How To Gather With A Serger

I've been experimenting lately sewing gathers on the serger, and I call back that it'southward really better than a regular sewing auto in some instances and I thought I should share some of my experiments and what you can achieve using different settings and techniques.

The nuts of sewing gathers with a serger

By adjusting the needle tensions and the differential feed you lot tin can create dissimilar amounts of gathers. You tin can as well pull the needle threads after to arrange the gathers, only like one would do on a regular sewing automobile. For this method a regular 3-thread overlock stitch is recommended.

I used this gathering method on my latest workout elevation and it worked very well. So here goes my guide for various ways to sew gathers with a serger/overlock auto (without using a gathering presser pes).

ane. "Gathers" simply using the maximum setting on differential feed

I put gathers in quotation marks here because on knits, maxing out the differential feed won't really create much gathers. In fact on my serger I sometimes use this setting when I'yard sewing very stretchy knits cantankerous-ways. But on woven fabrics I could see that this would piece of work, especially for easing, such as sleeves.

Bonus tip: To create more gathers, just pull the needle threads

2. Gathers using differential feed and increasing the needle tension ca 50%

Now nosotros are talking, Increasing the needle tension definitely creates some (subtle gathers). This is the setting I ended up using for my workout top.

3. Gathers using differential feed and maximum needle tension

Bam! If you want plenty of gathers. this is the way to go! Again, you lot can adjust the gathers past pulling the needle threads or spreading the material out to make less gathers (just make certain that take plenty of extra thread strands).

This is how the max needle tension looks like on my machine (for reference the normal settings is 5 for the left needle and four for the right needle on this stitch)

4. Gathers using clear rubberband

This method is great for gathering knits that will be stretched out regularly. I've used it several times when I've made gathered workout tops with a ribbing waist band. The reward of using articulate elastic over regular rubberband is that information technology is very thin and doesn't create a bulky seam. However it'due south more fiddly than previously mentioned methods, at least for me equally I don't ain an elastic presser foot for my serger. I suppose information technology would be much easier if there was a slot in the presser foot to identify the rubberband. Likewise clear elastic is less stable and more sticky which also can crusade some problems. For more ideas on how to utilise clear elastic see my post Using clear elastic to stabilize shoulder seams on knits

To gather with articulate elastic

The length of the articulate elastic should be the finished length of what you want to gather plus 3-iv cm extra on each side (~one.5 inches)

If y'all are sewing a long stretch of fabric evenly distribute the rubberband past pinning it with a few pins along the edge

Place the elastic and the fabric under the presser foot, with the extra elastic on each side to aid y'all guide the elastic while sewing

Serge over the elastic with a iii-thread serger seam, stretching the rubberband out equally you sew.

Summary of my serger gathers experiments

I think the serger gathers are much more stable and fifty-fifty compared to the traditional sewing auto method where you stitch two rows of direct stitches that you practice and pull the strands. Yet at that place volition be a bit more bulk likewise, and then that might be a thing to consider when using this method.