[Anonymous]

I’m working on the fairy tale dress now and am completely confused about the instructions for the gathering stitches for the skirt and sleeves. The pattern calls for two rows – one at 3/8 and one at 5/8″. But then the seam allowance used to sew the skirt to the bodice and the sleeves to the bodice is 1/2″. So the gathering stitches at 5/8″ show through. What am I doing wrong? I’ve read and re-read the pattern and I can’t figure it out. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Mel]

you’re reading it right! The gathering stitches are at 3/8 and 5/8 and then you sew in between them at your normal 1/2 seam allowance and then remove the visible gathering stitches after sewing the seam. Doing it this way gives you nice even gathers. Good luck with the rest 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replay! That’s how I read the instructions – the problem is that when I pull out the gathering stitches, the little needle punctures in the fabric remain. Is this technique meant for delicate fabrics. (I am using Liberty). How do you avoid this?

[sayiamyou]

When I sew a fine fabric like voile or lawn, I won’t use the 5/8″ gathering stitch in order to avoid the punctures. 1/4″ and 3/4″ usually works just fine for me.

[Nicole]

@sayiamyou, yes, I do too.