| A ruffler foot can be VERY
intimidating. I know mine was when I received it (with NO
instructions!) It is a lot of FUN to use and makes ruffles a breeze. First, you may need a shank adapter to fit your machine unless your presserfoot attaches by "wrapping" the curved piece around a permanent shank and screwing it on. |
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| There may be an adjustable gauge for
gather regulation. the number (x) means ruffle every x stitches 1 would be VERY full because it will ruffle with every stitch. For standard ruffles, I keep mine set on 6. There should also be a slot that enables you to stitch normally without ruffling. On this foot it is the slot to the left of #12 (the zero setting) If you are stitching normally, you may put BOTH fabrics below the presserfoot - no need to feed fabric through the ruffle slot. |
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| The big "U" will loop around the
needle's thumbscrew. It will cause the mechanism to bob up and down
with the needle - so it knows how many stitches it has made. Warning - this is not particularly easy to do - you'll have to twist the foot around to get both parts attached. The shank attaches normally. If you do not have a shank adapter, and your machine requires one, you can find them where you purchase sewing machines or at Clotilde.com or NancysNotions.com. If you are not familiar with shanks, I recommend a trip to the store where you purchased your machine or where you have it serviced. Be sure you know whether you need a HIGH or LOW shank adapter. They are not interchangeable. |
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| Once you have the ruffler foot attached
to your machine (I don't have it attached in this photo), you will put
RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER same as you normally sew. Your main fabric goes on the bottom (right side of fabric is up) Your ruffle fabric feeds through the slot above the presserfoot (right side of fabric is down) The foot will "grab" a section of your ruffle fabric every 1-6-12 stitches (according to your settings) and stitch it to the main fabric. It will seem "jerky" until you get used to it. Just take care to keep the raw edges of your main
fabric and ruffle feeding together. |
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| You can make further adjustments to the
ruffle fullness by adjusting your machine stitch length. Shorter stitches = fuller ruffles TIP: Hem your ruffle before you attach it to the main fabric. It is much easier to press and hem a flat piece of fabric than it is after it is ruffled and sewn on. Be sure to allow for the hem when you cut the ruffle strip width.
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| Fabric requirements for
your ruffle: Using setting 1, you will need 4 or 5 times as much ruffle length as main fabric length. Using setting 6, you will need at least twice as much ruffle length as main fabric length. Using setting 12, you will need about 1.25 times as much ruffle length as main fabric length. |
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