Gathering :-/

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 29 Dec 2005 18:05

I'm having some difficulty with my gathering. The stitches don't look even and there are wrinkles etc.
Here are a few pictures:

Advice is appreciated

Currently I'm using waxed floss. It stretches really badly. I have apholstery thread, but it contstantly unravels itself.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 29 Dec 2005 18:48

Clean/pretty gathering is a matter of even uniform stitches.

Also, your hexes look significantly bigger than your pents, perhaps change around the ratios of sizes to get better aesthetics.

How many holes do you do per pentagon edge?

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 29 Dec 2005 19:11

The hexes are .95 inches, the pents are .8, and each hex's short side is .45 inches. I stitch three holes in each pent-5 in each hex

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 29 Dec 2005 19:24

Ahhhh, the number of holes is the issue, too much material is trying to gather for it to be done very efficiently.

You should give a try at doing 6 holes in each pent and 8 in each hex (the two extra, of course, being the ones that connect the hexes) that is the 'standard' method for making bags.

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 29 Dec 2005 19:34

6? Whoah

Thanks Mosher-I really appreciate it

Pengu · Post by **Pengu** » 29 Dec 2005 20:09

Dude, from the picture, it looks like you are stitching 6 holes. 6 holes = 3 full stitches. It's more a matter of you having too much fabric to gather and the pent/hex ratios are off. Your hexes look huge...

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 29 Dec 2005 20:13

ah shit- I confused myself

How should I resize them?

Pengu · Post by **Pengu** » 29 Dec 2005 20:26

From what I can see, you may need to align your panels better. It seems inconsistent which may also be a reason why your gather is inconsistent. You want your hexes lined up to your pents in exactly the same place one after the other. You may want to try a shorter hex edge length. Shave off however many fractions of inches you feel like shaving off and experiment. I only know metric.

Also, you may want to stitch less deep into the panels as you currently have been. It would mean less fabric to bunch up.

[edit]
It seems to me that your short length of the hex is far too long, which in turn makes your overall hex far too large. I think that a 2:1 ratio for long hex length:short hex length would serve you better. In fact the short hex length could be even shorter compared to the long hex length than a 2:1 ratio.

Maybe you are also stitching the hole that goes through the hexes too far into the panel of the hex. as in, you are leaving too much fabric left on your long hex length at this hole so it creates an even longer stitched short hex length than you originally intended it to be.