I'm forever sewing ruffles! - Jen Walker

Hello again Brother fans! Jen here, from sewing blog The Gingerthread Girl. I just wanted to stop by to spill the beans on my latest adventures with my Brother sewing machine. I have been having a blast up in the sewing room, getting to grips with gathering. 

I love how this simple sewing technique takes a straightforward seam, and gives it an oomph of girly ‘flounciness’ - perfect for floating through the summertime in! 

The pattern I chose was the Deer & Doe Myosotis dress (version A). I was immediately drawn to the tiered ruffles of the skirt, and those gorgeous sleeves! 

I had this lovely linen/viscose blend lilac fabric from Sew Me Sunshine in my stash, and I decided this would make the perfect summer dress. The perfect pairing for this pattern! 

When it came to the gathers themselves, I decided to opt for the classic method of sewing 2 rows of long stitches in order to pull and create the gathered-up bunches of fabric along the seams. Another method I have used in the past with some success is to sew a wide zig zag stitch over a length of cord - then use that cord to pull the gathers in. But that can go pear shaped if you accidentally stitch into the cord - which is very easily done! So I sought safety in the classic method - which served me very well indeed.

My main top tip with this method is to remember to give yourself nice long thread tails at the start and end of your long stitches - so that you have plenty to grip onto when pulling those gathers in. Once you have done this, remember to also spend some time to even out your fabric gathers, so they look perfect when finally sewn in.

My trusty Brother Innov-is 1300, worked the gathers like a dream. The fabric just fed in so smoothly, giving me a beautiful straight and perfect gathered seam. 

Before I embarked on this make I kind of braced myself for the additional work (and patience!) required for creating all of these gathers - but in all honesty, it was no chore at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the process - probably thanks to my sewing machine! It was so satisfying to create these beautiful gathers, it has got me inspired to sew more.

Anyway, more from me on the Brother blog soon - for more adventures with my Brother sewing machine!