Gather (sewing)

Paul Revere in a shirt gathered at shoulder and cuffs, 1776.

Gathering is a sewing technique for shortening the length of a strip of fabric so that the longer piece can be attached to a shorter piece. It is commonly used in clothing to manage fullness, as when a full sleeve is attached to the armscye or cuff of a shirt, or when a skirt is attached to a bodice.

In simple gathering, parallel rows of running stitches are sewn along one edge of the fabric to be gathered. The stitching threads are then pulled or "drawn up" so that the fabric forms small folds along the threads.^[1] ^[2]

Gathering seams once involved tedious hand sewing of basting, which was time consuming and inefficient, especially with heavy fabric. Now, a quick and easy way to make a gather is to use a wide zigzag stitch with a sewing machine. Both the upper and lower thread are pulled long and placed in front of the sewing machine. Then zigzagging is carefully sewed over top of the two threads without catching the threads as it is sewn. At the end the thread is pulled and is then gathered. ^[3]

This photo shows a quick and easy method of machine gathering. This zigzag gathering technique is the strongest and most sturdy method of gathering.

Types

Pleating or plaiting is a type of gathering in which the folds are usually larger, made by hand and pinned in place, rather than drawn up on threads, but very small pleats are often identical to evenly spaced gathers. Pleating is mainly used to make skirts, but can have other uses.(See main article Pleat.)^[4]
Shirring or gauging is a decorative technique in which a panel of fabric is gathered with many rows of stitching across its entire length and then attached to a foundation or lining to hold the gathers in place. It is very commonly used to make larger pieces of clothing with some shape to them.^[5]

References

↑ Caulfield, S.F.A. and B.C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, 1885, facsimile edition, Blaketon Hall, 1989, p. 219
↑ Picken, Mary Brooks: The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition ISBN 0-308-10052-2)
↑ LovetoSew.com Garment Construction: How to Gather Fabric http://www.lovetosew.com/seamgathering.htm Retrieved on 2011-12-28
↑ Caulfield and Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework
↑ Caulfield and Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, p. 220

Sewing

Techniques	Basting Cut Darning Ease Embellishment Fabric tube turning Floating canvas Gather Godet Gusset Heirloom sewing Shirring

Stitches	List of sewing stitches Backstitch Bar tack Blanket Blind stitch Buttonhole Catch stitch Chain stitch Cross-stitch Embroidery stitch Hemstitch Lockstitch Overlock Pad stitch Pick stitch Rantering Running Sashiko Stoating Tack Topstitch Zigzag

Seams	Felled seam Seam allowance Style line

Notions Trims	Bias tape Collar stays Elastic Grommet / Eyelet Interfacing Passementerie Piping Ruffle Rickrack Self-fabric Soutache Trim Twill tape Wrights

Closures	Buckle Button Buttonhole Frog Hook-and-eye Hook and loop fastener Shank Snap Zipper

Materials	Bias Yarn / Thread Selvage Textiles / Fabrics

Tools	Bobbin Dress form Needle threader Pattern notcher Pin Pincushion Pinking shears Scissors Seam ripper Sewing needle Stitching awl Tailor's ham Tape measure Thimble Tracing paper Tracing wheel

Trades Suppliers	Cloth merchant Draper Dressmaker Haberdasher Mercer Sewing occupations Tailor

Sewing machine manufacturers	Barthélemy Thimonnier Bernina Brother Industries Elias Howe Feiyue Frister & Rossmann Janome Jones Sewing Machine Company Juki Merrow New Home Pfaff Sewmor Singer Tapemaster Viking / Husqvarna White

Pattern Manufacturers	Butterick Clothkits McCall's Simplicity

Glossary of sewing terms

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