Shirring Tips

 

I finished my first shirred project today and I am thrilled with the result.



Here are the tips that I have:
- Use a straight stitch and set your tension on the highest setting and your stitch on the longest length (I was using a stretch fabric so I also made sure to use a stretch needle)
- Hand wind your bobbin with elastic thread - don't stretch the elastic as you wind the bobbin but make sure that there isn't any slack either
- Load your bobbin like you normally would and pull up the elastic bobbin thread as you would pull up regular thread
- Back stitch at the beginning and end of each row like you would if you were sewing with regular thread
- Make sure to leave long enough tails of thread when you start and finish sewing (some sites recommend tying knots at the beginning and end of each row but since I backed stitched in each place and ended up sewing over the seams anyways I didn't bother with the knots)
- When making the top I measured my bust and multiplied by 1.25 and divided that number by two (basically the total width should be 25% wider then your bust but since you are making two pieces you have to divide by 2)
- If you are rather busty like myself I would make sure to make the top on the longer side so that once it is all shirred and over your bust line it doesn't turn out too short
- I don't have a serger so I ended up using a satin stitch to finish my edges and since I was using a stretch fabric I got a nice little ruffled look
- When you start sewing/shirring sew your first row straight across, then for the following rows make sure to stretch the fabric out as you sew
- To make the ruffle at the top I just started my shirring a bit farther down the fabric (2.5 inches to be exact) and then folded the ruffle down over the shirring and straight stitched across the top when I was finished
- I used a stretch fabric overcast stitch to sew my two pieces together but I am sure a straight stitch would work fine
- Use a steam setting and iron over the shirred area when you are done, this will make it crinkle up nicely