Shirring - not just for sheep!

I joke, that would be 'shearing' but it's pronounced the same so who am I to ignore a quality pun?

... bad puns are life. Fact.

What is SHIRRING?

In dressmaking, it's loading your bobbin with elastic thread (specially made for the purpose) and sewing in parallel lines to achieve a gathered effect.

It adds shape and gathers to a plain fabric.

You can often see it used on summer tops, smocked toddler dresses and boho inspired garments.

Here's a little video introduction into the simplest of shirring techniques.

Pattern used: Dolly's traditional rag doll dress, part of our monthly subscription programme designed to teach you new dressmaking techniques on a smaller scale to build your sewing confidence for those larger (more costly!) projects.

How to load shirring elastic into your bobbin:

An example of simple shirring.

... On dolly's traditional raggy doll costume bodice.