On 6/29/08 7:29 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
. . . I am really interested in trying to learn how to
make those teeny tiny pleats for gathering that you see
in some antique clothing,
Some old books I read waxed quite contemptuous of women so
lazy that they didn't "stroke their gathers"; I gather that
this was done by putting the eye-end of the needle into each
individual pleat and stroking downward to settle it.
Since it helps with machine gathering so much, I suspect
that it would help to make *two* rows of your hand gathering
stitches. Two points determine a line, so securing the
crease at two points would make it more likely to run in the
wanted direction. The stitches must, of course, be exactly
the same in both rows. It would probably help to mark the
fabric first, or practice on gingham or some other fabric
with woven-in guide marks.
Or, if you can see the weave, go under two threads and over
six, or however many will make the pleats of the desired
width. (A stitch must always take up at least two threads
of the fabric, as a single thread is likely to break.)
http://vintagesewing.info/index.html probably has a book
that explains how stroked gathers are made.
It do!
http://vintagesewing.info/19th/1892-sn/sn-02.html#gather
Note that it says to use the point of the needle to stroke
the gathers; other books criticize this practice on the
grounds that the sharp point weakens the fabric. (Oops:
the material list specifies a *blunt* needle.)
If your fingers cramp, the needle can be mounted in a pin
vise.
--
Joy Beeson
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
http://www.timeswrsw.com/craig/cam/ (local weather)
west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
where it's raining again.
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