Ruched and pleated

The time saved

Gathering a ribbon by hand or by machine requires laying down two gather threads, pulling them regularly, distributing the gathers over the entire length and blocking everything. On one meter, the operation takes a quarter of an hour; on a child's petticoat, much more.

A ready-to-use ruched eliminates this entire step. You cut to length and sew directly — consistency is guaranteed, which is difficult to achieve by hand.

Place a ruched at the edge

Place the ruched on the right side of the fabric, with the ruffle facing the inside of the piece, and stitch along the flat strip. When turning over, the ruffle unfolds outwards and the seam disappears.

For a ruffle placed as a decorative topstitch in the middle of a piece, stitch directly on the flat strip with a matching thread — two lines of stitches give a cleaner hold than just one.

Ruched or pleated: which one to choose?

The ruched , gathered, gives a soft and irregular volume, more romantic. It is the choice of children's clothing, petticoats, cushion borders in a cottage style.

The pleated , with marked and regular folds, produces a more graphic and structured effect. It works well in decoration, on lampshades, curtains and projects where clean geometry is sought.

Calculate the necessary length

Unlike a flat ribbon, a ruched is applied to the finished yardage and not to the unfolded yardage: simply measure the length of the edge to be edged, and add 10% for angles, connections and tucked ends.

On a closed contour - cushion, skirt hem - allow five additional centimeters for the clean junction of the two ends.

Care

Wash at 30°C, inside out, in a net for the organza ruches which hang easily. Ironing is done at low temperature and only on the flat strip - an iron passed over the ruffle crushes the gathers and loses all the interest of the product.

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