Yikes...Klink, Clank.....?

    So I have been playing around with my ruffler. However, I forgot to share that before we got this ruffler foot (for my anniversary present) we picked one up at Joanne Fabrics. It was just one of their standard ones. I tried to use it, but I heard a terrible clanging noise and promptly stopped running it. Then, I purchased one at a high end fabric store—again it was a standard ruffler and I brought it home, attached it to my Viking and “kink, clank, Klink, CLANK…” Ugh…So the next Saturday, I took my machine to the sewing/ fabric store and I purchased a Viking Ruffler. Alas, I brought it home, hooked it up and “duht, duht, duht” it went…nice and quietly. So, I wanted to share this information about Rufflers in case anyone out there also decides to go hunting for one….as my quest was so frustrating.
   
     The first thing I have decided to make with my ruffler is yardage of ruffle. I can use it on my little aprons, pants or skirts for Tuffy. So I took a few yards of different fabrics (I chose pinks, blues and browns) folded them, used a rotary cutter and cut 4 inch strips. I sewed them together (RS’s), ironed the long strips lengthwise WS together. Then, I ran them through the gathering foot.

I learned that the fabric must be fed through the bottom two plates, so that the small piece that moves the fabric can gather it ever so many stitches. You also have choices for gathering every 0, 12, 6 and 1 stitche. 12 seems to be a soft gather, 6 seems to be more boxy (and my favorite). Anyway, I am enjoying making my yardage of ruffles, I think they will be so handy to have in my sewing accessory box. Now I have to figure out how to sew them on to different things for Tuffy!