Ruffles

I came up with a very easy way to ruffle fabric without using a long machine stitch and pulling the thread to form a ruffle. Simply, buy 1/2" clear elastic that you can find either in packages, or you can buy it online by the roll. Put one end of the elastic over the top edge of the fabric and gently pull the elastic as you stitch the fabric on the machine. You will then notice that the fabric begins to ruffle evenly. I would use about a 2 to 3 yard length of fabric at a time, so that it doesn't curl up too much that you can't manage it. The clear elastic is very thin, so it doesn't give bulk. Then you can simply sew the ruffles onto your fashion fabric. I made a very full skirt using 20 yards of tulle and sewed the ruffles to the fabric with 1" rows. I found this application to be very easy and much less time consuming.