The Sleeveless Ruffle Tunic

During my home economics sewing class I had to complete two projects, the first  a plain white short sleeve T-shirt, the fabric for this was supplied by the teacher. The second project, a long sleeved jumper with ribbing at the neckline, sleeves and waist, fabric for this project I had to buy myself. I picked a black and white stripe fabric with white ribbing. The first project was a warm up and once we finished it, the teacher instructed us to begin cutting out the jumper project.  I laid out my fabric and began cutting just as I was finishing up this step the teacher came to check on my progress and informed me that I should  PATTERN MATCH my stripes. Crestfallen, I decided right then never to buy striped fabric again. 30 years later,  ordering fabric online being a couple of dollars short for free shipping I added  2 yards of a jersey knit fabric to my order,  My package arrived a week later I was shocked to see that I had ordered a stripe. A stripe, how did I do that, what was I thinking? After I calmed down I made a dress and pattern matched, it turned out well, I no longer fear the stripe.

The Pattern-Simplicity D0657 A. This pattern is for stretch fabric. I made option 3, the sleeveless ruffle tunic in a medium.
The Fabric - A 50/50 cotton / polyester jersey knit stripe, colour pink and oat, it's 59'' wide. The pink stripe is soft and smooth, the oat stripe is rough to the touch. It was $3.45 a yard from Fabric.com.
Stitching- I used a narrow zigzag stitch( length 3, width 1) for all seams and a straight stitch for top stitching (length 3). My needle was a ball point size 80/11 and for the hem I used a twin needle. Also I used a walking foot.
Final thoughts- no fit adjustments were necessary. I deviated from the instructions when attaching the ruffle because I was not liking the overlap hem above the ruffle. instead I pressed the seam of the ruffle up towards the tunic and top stitched it to hold in place.
This is my third make with a ruffle. I don't  like the gathering of fabric to make a ruffle but I do like the end result. so its safe to say If I can add a ruffle I will!

The Case for Pockets

Gathered skirt with in seam pocket

Pockets are essential, if I make a bag and don't include pockets I later regret it. sometimes carrying a bag  with or without pockets is not practical, like when visiting amusement parks, with their no bag on ride policy or at the entrance waiting in a long bag check line. That's when a pocket on clothing is necessary to carry essentials like keys, cash and phone.  Sadly its rare to find pockets on ready made skirts and dresses, my main summer wear.

So I made a skirt with pockets. Making this skirt is easy enough, and there are many tutorials on the internet and in magazines. I consulted a number of books  and magazines before I started and consolidated the techniques I liked to make the skirt, my instruction follow.

The in seam pocket pattern you will find in issue 26 of Simply Sewing magazine or draft your own.

Gathered Skirt with Pockets in 10 Easy Steps 

1. Measure waist and multiply by 2.5 for fullness. Divide by 2. This is the width of the front and back pieces.

2. Measure from waist to knee  add 3cm (1 1/4 in),  this is the length for the front and back pieces. (my width measurement was less than the width of fabric, so when calculating how much fabric I needed I multiplied the length by two)

3. Cut 2 piece of fabric using waist and length measurements.

4. Cut pocket pieces from fabric scraps.

5. Place pocket 15cm down from top, Right side down on right side of skirt front, align pocket straight edge with side seam and sew with a 1/2cm seam allowance. Repeat with corresponding back piece.

6. Open pocket pieces away from skirt, press flat. Place front and back pieces right sides together with pockets extended away from skirt. Stitch down side seams and around pocket using a 1cm seam allowance. Clip into seam at top and bottom of pocket. Press seams open. Repeat with other side. Neaten raw edges of sides and top with zig zag stitch.

Do not stitch the section with red pins.

 7.Cut elastic to waist measurement plus 2 cm. Join short ends using 2cn seam allowance.Measure width of elastic add 1.5cm to measurement, fold under towards wrong side top of skirt by that measurement. 

8.Edge Stitch close to fold. Place elastic within fold area. Stitch casing closed without catching elastic. A zipper foot is helpful here. As you stitch shift fabric around elastic. It will gather up.



9. Distribute gathers evenly around waist. When you are happy with gather distribution stitch in the ditch at side seams to hold elastic.
10. To hem skirt fold towards wrong side  1/2cm, press, fold again 2cm, press. Stitch hem.

Gathers

Recently I have been thinking about using gathers to add interest to my work. When fabric is gathered it creates folds on the fabric surface. The folds (or hills and valleys) create light and dark areas on plain fabric which add subtle visual interest. On printed fabric the gathers alter the look by hiding tiny sections of the print.
To gather fabric start with a piece of fabric at least twice the length of your finished project. Gathers reduce the length of fabric.

Results of the different gathering methods. For the first 3 samples I started with a 10 in strip and gathered it up to 5 inches. From the top hand gathers, straight stitch machine gather, zigzag stitch machine gather and gathering foot with un-gathered top piece.

Basic ways to Gather
By hand- sew a running stitch on the section you wish to gather, pull the thread to create the desired fullness. Tie off thread ends to hold gathers. Hand gathering works best on small projects.
Machine Gathers- use an all purpose presser foot. Set stitch length to longest stitch. Sew a straight row of stitching on the section to be gathered. Leave thread tails long. Do not back stitch. Pull bobbin thread only to create folds.
Alternatively you can use a zigzag stitch and cord. Place the cord along the section to be gathered and centred under the presser foot. Stay stitch the cord at one end then zigzag stitch down the cord length, encasing it in the stitches but not catching the cord. Pull cord to form gathers.

Gathering foot

Gathering foot- a small and easy to use foot. The gathering foot automatically gathers the fabric as you sew. Select the longest straight stitch setting, place the fabric under the presser foot and sew. That's it, fabric will be gathered evenly. The gathering foot can also be used to gather fabric and attach it to a second piece of un-gathered fabric. Simply place the fabric you do not wish to gather in the slot between the top and bottom of the foot. The challenge here is making sure both fabrics are kept straight. Also for a tighter gather place a finger behind the presser foot. This slows the fabric movement and creates more gathers. A ruffle foot is another attachment that automatically gathers fabric.
Finally other ways to gather fabric are by using elastic and gathering tape. Gathering tape is used in curtain making.