Sewing machines are a fantastic investment for crafters and will help make your projects faster and more accurate.

Attaching ruffles using a sewing machine will make lining up both pieces of fabric easier. The gathering foot and the ruffler foot can be used for this task; just place the second piece underneath the fabric to be ruffled, and then sew away.We’ve all seen ruffles, and most of us have probably worn one before. Ruffles are pieces of fabric evenly gathered on an edge. The second setting, indicated by the number 12, will make a pleat every 12 stitches. The third setting, with number six, will pleat every six stitches. The last setting, with the number one, will pleat after every stitch. You can adjust how many stitches the ruffle should wait before pleating; your foot will probably have four settings. I found a combination of straight and wavy ruffles around the cake really gave it a soft and pretty finish.

With this style, you’ll create interesting designs just by changing the pattern or the type of fabric. Waterfall Ruffles For this reason, it’s always best to work on a flat surface, sectioning off the fabric to ensure that both pieces remain securely in place. Just like the gathering foot, the fullness of your gathers will also be affected by the length of your stitch. As such, a larger stitch length will create a larger gather, but with less bounce. Attaching ruffles in such a manner, especially by hand, will require you to pin the fabric in place before proceeding.Pull out the bobbin thread, leaving the needle thread in place to keep the ruffles intact. With that motion, you’ll have created a clean, beautiful set of ruffles. This method from the Seasoned Homemaker leverages a basting stitch and two different colored yarns; as such, it’s a great approach for sewing ruffles without special feet. A circular ruffle is often made as an embellishment or accessory. They’re developed by creating a circular strip of fabric and gathering it in the middle. You want to make sure the wide side of your piping tip is against the cake as you move the piping bag in a wave shape across the cake, letting the ruffles just fall into place, filling up all the gaps. With this technique you want to apply pressure to the end of the bag, but be very light and slow with your movements, allowing the buttercream to just flow out.

Waterfall ruffles are created much like single edge ruffles, only you are gathering an elastic thread along the fabric’s seam. This type is most commonly seen in off-shoulder dresses or any type of hem that uses elastics at the seams. Circular Ruffle As a rule of thumb, higher needle tension and longer stitch length will make your gathers bigger. Using a longer stitch length with bottom-level needle tension will make large gathers, but with less fullness or bounce.What is the usual way to make ruffles? The most basic method is to sew a basting stitch about ¼ inch from the edge of your fabric. Place colored thread in the bobbin. This will be your gathering stitch. Place a thread of a separate color in the needle. The bobbin thread will be pulled out later, which means that you can make it any color you prefer, without concern of it affecting your final product.