Gathering/shirring technique

[bobbin]

Cheryl's marvelous shirred skirt and "welting" on a recent upholstery project have had me thinking.  How do you guys go about shirring in your shops?

I play with a scrap to determine the ratio that is most pleasing.  Then I premake the stuff.  Depending on the fabric's hand I will either run a loose line of stitching (deliberately screwing up the tension on the machine) and pull the thread to create the shirring, sometimes I will simply use a series of marks and fold in the excess as I stitch.  I haven't done much using my overlock machine, even though it has a very nice differential feed adjustment, so clearly it's time to get "familiar" with that handy feature. 

[MinUph]

Not seeing Cheryl's skirt I can't say how it was done. I use to have a gathering foot for my small machine that gathered the fabric and was adjustable. I then attached the welt and it was done. Some use a thread to pull the gathers in. They don't have to be even or uniformed. It is a nice look for thin fabrics like cotton prints and such.

[gene]

I had asked about the ratios Cheryl posted with her sofa because the sofa skirt did not look like a 2.5 to 1 ratio at first. As I said on the other post, I really like that sofa.

I do ruffles and gathers on slip covers and pillows. I have done several gathered skirts on upholstered chairs, but not a sofa. I use the 2.5 to 1 ratio unless the customer wants more or less gathering, then I will experiment with it.

I get a little bit carried away with details on my gathers. I will cut the fabric 2.5 times the total length I need.

Let's say I need 100 inches. I will then have fabric 250 inches long. I will get a white string and mark with black magic market every 25 inches. I will mark the fabric every 62 inches. I then sew the white string onto the top of the fabric with my zig zag sewing machine, making a knot at the beginning of the string so it does not pull through. The string is in the zig zag stitch and I can pull the string and gather 62 inches of fabric on every 25 inches of string.

I usually pin the gathered fabric onto what ever it will be sewn onto, and then I sew away.

Gene

[bobbin]

I tend to be sort of fussy about how the shirring looks when I'm finished with it, too, Gene.   When I'm shirring say, a "cloud" shade or an Austrian shade I will do the shirring and then pin the work down so I may fuss with adjusting the gathers more evenly over the finished length.  I've read about the zigzag over the string method, but I've never tried it (my z-z is an elderly home machine that I use only for buttonholes really). 

I have 2 or 3 shirring feet that came with my old rotary take up W&G machine.  It was, I believe, set up for the lingerie or formal wear industry.  I have never tried to use them, though.  The difference between the feet is in the height of the "step" in front of the needle.  I surmise that the height of the "step" is a determining factor in how much fabric is shirred as the machine moves down the goods. 

Has anyone used shirring feet on their commercial machinery?

[Chill]

Pillowback recliners have a lot of gathering, I sew 1/4 inch elastic inside the seam streatching as I go. Then just match the notches as you sew pieces together.
Carol

[Lynn]

I use the same method as Carol. Works like a charm on leather.
Lynn