singer/Griest
type ruffler? It can be set to make teensy pleats, which I think is
what you want, and it does them fast and easy. Looks very good, too -
not bulky.


Well, I'm not the OP, but I make 0.5- to 1-inch pleats. They look
neater and more flat than ruffles of any sort.