Ruffler Question
 

I just got a ruffler foot for my machine and of course want to ruffle everything! But my question is does anyone know if there is a way to sew the ruffle and sew it to another piece of fabric all in one motion? I want to make a railfence quilt block with a ruffle going through the center of the middle rail. I guess I am trying to find a shortcut so I don't have to gather the ruffle and then sew it on. I was also trying to avoid duplicate stitching lines down the center of the ruffle. Maybe they won't show? Tell me what you think.

I wouldn't think that could be done at all. your block or fabric would also ruffle.

Yes, you can - you just run the fabric (that you want to attach to) under the foot - it will be fed by the feed dogs on your machine - I have done this - I must say that it does take some practice - at least for me it did - I suggest you go slow as you feed your fabric through the ruffler and the fabric you are attaching to - I hope this makes sense. I found a tutorial for this but I don't recall where I found it - I am sure I just googled it to get the info. Good luck.

Yes, you can. Just saw this in a mastery class this weekend. Otis has good instructions.

This is the biggest benefit of having the ruffler foot.

Good question and great answers! I have a ruffler and haven't tried it yet. Thanks for starting this thread!

Oh Duh! I guess you can. I haven't used a ruffler in years. I'm glad you got your answers.

On most rufflers there are two paths one for the fabric to be ruffled the other for the fabric you want to attach the ruffle . The upper most path is for ruffling. I have to admit rufflers are a lots of fun!

Thanks so much for the replies. Otis, I would love to see the video you are talking about - I am a bit of a visual learner. I did try and place the fabric I wanted the ruffle attached to under the foot, but I had to hold it very tight or it got caught up in the ruffle. I have a really old machine/ruffler foot, so maybe the newer ones work a bit better/different. (I have a Pfaff 360) I did notice the foot has all these extra notches that look like they probably do something but wasn't able to find any info.

Check YouTube for "Ruffler foot" or "Presser feet" videos. You'll find plenty of instructions on how to do this.And here is a good one from Bernina, it's good for other brands as well

Here is the link for Bernina Gathering foot how-to. These instructions are good for other brnads as well.
http://weallsew.com/2011/10/05/the-f...athering-feet/

Re the notches on the ruffler--that is how you select the density of the gathers. Experiment to choose how much 'ruffle you want. The newer gathering feet for later machines are sooo different. Mine is an Elna and the ruffle is decided by the stitch length & tension...but you can still sew to project at same time it's making ruffle. The older type can be adjusted to make nice pleats, also.