Sewing Tools: Ruffler

 Once upon a time, I was lurking around in my local fabric and sewing notions shop and stumbled upon a weird looking gadget. "? What are you?" I wondered. Never before had I seen such a thing and I was instantly curious as to what it does. It automatically gathers and pleats all types of fabrics? I have been slightly underwhelmed by the standard  on my sewing machine as it is quite picky about how and what types of fabric it gathers so I decided to try out the ruffler. 

It looks like something out of a steampunk meets futuristic movie. And at first I thought it was quite intimidating with all of the moving parts, screws and setting. However after reading through the instructions and taking a quiet moment to get to know Ruffie(like I like to call him), I realized that he's a really awesome gadget and a must have in one's sewing arsenal.

You can gather/pleat(depending on the settings) simply one piece of fabric or gather/pleat one layer of fabric while you sew it to another layer of fabric that is not gathered/pleated. Which is great when you are making something where you have to gather a lot of pieces and then sew them onto regular fabric(for example if you're making pettiskirts)

Ruffie functions based on stitch length, gather/pleat depth and pleat/gather interval. There are four options for pleats. Pleat every stitch(interval 1), which creates gathers, pleat every 6th or 12th stitch(which creates pleats) and the forth setting is no pleating. The depth of the pleats can be manually regulated with the black screw in front of the foot. I made a few examples of each setting. The stitch length was 2,5 unless otherwise stated so you can see the difference the different settings make.

Interval: 1
Depth: 1
Stitch: 2,5

Interval:1
Depth: 1
Stitch 1,5

Interval: 1
Depth: 4

Interval: 6
Depth: 2

Interval: 6
Depth: 8

Interval:6
Depth:6

Interval: 6
Depth: 6

Interval: 12
Depth: 8

I love that the whole process is automated, all you have to worry about is keeping the sewing line straight. But as there are handy seam allowance guides on the foot, that's really easy. Also there's no risk of your gathers disappearing because you pulled the wrong thread or the thread breaking and having toi start all over or any other horrors as you face with gathering by hand  as the machine sews through the gather as it gathers so it's all set and ready to go. I used Ruffie to create the gathers on the sleeves of this dress and I was amazed on how even and neat the pleats were.

You can find the Ruffler/Ultimate Ruffler in Amazon/eBay or in your local sewing shop. There are cheaper and more expensive versions available. I paid around 30€ for mine but I think it was totally worth it.

Disclaimer. I was not asked or paid to write this post. I just wanted to share something I think is a great addition to one's sewing tool collection.

Sewvember roundup?

She's alive! I've been missing for a while, I know. This/last year the pre-Christmas and Christmas rush was brutal. I'm not gonna lie. For quite few times I thought about running into the woods and pretending I wasn't real til things calmed down. And if it hadn't been cold as f, I actually might have done that. But I survived and got the flu from Santa for Christmas. Can I get a sarcastic yay? *yaaaay*

Now that things are setting back into normal pace and I've gotten the chance to really sit down and focus myself on less than ten things at the same time, I realized that I never finished sharing my Sewvember journey with you guys. So before I head forward into shiny and new 2015, I'm going to take you back to November. This will be a long post, so bare with me.

10th of November

Week 2 (8th-14th)

8th of November

9th of November

11th of November

12th of November

13th of November

14th of November

8th of November : Signature style. My style is all over the place. I go from old t-shirts and tights one day to feminine dresses and high heels on the next. But if I look really hard at my wardrobe and think about it, I like clean lines and comfort. The most worn clothes are mixed of classical styles and something current to add a bit of pop to the outfit. I'm still looking for what exactly my style is but I think it's a mixture if feminine and boyish. I can be a classy lady and a tomboy at the same time, right?

9th of November : Next Project. At that time I was supposed to make a coat with the black wool and a Bruyére with the crazy paisley. Well.. I have not started the coat yet. The Bruyére is cut out and since then I've cut out and finished one Moneta, one pair of Ginger jeans and one Dahlia. Sorrynotsorry??

10th of November : Inspiration. If I had to choose one thing that inspires me the most, I would say the Universe. And technically I won't be cheating either. My ideas come from wherever. A dream, a picture from a magazine, a video game, blogs, etc. If you keep your mind open, there is SO much inspiration around us. All you have to do is look and breathe in the world in all of its glory (and ugliness)

11th of November : Early make. If someone had told me two years ago that I would be posting pictures of this dress for the internet to see, I would have seriously questioned their sanity. This is a dress I made for my high school graduation. Back then I was just a young girl who liked to sew, made up things as she went and hoped for the best. I literally sewed this thing onto my body. I cut out a rough bodice block based on a RTW shirt I had and then pinned away while trying on the bodice. For that time and the skills(or lack of) I had back then, it turned out great. But now I can't stand to look at it. I could spend days telling you what is wrong with that thing. Now after I've graduated the school I studied tailoring in and the two years I've spent on working as a tailor in the real world, I really see how far I've become in these last five years. Man, Throwback Thursday, much?

12th of November : Favorite Finish. What can I say, I love a good baby rolled hem. I finish most of my hems with either baby rolled hems or regular rolled hems when I'm sewing woven fabrics.

13th of November : View. This monster is what I see when I lift my eyes from behind the sewing machine. Though by now I've added another section to the thread wall. I love this beast. All the threads are right there and finding the right colour is so easy.

14th of November : UFO. Those were my UFO's aka corner of shame. A green Myrtle that was my very first version of that pattern and it was WAY TOO BIG. As in "I might show you my sweater puppies by accident" big. I had planned to take it apart and cut it into a smaller size but I gave it to Mr.Man's cousin on New Year's. It fit her better and at least she would wear it while I would just stare at the thing and think "One day" In the middle is the Hawthorn wearable doublesided muslin. I accidentally cut a hole in it and I was angry and put it into the corner. I finished it yesterday. Woopwoop. And third is a shirt I started in the end of July/beginning of August. All it needed was buttonholes and buttons. Yup. That's all. But I'm proud to say that I was good and did that yesterday. Hot damn, yesterday was a good day.

Week 3 (15th-21st)

17th of November

15th of November 

16th of November

20th of November

18th of November

19th of November

21st of November

15th of November : Sewing Library. I don't have a lot of books in my Sewlabry. I've added a few books in the last year or so but the most valuable items are the materials on construction of patterns and sewing techniques I gathered while I was at school. Those are all my knowledge(and then some) I got while I got my tailoring edumacation and to me they are priceless. 16th of November : Organisation. I can be a bit really anal when it comes to organisation. This is my button collection. I've divided all of them into four groups: singles, blouses, pants/jackets and coats. Then I've sewed one of each button onto carton(while putting them into order by buttonhole numbers). Behind every button is written how many pieces of that I have in the stash. The stash is in thee boxes according to their type and each model is pieced into a bundle with thread. All the single buttons are all sewed onto the carton. It took me forever but now I have a good overview of what and how much I have when I need to find buttons for a project.17th of November : Planning. I generally don't plan my selfish sewing. Sure, I have a general idea of what I want to make sometime in the next few months but I don't go according to a specific plan. I often don't have a lot of time for selfish sewing so  I sew when I have time and go according to my current mood and what I need to add to my wardrobe based on my needs at that moment. Also what fabric is screaming at me the loudest is a huge factor.18th of November : Fun. I have a lot of fun when I make  handmade presents for the kids. It doesn't matter if it's for Christmas or their birthdays. For Christmas 2014 I made them all PJ Eaters. Minecraft inspired for boys and Hello Kitty inspired for girls. They were a big hit with the kids but someone forgot to take pictures in her fever induced brainfart. Have to sneak into their houses with a camera, hahahahaa.19th of November : Fit. A big issue for me is how to fit my selfish sewing into my life. There is SO much I want to do and not enough time. *sigh*20th of November : Notions. So I've covered my threads and buttons. So here are my zippers. I don't have a big selection at hand but I do try to keep most used zippers in my stash. The fabric shop where I get all of my zippers is two minutes away from my home, so I can get what I need pretty much any time I need it. Unless I'm an idiot and discover I need a zipper on Sunday when the lovely shopkeepers take a day off. Also I keep my regular zippers and invisible zippers in different containers because....organisation.21th of November : Crazy fabric. Don't ask me why I have these. Just accept that I do and that's that. 

Week 4 (22nd-28th)

24th of November

22nd of November

23rd of November

25th of November

27th of November

26th of November

28th of November

22nd of November : Tried and True. The pattern I keep coming back to. My TNT for when I NEED to have a new dress in an hour. The Moneta. My guilty pleasure. (Blogged versions one, two, thee, four and five)
23rd of November : Patterns. Last year same time, I had no patterns(okay, I had Burda magazines and self drafted patterns). But since REALLY getting into the online sewing world, I've discovered A LOT (much to my wallet's disdain). Now I have a whole box for only Colette patterns and two other boxes for other various indie patterns. Most of which I'm yet to make something out of. No regrets. Mostly
24th of November : Challenge. My biggest challenge is to stop working and taking time off. When you are self employed and your studio is right at your home next to your living room, it's so easy to go back and tweak something or sew just a few more seams. And that will result in sewing for hours when you are supposed to have a day off. Which in turn results in a burnout. I am a workaholic, I've been one all of my life and I can't help it. But I need to find a balance and take care of myself or it will come biting me in the ass when I'm older and it's too late.
25th of November : Complete. Something I started and finished in November. The Tate Top.(blogged here)

26th of November : Red Hot Mess. The ill fitting Myrtle. It's not a mess anymore cause it belongs to someone who has the right measurements to fill this thing. 

27th of November : Best Make. I like to believe my best work is still in the future and every item I finish is better than the last one. But I'm still really proud of this coat (blogged here)

28th of November : Hem. As someone who has worked as a seamstress/technologist in a company that specializes in knits for different time periods that sum up into a year, I have a close relationship with knits. They are easy to work with and usually result in a quick make. And nothing beats a hem finished with coverstitch or a twin needle when it comes to knits. Hot damn.

Week 5 (29th-30th)

29th of November

30th of November

29th of November : Learning. Life is a long journey of learning and becoming the best to your abilities. I try to learn as much as I can and the next chapter for me will be underwear. Which is why I got this book. It looks intimidating but I will embark on this journey and hopefully end up with a wardrobe of fitting handmade underwear.

30th of November : Top Tip. Mine would be "Sew with love" It shows when someone makes a dress with love. It also shows when you've been stressed while sewing. So if you can, take a step back when you feel overwhelmed. Take a walk, a nap or whatever relaxes you. Come back with fresh eyes and enjoy what you do.

***

So that was my Sewvember. I hope you are all well and had a nice Christmas(or whatever holiday you celebrate) and a fun New Year's. I've started my year with tackling that UFO pile and have worked on tying those loose ends. Not going to start with the new before the old are done. 

Sewvember 2014: Week one

Amanda from Bimble and Pimple came up with an awesome idea for a month long project of daily Instagram pictures with different themes every day. Real Me isn't a huge fan of social media but Fooniks loves Instagramming her sweing adventures on IG. So I joined in on the fun. And as not everyone uses Instagram(or follows me there), I decided to do a roundup post of each week so you can take a mini peek at my daily sewing world/the insides of my brain/my sewing cave.

Day 1 : Sewing space
I took the weekend off from sewing and put my machines to sleep. I covered them in their blankets and they got a good sleep. On the right is my industrial sewing machine. He dreamt of sewing a winter coat. Then next is my serger. She dreamt of different comfy jersey tops and sweaters. And last(but not least) is my home sewing machine. She dreamt of finally sewing those button holes on the shirt that has been hanging on the hanger for about two months all ready only lacking buttonholes. So this is the space I sew at.

Day 2 : Technique
I shared my favorite technique for attaching lining to front facing. I use a bias tape to finish the raw edge of the facing. I sew the bias tape to the facing, then baste it down, then baste the lining under the facing and bias tape and then use top stitching to sew it all together. I love the look of this and I think it looks way prettier than usual method.

Day 3 :  Stash
So this is my fabric stash. On top: jerseys, silks, rayons, suit, coat, lining and dress fabrics. On bottom left: fabrics for PJs, tea towels, bedsheets and other household sewing. Bottom right: fabrics that need to be prewashed. About a year ago I had about one third of the fabric I have now. I counted about 350 meters of fabric in total in my stash. I admit. I have a problem and I'm going to try not to buy any more fabric(unless I don't have the kind of fabric I need). So I'm going on a fabric diet. But I have no will power so I'm going to predict it's not going to be exactly successful. 

Day 4 : WIP
I have many things in works at the same time. Some of them are muslins, some are real articles of clothing. But the one I was working on the Fourth of Sewvember is this little Hawthorn blouse. It's kind of a wearable muslin and I cut it out from an ugly ass skirt that my gran gave me. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this thing. It's fully lined and will be wearable two sided. Who makes their muslins two sided? This girl! I should get my brain scanned.

Day 5 : Tools 
A proper tool can make or break a project. And these are my most used tools. Well. Along with pressing tools that are not pictured because I had a brain fart and forgot to include those in the picture. Hurr-durr. But here are all my cutting tools(for fabric on the left and paper on the right), my trusted seam rippers and pins. My marking tools and measuring tools. And my fray stopper(or fray stoppa like spelled on the bottle. I kind of like  Fray Stoppa better, it sounds cooler) These are my homies and always in my bag if I have to go and sew in a different location.

Day 6. MEEEEE!!
Hi. I'm weird. Derp. Sometimes I feel like the Derp Song is my life soundtrack. My brain goes a million miles a minute and this pretty much describes what goes on in my brain. On the surface I look like  a normal human being, on the inside lives this silly creature who likes to cross her eyes for the fun of it. Also. I got new glasses!

Day 7 : Insides
This is what the inside of my sewing machine looks like. I see this every time I clean my machine. The big thing filled with yellow thing is the oil reservoir. That's one of the bright sides of industrial machines. There are oil tanks where the machine takes oil to lubricate itself automatically. All I have to do is make sure the tank isn't empty. Once the tank is full it lasts about a year or so. Which is brilliant. Only if it's not refilled and the machine runs with zero oil, it can make the engine to crash and go on a strike. So..Better keep an eye on this pee colored thing.


So this was the first week of my sewing world/my brain. I actually really like this challenge. It makes me think of things I usually don't think about and see things from a different perspective. Also it's a great way to stalk people's sewing spaces. Yay for stalking!

Are you participating in Sewvember? Let me know so I can creepily stalk follow you on Instagram.

My woman on the side.

I have a confession to make. I'm two timing Mr.Man. I have a woman on the side. She is awesome and I'm in love. Aaaah. Spring and young love. Please meet Ms Mandy Diana.

I've wanted an adjustable dress form since forever and now I finally have one. My old dress form just didn't cut it. It's was too small. Sure, it's okay to showcase my clothes, but if you look at pictures of garments I've made for the average customer, the clothes are too big and look like crap. I've even decided not to bother to take pictures of some of the projects because they were WAY too big and looked like I threw a bed sheet over the dress form.

So one day, after a long time flirting with the pictures of the dress form online, I ordered it. Like a mail order bride. And after waiting for a torturous week, one morning there was a doorbell. A courier was behind my door. With my wife. She looked so tempting in that box. So I dropped everything I was doing and started to undress her. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

After I got her out of her box and assembled her in five minutes, she looked better in real life(how many times can you say that in real life). I started to play with her and pushed all her buttons and she worked really well. She's size 42-50(which means she's dress form Diana B) and I'm thinking of getting her sisters Diana A(34-42) and Diana C(44-52)(I'me going to make my own show of sister wives, haha). But that's the future. Right now I'm happy with just having Mandy. Oooh Mandy(*hum in the tune of Barry Manilow's music*)