How to Make Ruffles

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Does that zoom look too dull? Why not give it ruffles?

Ruffles are a great way to give hems a cheap but nice upgrade. And with a little practice, they are quick and easy to make.

The best aspect of ruffles is their ability to embellish any hem as they are a versatile ornament. which you can see on different garments.

From 18^th Century suits to children’s dresses, to your favorite skirt, the ruffle is a reliable and fun technique for any seamstress.

As such, let’s look at the ruffles you can choose from and how you can add them to your clothing or craft project.

Table Of Contents

What are ruffles?
Types of ruffles
Add ruffles
- Traditional Methods
- Sewing Machine
Attaching ruffles to a flat piece of fabric
Practicing ruffles

What are ruffles?

We’ve all seven ruffles, and most of us have probably worn one. Ruffles are pieces of fabric gathered evenly on one edge. Although simple enough to look at, ruffles are often problematic for beginner seamstresses, mainly because of the difficulty of getting full, even folds of fabric to lie properly.

To make good, firm ruffles. It’s best to approach it with a tried-and-true technique.

There are a few ways to create ruffles from which to choose, depending on the type you want and the materials, time and sewing experience you have.

Types of ruffles

SewGuide categorizes ruffles into six types, based on their placement.

It is important to pay attention to the style of the ruffles you want to make, as this will ensure that you can use the widths and hemlines you need for your fabric.

Single Edge Ruffles

This is the most common type of ruffles, and what people usually imagine when they see the decoration.

This ruffle by gathering a strip of fabric along one edge with a basting stitch. They to a flat piece of fabric and used along hemlines.

Double edge ruffles

Double edge ruffle fringe ruffles with a single strip of fabric gathered by a (sometimes two) basting stitch in the center.

This results in ruffles on both sides of the fabric. I often use them as embellishments, usually used to hide hemlines.

Double with ruffles

These like the double edge ruffles, but with two strips of fabric.

You can fold the same strip of fabric, or use two different fabrics, or use the same fabric or different lengths.

With this style you can create interesting designs by changing the pattern or type of fabric.

Waterfall ruffles

Waterfall ruffles as one edge ruffles, only you gather a stretchy thread along the seam of the fabric.

This type is most commonly seen in off-shoulder dresses or any type of hem that uses elastic at the seams.

Circular ruffle

A round ruffle as a decoration or accessory. They by making a circular strip of fabric and gathering it in the middle.

For the specific steps for making a circular ruffle, see the tutorial here.

Cascading ruffles ]

Cascading ruffles are typically a decoration of necklines, just like the back of dresses. This type of ruffle by adjusting a circular ruffle to fall along the hem of a neckline.

It on a wide piece of fabric, so that to provide that cascading effect.

Add ruffles

While you may hope to add ruffles to all your clothes seamstresses will find it more difficult than expected.

Often, those who make their first ruffles discover they are uneven, tied to part of the fabric, or are prone to unraveling. Beginners end up with sore hands and wrinkled fabric.

If you want to make ruffles, what are your options? There are two methods you can approach: you can use a sewing machine to make ruffles, with or without special accessories.

You can also make ruffles by hand. We’ll discuss both options and the different ways you can use both to customize your designs.

Traditional Methods

Sometimes you have to go traditional when sewing ruffles, because you don’t have a sewing machine or because the fabric of your choice isn’t suitable for a machine.

While you there are special ways to get quality, even pleats, it’s still wise to learn how to make ruffles without extra tools – if only to better understand what it takes to make excellent, clean pleats.

What is the usual way to make ruffles? The easiest method is to sew a basting stitch about an inch from the edge of your fabric.

Make sure you have long tails on both ends of the stitch leave and then pull on one end of the thread to create pleats in your fabric.

This method can be messy, especially for beginners, as there is a risk of accidents. To reduce this, there are a few variations on the traditional basting stitch method, where you need to make sure the stitches hold tight while pulling the edges.

The best variation is to make two basting stitches. I made this second basting stitch ¼ inch below the first and creates more even pleats by acting as a support for the first basting stitch.

his video shows an example of how to do cascading. can sew ruffles.

Sewing Machine

Sewing machines are a brilliant investment for hobbyists and helps make your projects faster and more accurate.

There are many accessories you can choose to customize your sewing machine. For those learning to make ruffles, there are two specific ones that you will use: Gathering Foot and Ruffled Foot.

gathering foot

The Gathering Foot allows you to lay material flat under the foot and then develop the crease. The fullness of the pleats depends on two settings: tension and stitch length.

As a rule of thumb, higher needle tension and longer stitch length will make your pleats larger. Using a longer stitch length with low needle tension will give you large pleats, but with less fullness or bounce.

For extremely large pleats, adjust both the needle tension and stitch length at their highest settings. To add more body to your pleats, you can manually wind the fabric by gently pulling on the upper threads.

However, these settings depend on the fabric you have chosen. Gathering feet work with finer, softer fabrics such as cloth and acrylic, as well as thicker fabrics such as knit and wool.

It is always wise to run, regardless of the fabric. a test on the material you have chosen the extent to which your fabric will wrinkle

. Even if you have used a similar type of fabric before, each type of fabric may behave differently when collected. To test it, simply cut a strip of material at least 12 inches (30 cm) long.

You may need to do a few tests with varying degrees of needle tension and stitch length to get the effect you want.

For an overview of how to gather fabric with the gathering foot, go to this guide here.

Ruffler Foot

While the gathering foot uses needle tension and stitch length, the ruffle foot gathers the fabric. One section of the presser foot will sew, while another will tuck the fabric into any set number of stitches.

You can adjust how many stitches the ruffle has to wait before pleating; your foot probably has four settings.

The first setting, showed by a star, means there are no pleats at all – the ruffler foot just creates a normal basting stitch.

The second setting, showed by the number 12, makes a pleat every 12 stitches. The third setting, number six, pleats every six stitches. The last setting, numbered one, pleats after each stitch.

Like the gathering foot, the length of your pleats also affected the fullness of your pleats. stitch. A longer stitch length creates a greater pleat, but with less bounce.

Although this type of sewing machine accessory can handle thicker pieces of fabric, the ruffle is only best used with lightweight fabrics. The accessory solves problems such as gathering tulle and other such fabrics.

For a guide to using the ruffle foot, see this guide.

Which Choose

The major difference between the two feet is how they create folds.

The pleated foot does this in the traditional way, with using needle tension, and can therefore manually if you feel it is not performing to your liking.

On the other hand, the ruffling gives you more options in terms of personalization.

While you may think the ruffles are your first choice, keep in mind that this is not the best sewing accessory to use on thicker fabrics. If you have chosen knit or wool, it is best to use the gathering foot.

In addition, your choice can also by the machine you own. Newer models are usually compatible with both feet, but you still need this from verify beforehand, otherwise you risk getting stuck with an accessory and a planned method that you can’t use.

Sewing without special feet

Sometimes a gathering foot or a pleated foot is just too picky, and you end up with the same problems that come with sewing. developing ruffles by hand.

Your sewing machine may also not be compatible with a ruffle or ruffle foot. If this is the case, you can still work on your sewing machine without using these special feet.

This method from the Seasoned housewife uses a basting stitch and two different colored threads; therefore it is a great way to sew ruffles without special feet.

Set the needle length to the longest setting. This will give you more room to pile up your fabric later.
Place colored thread in the bobbin. This will be your gathering stitch. Place a thread of a different color in the needle. The bobbin thread out later, meaning you can make it any color you want without worrying about it affecting your final product.
Make a basting stitch along the length of the fabric. When you reach the edge, turn your fabric to the right and make one stitch. If you plan to attach your ruffle to another flat piece of fabric, you may need to increase it to two stitches.
Turn your fabric right again and make another basting stitch, parallel to the first. After this you will get a rectangle with one edge open.
After you have done your second basting stitch, you will leave about seven centimeters of thread at the end.
Pull out the bobbin thread, leaving the upper thread in place to keep the ruffles intact. With that move, you’ve created a clean, beautiful series of ruffles.

Attaching ruffles to a flat piece of fabric

Ruffles as embellishments. However, there will be instances where you hope to make ruffles that will adhere to a flat piece of material.

You should attach ruffles in such a way, especially by hand. to pin the fabric in place before continuing.

For this reason it is always best to work on a flat surface, cutting the fabric to make sure both pieces stay firmly in place. place.

When attaching a ruffle by hand, iron it before continuing to avoid unsightly creases or an uneven finish.

Attaching ruffles with a sewing machine makes it easier to align both pieces of fabric. They can use the Gathering Foot and the Gathering Foot for this task; simply place the second piece under the fabric to be ruffled and then sew it away.

This video shows an example of how to sew ruffles on a skirt.