BERNINA Corporate Blog -Dear overlock enthusiast, are you familiar with gathering on the overlock machine? Today we will sew a dress in Boho-Style and learn some use of the Gathering Foot from BERNINA.
I trust some of you have heard about differential feed gathering on the overlock and also tried it. But here we talk about gathering and simultaneously stitching the gathered piece to a flat piece of fabric, by means of using the Gathering Foot.
How sewing a gathered piece of fabric under a flat piece works in detail, is shown in our video tutorial about the Gathering Foot #L18 or Gathering Foot #C18. In this video you will find details about handling, pre-cutting seam allowance, stitch settings and some creative tips.
The procedure is the same when using the gathering foot on the BERNINA L 450/460, for that, please refer to this video.
Who can remember my blog article about the Shirring Feet L24 and C24? It is about this eye-catching pink blouse and gathering, but sewing the gathers onto the project separately. This is possible with an overlock stitch, a chain- or coverstitch.
Materials suitable for gathering with the differential feed are fine, soft fabrics, which are often used for blouses and dresses (especially in summer, but not only of course).
You can also upcycle projects with ruffles.
Sewing a Boho-Style Dress
Here now the project with the Gathering Foot. It is ideal if you want to try gathering for the first time or do it again.
Pattern proposals
All you need is a top with/without sleeves and maybe a closure solution that eventually can be done on the overlocker. And if not, sure you have a sewing machine, right?
Maybe you have a pattern in your collection that you want to use?
In our Inspiration magazine I found some designs/patterns, which would be suitable for customization. Such as for example pattern Romina.
More examples are blouse Aida…
… or blouse Merle…
… and shirt Ania.
I find it easy to use these patterns for a dress and elongate them with one, two or three gathered layers. If you want to start with one gathered layer only, you can use it as a top instead of a dress.
My pattern: Valentina from La Bavarese
For my dress I used the pattern Valentina, a design by La Bavarese. Please find the pattern under the following link in Anjas shop (German only): patternhack Valentina.
I amended the top slightly and customized the skirt part to fit my preferences. To implement the gathering foot into this dress, I have planned three gathered layers.
Independently from the top pattern you can, if you like, follow the calculation for the gathering layers as per the following description.
Material Calculation
When calculating the fabric needs for the gathering, I assume a gathering result of 2:1. This is my expectation combining the Gathering Foot with max. differential feed of 2 and max stitch length setting of 4.5. Most possibly it will gather less, as fabric may be a little stiff or held back while sewing.
To calculate the ruffles I made a sketch:
You can follow this example, in case you like to determine your needs youself.
- Metric: For the skirt and sleeve ruffles I need 2.60 m fabric if it has a width of 110/140 cm.
- Imperial: If my fabric has a width of minimum 42”, I need 8 1/2 ft.
The material list heavily depends on your top. When using an inspiration pattern, you will find it conveniently in the magazine or when ordering the pattern online, directly on the website.
For the top with sleeves I need approx. 0.7 m (28”). I “measured” this by placing the patterns on my cutting mat.
So a total of 3.5 m of fabric are sewn into the dress. Or in feet, 11 1/2.
If your fabric has a width of 110 cm (42”), that is sufficient, if it is 140 cm (54”), you will have spare material for another small project.
There is potential for savings with the third ruffle, which requires about 8m / total length, convert that to your fabric width. Maybe you save material, if the 14 cm (5 1/2”) make a difference.
Material list
- 3.5 m (11 1/2 ft) of fabric, soft and suitable for gathering, for example viscose, chiffon, georgette, polyester crepe, etc.
- Overlock machine L850/860/890
- Gathering Foot L18/C18, respectively the one that is compatible with your machine.
- Sewing Machine (straight stitch)
- Overlock thread
- Sewing thread
- Embroidery thread (or other fine, shiny thread for the rolled hem)
- Pattern of your preference
Cutting
- Cut your top as per your pattern instructions.
- First ruffle: 24 cm (9 1/2”) width x wof, 2 pcs.
- Second ruffle: 18 cm (7 1/4”) width x wof, 4 pcs.
- Third ruffle: 12 cm (4 3/4”) width x wof, 8 pcs.
- Sleeve ruffle: 18 cm (7 1/4”) width x 90 cm, 2 pcs.
- Test sewing gathering: 9 cm (3 1/2”) x 40 cm (16”), 2 pcs.
Sewing the Top
The following instructions refer to my dress with sleeves, using the Valentina dress pattern. For my dress I cut the top a little less high in the middle front, but shortened it by about 10 cm (4”) overall.
If you are using a pattern with darts, stitch them first with the sewing machine.
Pin the front and the back right sides facing along the shoulder seams and stitch the shoulder seams together. I used a 4-thread overlock for that. Had I used a transparent fabric, I stitched it using a 3-thread narrow seam.
I recommend continuing with the neck finish, that is easier to sew as long as the pieces can lie as flat as possible on your table. Follow your pattern instructions.
I used a bias tape all around the neckline.
Then go ahead with inserting the sleeves if your pattern has some. Right sides together, pin and sew the sleeves into the arm holes. I used a long basting stitch and then 4-thread overlock.
Testing
As you will see in the pictures below, I have used my L 860 with Gathering Foot #L18. It is also compatible with the L 850. For the L 890 you use the Gathering Foot Gathering Foot #C18.
Set your machine up with 4-thread overlock with default settings.
Ruffle one, 24 cm (9 1/2”), if required, stitch the strips for the front and for the back together to a suitable length. With my fabric width that was not required.
Ruffle two, 18 cm (7 1/4”), stitch two strips each together to a long strip, one for the front, one for the back.
Ruffle three, 12 cm (4 3/4”), sew 4 strips each together to have one long strip for the front, one for the back.
Attach the Gathering Foot.
Set 4-thread overlock to max. differential feed (2) and max. stitch length (4.5) and perform a sewing test, one layer gathered to a flat piece. Use the two strips of 40 cm length to verify the gathering result. Will your calculated length suffice?
How gathering works in detail, you can see in our video tutorial which I mentioned above.
Place the fabric to be gathered right side up, under the presser foot, and sew until the needles hold the fabric with one stitch.
Prepare the fabric that remains flat by clipping its seam allowance by 5 cm (2”) from the start.
Place the fabric right side down over the flap in front of the needles, so that it is stitched on with the next stitch. While sewing, guide both fabrics as straight as possible and hold only loosely. Don’t hold the fabric back if you wish to achieve an even result.
My gathering result is not quite 2:1, I would call it 1.9:1.
In case you notice that with a gathering of 2:1, your first ruffle is to much around the waist, don’t hesitate to reduce the differential feed setting to 1.7 or 1.5. Try different settings to verify the setting suitable to your liking.
Sewing the Ruffles
I am satisfied with 1.9:1 and will go ahead, sewing the first ruffle right sides facing to the back piece and then to the front piece.
If you are new to gathering with the Gathering Foot, I recommend adjusting the sewing speed to your comfort or skill level. The more fabric you have in the needle area, the greater the risk of cutting into fabric that doesn’t belong there. Especially since the gathered material is under the flat one, I check again and again that in my stitching area is only the material that belongs there.
Advantage of the machines in the L8 series is, that you can reduce the max sewing speed not only with your foot control but also in the settings for maximal sewing speed on the screen or via the switch of the L 850.
When sewing the ruffle to the front piece, make sure that you feed the seam allowances of the closure and darts correctly as pressed.
Then cut back the excess ruffle at the front and back, so that it becomes easier to sew on the second ruffle.
For the back and front, sew the second ruffle to the first, right sides facing. It still looks a bit misshapen because the side seams are still open.
Cut back the excess ruffle.
With side seams pinned together, it already takes some shape.
Sew the third ruffle onto the second, right sides facing, on both the front and the back.
And now it happened to me: With this seam I grabbed some fabric that did not belong there! When I noticed it, 3 cm were sewn in, but luckily only very briefly and only the edge of the hem. So, my dress will be about two centimeters shorter than planned.
The inside seams are quite neat looking, don’t you think?
Sew the sleeve ruffles to the sleeves. These short seams seemed like a reward to me.
For me is now the moment to press all gathering seams, but just the seams.
Finishing and hemming the dress
Attach the Standard Foot and set the 4-thread overlock to default.
Now you can pin the side seams right sides facing and sew them together, from hem to sleeve ruffle.
With a fine 3-thread rolled hem neaten the third ruffle and the sleeves.
For sewing a rolled hem I have set the sewing speed back to max. Especially when sewing short stitches, I appreciate to achieve a speed of up to 1’500 stitches per minute.
By the way, for rolled hemming, the use of the Cording Foot #L17 would also be a good idea. With its recess in the sole, it offers the space to feed the rolled-up fabric with the many short stitches.
For more about the Cording Foot, check out or video tutorial.
Lets take a look at several meters of rolled hem. Nice, isn’t it?
To finish of course I also press the rolled hems.
And how did your garment with the Gathering Foot turn out? Don’t hesitate to share your results and experiences with us in the comments below or the community section! Not everything has to be executed in pink, so here are some variations:
The Boho-Style dress could be worn well with a belt.
I’m sure you have already imagined how you want to style it.
Jewellery, shoes, handbag?
With that, I wish you a lot of fun with your project and lots more opportunities to celebrate the new dress!
Doris
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