What is Gathering in Garments?
Gathers are small irregular pleats that regulate fullness, for fit or decorative effect. They look best in light- or medium weight fabric – heavyweight fabrics can be bulky, so fullness is best controlled with pleats, darts or seaming. In garment manufacturing, “gathering” is a technique used to create fullness and volume in garments by drawing together a series of small pleats or folds.
Use twice the length of fabric for soft gathering and three times, or more depending on the fabric, for maximum gathers. Gathering in garments can also be done on a sewing machine using a gathering foot.
Gathers are an easy way to draw up a piece of larger fabric so that it will fit onto a smaller piece of fabric. They often appear at waistlines or yoke lines. The gather stitch is inserted after the major seams have been constructed. Gathers are best worked on the sewing machine using the longest available stitch length. On the majority of fabrics, two rows of gather stitches are required, but for very heavy fabrics it is advisable to have three rows. Try to stitch the rows so that the stitches line up under one another. Once all the main seams have been sewn, sew the two rows of gathers so that the stitches are inside the seam allowance. This should prevent the need to remove them because doing so after they have been pulled up can damage the fabric.
Gathering the dart excess to create fullness in place of a dart is best used in softer, lightweight fabrics.
The fullness can be distributed effectively over a given area by means of gathering, which enhances the garment appearance. Gathers can be noticed at the waistline, neckline, yoke line and upper and lower edge of the sleeve in the case of children’s and ladies garment. In general, gathering requires twice the amount of fabric as that of the waist circumference measurement. The different ways in which gathering can be done are mentioned below.
Gathering Types and Techniques
Gathering by Hand:
Gathering is achieved by fastening a thread followed by securing with two rows of tack stitches. The ends of the thread are drawn until the section measures the desired length and the thread is wound around over a bell pin. Fabrics of any weight can be gathered using the hand and the size of the folds can be easily changed by varying the width of the stitches, which cannot be performed in a machine. Figure 2 shows gathering effects made by hand. Two hand sewing needles are threaded – the threads are doubled and knotted securely at the ends. Then two rows of running hand stitches, which are 1/4″ from the fabric edge and 1/4″ apart from each other, are made.
Gathering by Machine:
The gathering effect made by machine is illustrated in Figure 9.2. In this case, the machine is adjusted to produce long stitches and the upper tension is reduced slightly. With such a configuration, two rows of machine stitches, each 1/4″ apart, are made. Both the bobbin threads are pulled together and stitched to evenly distribute the fullness. For gathering large sections of fabric, the specialized attachments in sewing machines such as gathering foot or gathering rufflers could be used. Gathering by machine is much faster for lightweight fabrics like voile, organza, netting, cotton lawn, etc. Usually, two rows of machine stitching are done down the length to gather 1/4″ from the edge and 1/4″ apart.
Gathering Using Elastic:
A narrow band of elastic is stretched and stitched onto the portion of the garment that needs to be gathered. After stitching, the relaxation of the stretched elastic causes the gathering effect. This is the fastest technique and is suitable for any weight fabric. The length of the strip of elastic is the same as the final gathering length and one end of the elastic is anchored to the fabric by stitching and back stitching a couple of times. The broken zigzag stitch is preferred for gathering as shown in Figure 4.
Corded Gathers:
Corded gathers are gathers that are pulled up over a narrow piping cord or thick thread. This technique is used for furnishing fabrics, where machine gathers may not be strong enough.
Gathers on the Serger:
An attachment can be purchased for the serger that will enable you to gather fine fabrics such as net, chiffons, and georgettes, on to other fabrics. This is a really useful technique if large quantities of a fine fabric are to be gathered, such as bridal petticoats and frills in soft furnishings.
Shirring:
Shirring is the name given to multiple rows of gathers. It is an excellent way to give fullness in a garment. If made using shirring elastic in the bobbin, shirring gathers can stretch. On heavier fabrics, such as for soft furnishings, static shirring is more suitable.
Smocking is one of the oldest ways of gathering fabric. It is very decorative and can add interest to a garment. Smocking involves pulling up multiple rows of gathers that have been stitched in by hand, in line with each other, to produce fine tubes in the fabric. These tubes are then stitched over. Smocking dots that can be heat-transferred to the fabric are used as a guide for the hand gathers. Dots can be purchased with different spaces between them.
Methods of Controlling Gathers
The fullness of gathers can be controlled by the following methods:
- Two rows of machine basting (with a slightly loose upper tension) can be used. One row is made exactly on the line of stitching and another row of stitches is made above it.
- By providing three rows of machine basting (with a slightly loose upper tension), one row is made exactly on line of stitching, and the further two rows of stitches are made above and below the first row. The stitches should not damage the fabric when removed. Figure 5 illustrates the controlling of gathers using heavy duty threads.
Figure 5: Controlling of gathers using heavy duty threads
Process of Gathering in Garments
One might think of a gathered skirt simply as a rectangle sewn into a waistband. I encourage you to give them more credit. Gathered skirts can be very full and gathered around the entire waist, or you can choose to just gather small sections of your skirt, creating light or full volume in very specific places.
Depending on the fabric you choose, the gathering can add dramatically different amounts of volume. As you did in the flare exercise, you will be creating insertion lines, only this time you will add volume at the waist. Typically, the dart is absorbed into the gathers and can mostly be ignored.
The sequence of steps to produce gathering effects in garments is explained in detail below:
- At first, the desired method of controlling fullness should be selected.
- The pattern markings are matched with the seam lines of garment pieces by pinning along the line of stitching on the side of the fullness.
- The bobbin thread or cord is drawn between each set of markings for fullness.
- The fullness is distributed evenly using a fingernail or pin.
- The long threads are secured in position by wrapping them around a bell pin. When sufficient gathering has been achieved, additional pins (right at the stitching line) as per the requirement can be added.
- Machine basting is done on the seam line with the gathered side up. The pins are removed one by one as the basting progresses.
- The even distribution of the gathers during sewing must be ensured.
- Finally, stitching (permanent) is made over the top of the machine basting.
References:
- Apparel Manufacturing Technology by T. Karthik, P. Ganesan, D. Gopalakrishnan
- Dressmaking, Step by Step By Alison Smith
- The Sewing Book By Alison Smith
- Designing Clothes with the Flat Pattern Method: Customize Fitting Shells to Create Garments in Any Style by Sara Alm
- Professional Sewing Techniques for Designers by Julie Cole and Sharon Czachor
