PrincessLeighsDaddy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2005
- Messages
- 2,713
Steph.... step away from the machine, and calm down!I am near tears fighting with the ruffler foot. I am trying to do these super easy nightgowns that Tom finished in an hour and I have had nothing but trouble. I hand gathered the skirt to the t and the thread was breaking and the shirt kept getting crumpled underneath. It looked so bad but if I tried to rip it out the shirt got holes in it. So I just sewed ric rac on top of it to hide it!
So then I got out the ruffler foot for the bottom ruffle and I am doing something terribly wrong because it is not working. It is a crumpler foot in my case! I am hoping it is because the tension was too high but I am not holding out much hope. The directions (from the YCMT site) say to over ruffle and then spread it out but the thread just broke when I tried that. I am really at my wits end. I am taking the kids for a lunchtime playdate so I am hoping when I get back this afternoon I can get it to work or else the other girls might just get pj pants to match their appliquéd shirts!

When I use my ruffler foot, I always use upholstery thread as the bobbin thread. I doesn't break, (unless you really pull hard), so much easier to either overruffle and then spread it out, just leave extra long thread ends at the start and end of your ruffle. or you can pull the bobbin thread if you under ruffle. Hope this helps! I don't think I could live without my ruffler foot, although, I really need to look for a snap on foot. Getting the screwdriver out and attaching it, and taking it off, and reattaching it is getting to be a pain!

I am glad that my Leigh isn't the only one who likes to wear her skirts under her "buddha belly". Attaching the skirt to a tank sounds like a great idea. I might have to explore that possibility!So does Zoe. The waist of pants and skirts never stay where they should. I try but they either slip on their own or Zoe pushes them down - I think she believes they're supposed to go under her tummy since that's where they go on their own. LOL I mostly make her dresses with a raised waist or long tops/tunics to be worn with pants. I also try to buy premade tops that are longish to help keep the belly covered. Less full skirts don't seem to be as big a problem, I'm guessing because they don't have the same amount of weight from fabric. They still slip over time. I've considered making her a skirt and then instead of adding a waistband, I'd add it to a simple tank style top over which she could wear a sweater or tee - any kind of top that would look fine untucked. I saw something like that recently at a kid's store. I think it may have been Pumpkin Patch. The dress looked like a pleated plaid skirt with a sweater. I think there was a belt at the waistline but I don't remember for sure.