[Maggie]

Any tips for good looking gathers. I’m new to making clothing. I have made 2 hopscotch dresses this week. In both dresses, I think the gathers look a bit lumpy. Any tips for making them even?

Also I haven’t gathered the sleeves. It doesn’t seem necessary.

[Nicole]

Maggie,I like to knot my gathering threads once the gathering is the correct width.

This way I can ‘play’ with my gathers until I am happy.

I also gently pull the gathers down whilst sewing,still making sure the raw edges are even at the top.

I just ease my sleeves in too!

~Nicole~

[Tamara]

For the hopscotch top and dress, using knits and depending on the knit fabric you are using, the gathers can become a little bulky. I would suggest making sure you use two lines of gathering and if you want to, three just so that you can get the right consistency of gathers. It makes it interesting too with a smaller seam allowance as with woven fabrics Liesl allows 1/2 inch seams. Knits work a little differently and takes a little bit of practise to get the technique the way you want it.

Keep practising on scraps with the gathers so that you can perfect the look you are going for. Knotting the gathering threads are ideal as Nicole has already said, just pull the threads to line up (you can do this for sleeve too) and when the length is right, knot at both ends and fiddle with the gathers to get a nice result. I don’t pull the gathers down as I’m working but I do make sure they are sitting nicely before I get to them and this just means stopping before this point and aligning the fabric so that it is straight down – how it is meant to be.

Hope this helps

Tamara

[Maggie]

Thanks! Knotting the threads would probably help. I used on heavy double knit and one thinner knit. I’ll try a few practice runs. They look okay as I’m pinning, but once they are sewn down i see the lumps.

[with love Heidi]

Have you tried the top/dress on. i noticed that my gathers were not sitting as I would like them to but I thought they might look better when on. I haven’t seen the only one I’ve finished on as I sent it to the other side of the country!

[Robin]

Argh gathers!!! I find if my basting stitch is too long i can get some funky looking gathers.

[cybele727]

OOH I like the knotting the thread idea to keep them from moving/expanding past the designated seam length.

One of the things I do when I have gathers is that I pin the garment at the center and the ends of the seam. This allows me to adjust, but maintain the center, so my gathers are more or less even of the center spot.

Jenny

[EllaJaneSews]

I knot and play with the gathers until they look right also. Then I iron the gathers so that they shift less while I am pinning and basting.

[Tamara]

Yes the length of the thread plays a really important part in how your gathers look. Too loose (long) and they can be disasterous and too tight (short) you don’t get gathers at all. I like to strike with the happy medium of 3.5mm stitch length and maybe a 3.6 but any less or more and the result is poor. Every machine differs so you need to have a play to see how your machine goes and find the right length for you. Then write it down to refer to or if you can, put it as a memory stitch and that way you can automatically refer to it without hassle.

Hope this helps

Tamara