Gathering on a Serger
To speed up gathering on a sewing project, I simply change the settings on my Janome 1100D Professional Serger to produce any required gathering. This project called for it on the skirt top, so in place of having to baste and gather on a regular sewing machine, I used this technique. The settings vary based on how much gathering you wish to produce and also what type of fabric you are working with. Here is a handy guide that you can use as a place to start with your specific machine and fabric, and I highly recommend writing down the different combinations for future project use!
Once running the skirt fabric through the serger to get the ruffles, I simply attached the bodice to the skirt again using my serger and voila!
Here is the finished dress, all completed on the serger and cover stitch machine (for bottom hem) without needing to use my regular sewing machine once!
Skirt Fabric: White Anchor Hearts on Navy Blue Cotton Jersey Knit Fabric
Bodice Fabric: True Red Solid Cotton Spandex Knit Fabric
~ Heather & The Girl Charlee Team
How do you figure out how much ruffle to add to get it to fit the bodice.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! I usually lay out the cut pattern pieces and determine how many inches I will need to gather the piece for it to fit and then adjust the serger settings for tighter or looser depending on what I need. With a small scrap piece, measure the length, then run it through your serger with the gathered settings, and measure the gathered length. Calculate how much your sample was gathered by subtracting the gathered length from the beginning length, and then compare that to the total length of your pattern piece and how much you need to gather it to determine whether the settings need to be looser or tighter. Hope that makes sense :)
Delete~ Nicole of The Girl Charlee Team