This article was co-authored by Lois Wade. Lois Wade has 45 years of experience in crafts including sewing, crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, drawing, and paper crafts. She has been contributing to craft articles on wikiHow since 2007.
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Many articles of clothing that you sew call for ruffles. There might be ruffles on the sleeves, on a men's dress shirt, or, most commonly, on a long tiered skirt. In order to stitch fabric so that it creates ruffles, it's necessary to gather the edge to create ruffles and have it ease evenly and smoothly into any area of the garment that calls for ruffles. This is not as easy as it sounds, because gathering them evenly can many times be difficult and time consuming. But with this guide, you'll be able to make perfect ruffles to liven up any garment!
Steps
By Hand
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1Thread a needle with a thread that is at least one foot longer than the length you need to gather down to. For example, if you need to gather a length of ribbon to 8 inches (20.3 cm) long, you will need at least 20 inches (50.8 cm) of thread. Tie a knot on the end of your thread.
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2Hold thread firmly and gently slide cloth along the thread to gather it. Sew 3-4mm (1/4 inch) running stitches along the edge to be gathered. Pull gently to slide your material in small waves/folds toward the knotted end of your thread as you sew the running stitch. When all of your material has been "gathered" to the length you want, tie off your thread securely.
By Machine
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1Adjust stitch length to its longest setting. Usually 6mm will be good. Lengthen your machine stitch to its longest setting.
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2Slightly loosen your tension on the top thread (the one going through the needle).
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3Sew two lines/seams close to the edge of your fabric.
- Take care to sew parallel lines that they do not cross each other. Leave long threads on each end of the seam.
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4
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5Pull bottom (bobbin) thread while gently sliding fabric along it to form waves/folds. Gently pull the bottom (bobbin) threads from the other end and carefully slide the cloth along the threads toward your knot, forming small waves/folds. When your cloth has been "gathered" to the needed length, knot the gathering ends securely with each other.
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6Make your gathering even by gently sliding "bunched" areas apart and toward smoother areas of your parallel threads.
Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do you calculate the length of fabric to be gathered?
Community AnswerThis will vary from fabric to fabric but roughly, you'd need 2.5 times the finished length. So, if you needed one foot of ruffle, you would use 2.5 feet of fabric. -
QuestionHow do you sew multiple ruffles on a long sleeve?
Community AnswerStart with the lowest ruffle down. Sew it. Then sew the next one above it and work your way up the sleeve. -
QuestionHow do I make a ruffle that is 10 feet long?Community AnswerUse 25 feet of fabric and follow the above steps.
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