TIL a trick for getting perfect gathers on slippery fabric

I was trying to make a chiffon blouse last month and the gathers kept looking messy. After three failed attempts, I tried using a piece of clear elastic as my gathering thread instead of regular thread. I set my machine to a long stitch length and sewed the elastic right into the seam. It pulled the fabric in perfectly and held the shape after washing. I got the idea from a small blog post I found while searching at 2 AM. Has anyone else found a good fix for gathering tricky materials?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_baker6118d ago

Tried dental floss as gathering thread once, worked surprisingly well.

rose_allen6018d ago

@emma_baker61 proves the best hacks are just using what's around.

cora_mitchell18d ago

Honestly that dental floss trick is so smart. I read a blog post a while back where someone used it to gather a super heavy curtain fabric. They said normal thread kept breaking but the floss held up. Makes total sense because that stuff is strong. I keep meaning to try it on a thick skirt hem.