Beautiful gathering stitches are used often in sewing for skirts, dresses, and home décor. But they can seem a little scary to a novice sewists.
For years I sewed my gathers incorrectly. I guess incorrect is the wrong term because they fabric was gathered but the gathers were never quite even.
I’m going to teach you how to make the most perfect and beautiful gathers every time you sew and it isn’t hard to do.
To sew the best gathers it is best to use a basting stitch on your machine.
A basting stitch is a temporary long stitch that is used to keep layers of fabric together until the final stitch is sewn.
A basting stitch is created by setting the stitch length of your machine to the longest it can go. On my machine that is a 4.
When I sew that stitch, you can see that the stitching is much wider than a regular stitch. This width allows the threads to be pulled thus making a nice gather of the fabric.
Materials Needed
Step 1
Change stitch length to the highest/widest setting it will go. Keep it on a straight stitch.
Step 2
Start by sewing a row of stitches along the top edge of the skirt at about 1/4". Stitch a straight stitch across the edge WITHOUT backstitching.
Make sure to leave your thread tails long at the beginning and at the end. This will help with gathering later.
Step 3
Stitch a second row 1/4" below this line of stitching, stitch another basting stitch. You should have two rows of stitching. Again leave the threads long.
Now take the bobbin threads of your thread tails from one of the sections and gently pull. This is how your fabric will gather.
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