Welcome to Hand-Sewn Gathers:

Stroke Gathers and Whipped Gathers.

In this skill-building course we will do a deep dive into historic hand-sewn stroke gathers and whip gathers! You will make two samples to hone your skills- a sample cuff based on a 19th-century shirt and a whip-gathered ruffle based on my study of 18th and 19th century millinery (aka accessories). Practicing these two techniques will deeply enhance your historical sewing practice and make your modern creations more beautiful. If you are recreating historical garments, stroke gathers are seen across time on shirts, shifts and smocks to control the gathering at the neck, the arm band, and the shoulders. They are also used in other accessories, such as aprons. Comparatively, whipped gathers historically are used to manipulate fine, delicate fabrics into fine ruffles on caps, bosom ruffles, neck and elbow ruffles across the 18th and 19th centuries.

Practicing these techniques will enhance your hand-sewn literacy when studying historical pieces. Confidently identifying stroke gathering versus whip gathering. As a modern maker these techniques will bring more beauty and more opportunity for hand sewing into your modern sewing practice. Let’s learn to hand sew from the past, to be more present so we can stitch a better future.

Class set up: This course uses close-captioned video instructions to guide you through the process of making a stroke gathered sample and a whipped gathered sample. This course is pre-recorded so please go at your own pace. Videos are all under 10 minutes so you can do this class in bite size chunks or devote an afternoon to sewing. Please remember you can pause, replay as much as you need to. Each video is close-captioned. You will see the “CC” icon on the bottom right hand side of the video. Click that button to turn them on or off. If you are in need of extra help I offer private virtual hand sewing lessons. Email me at sewncompany@gmail.com to schedule a session.

About your instructor: My name is Sarah E. Woodyard (S.E.W. cannot make that up!) and I am the founder of Sewn Company. I am a hand-sewing scholar and a firm believer in hand sewing preservation. Before the 1830s all clothing was constructed with needle, thread and human hands. I served a seven year apprenticeship at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation where I became a Journeywoman Milliner/Mantua-maker and hold a M.A. in Material Culture from the University of Alberta. To learn more about me click here. I like to do at least 15 minutes of hand sewing a day. It clears my head and brings me back to myself. I hope you will cultivate a hand sewing practice to remember what you are capable of, remember you are human and remember what your hands can do.

Let’s get stitching! If you have any questions you can email me at sewncompany@gmail.com.

Up next: materials and supplies

Material and Supplies

The following is a list of the materials and supplies you will need to create a stroke gather sample and a whipped gather sample (see “Prepping Materials” for exact dimensions):

Textiles For Stroke Gathers

1/2 yard of 58” wide lightweight to medium weight linen. (You can also practice these techniques with lightweight modern muslin.)

Stroke gathers are often used to gather and control fabric on light weight to heavy weight linen. For the purposes of creating a sample I would recommend a light to medium weight linen. Here are some places to order linen from:

Burnley and Trowbridge Linen

Zadie Grossman Lightweight Linen

Textiles For Whipped Gathers

1/2 yard of 58” wide lightweight linen or cotton. (You can also practice these techniques with lightweight modern muslin.)

Whipped gathers are often done on lightweight linen and cotton. For the purposes of creating a sample I would recommend a lightweight linen or cotton. Here are two good options:

Lightweight linen

Lightweight cotton

Thread

Stroke Gathers: Match the weight of your linen thread to your linen textile. If you are sewing with a medium weight linen textile I would suggest a 60/2 or 80/2 (lighter weight) linen thread from Burnley and Trowbridge. Also get beeswax to coat your linen thread. https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/collections/threads

Whipped Gathers: When I do whipped gathers using a lightweight linen or cotton I prefer to use a lightweight silk thread. It is strong so it can hold up to the strain of being tugged on and it is fine enough that it looks beautiful sewn through lightweight textiles. I love Guterman silk thread. You can get it here.

Needles

I like Bohin needles. It is worth it to get nice needles. Sharps and embroidery needles are a good length for most projects. Quilters needles are very short and are good for very fine projects. The number associated with the needle indicates its girth. The larger the number the finer the needle. Here is a good assortment of Bohin needles to choose from. Avoid darning needles, tapestry and beading needles, they are too long or too blunt.

Stroke Gathers: I would recommend a size 9 or 10 sharp, appliqué or embroidery needle.

Whipped Gathers: Since you will be stitching with a finer fabric I would suggest a size 10-12 sharp, appliqué or embroidery needle (the higher the number the finer the girth).

Pins

I am a big proponent of using super fine dressmakers pins that are 1 1/4” long. JoAnns has them here, but my favorite are Iris pins, you can get them here.

Scissors

Embroidery Scissors: A tiny, sharp pair of embroidery scissors is a must. You can get these from JoAnns. However, my current favorite (and the pair I am using in the workshop) are these from William Whiteley and Sons.

Dressmakers Scissors: 8-10 inch (20 cm to 25 cm) sharp, scissors to cut out fabric.I am using these (they also sell left handed scissors).

Tape Measure

Pencil

Thimble

You may have one in your stash or you can find them at antique stores or on etsy. Do not buy a one size fits all. It should fit on the middle finger of your dominate hand. Not too tight but not too loose it falls off. These are amazing from Sajou and are good for a wish list.

up next: Prepping materials

Prepping Material

In this section we will prepare our fabric for gathering. To practice your stroke gathers you will create a mock cuff. To practice your rolled-whip gathers you will create a mock ruffle attached to a band. You will cut the fabric and do some simple hemming to prepare the pieces for gathering.

Cutting Dimensions and Sewing Prep For Sample Pieces

***To cut out sample pieces please watch video below “Sample Pieces and How to Cut Them Out” for instructions on how to measure along your fabric and pull threads to cut perfectly square pieces.***

Stroke Gathers:

Cut 1 mock shirt sleeve: 4 X 17.25 inches / 10 cm X 44 cm. For sewing instructions see video below: “Prep Sample Sleeve For Gathering” in the “Stroke Gathers” Section.

Cut 1 mock shirt cuff: 5.5 X 8 inches / 14 cm X 20 cm. For sewing instructions see video below “Prepping Cuff For Attachment to Gathered Section.”

Rolled-Whipped Gathers:

Cut 1 band to attach to ruffle: 3 inches X 10 inches / 7.5 cm X 25 cm. In preparation, hem on three sides. For hemming instruction see video “Hemming/Felling” in “Hand Sewing Foundations” section. The longer hemmed edge is where the ruffle will be attached.

Cut 1 ruffle: 2 inches X 20 inches / 5 cm X 50 cm. In preparation, roll a hem on three sides. For rolled hem instruction see video “Rolled Hems” in “Hand Sewing Foundations” section. The long raw edge will be turned into a ruffle.

A note about the dimensions: When doing any sort of gathering the look you get is dependent upon the ratio of the width of the fabric you have to the width of the section you gather the piece down into. The above ratios are all a 2:1, meaning the fabric that will become the ruffle is twice the width as the section it is being gathered to. A 2:1 ratio is not always what is needed for the design. I would encourage you to play with this and make yourself two more samples. One with a 1.5:1 ratio and another with a 3:1 ratio for your reference.

Sample Pieces and How to Cut Them Out