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.

Gathering seams use to mean tedious hand sewing of basting which took up much time, and if you had thick or heavy fabric your thread would break, and you'd have to do it all over again. Those days are done. A quick and easy way to gather is to use a wide zigzag stitch. Pull both upper and lower thread long and place in front of the sewing machine. Carefully sew zigzagging over top of the two threads trying not to catch the threads as you sew. When you get to the end pull the two threads and your area will automatically gather. The gathering comes out perfect and sturdy every time.

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.)
• 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.