Chapter six: tucks, pleats and gathers

Sample board with tucks, pleats and gathers. Details below.

Combination tucks and pleats

Butter muslin with frayed and applied tucks; rolled and handstitched tucks, lavender sprigs.

Windmill tucks

Windmill tucks in butter muslin.

Ref: Kokoro No Te (Handmade Treasures from the Heart) by Kumiko Sudo. 2005. USA. Breckling Press.

An origami technique using tiny folded squares of fabric.

Flipped tucks

Flipped calico tucks secured with machine stitch.

Calico pleats

Calico pleats folded at different widths. Mounted on a roll of card to show three dimensional possibilities.

Chapter six: tucks, pleats and gathers

Sample board with tucks, pleats and gathers. Details below.

Silk tucks

Detail of the other end of the sample below shows machine stitched tucks and hand gathered tucks on silk.

Silk tucks

Detail of silk sample with hand-stitched tucks and added hand embroidery.

Tucks and pleats

Cotton organdie with applied, cut and flipped pleats. Tucks and silver thread.

Twin needle tucks

Part of the sample below shows twin needle tucks on the bias.

Twin needle tucks

Twin needle tucks on cotton organdie.

Padded with a mix of paper thread, silver thread and cotton a broder.

Chapter six: gathers

All samples on this board are hand gathered on cotton lawn. The gathered strips were 8cms x 24cms.

Hand-gathered donut

Hand-gathered donut shape on cotton lawn.

Hand gathers in two directions

Cotton lawn 24cms x 24cms freely gathered in two directions.

Random hand gathers

Random hand gathers on cotton lawn.

Uneven hand gathers

Uneven hand gathers on cotton lawn using a 1cm grid.

Even hand gathers

Evenly spaced hand gathers on cotton lawn using a 1cm grid.

Chapter six: gathers

A mixed display of gathers. See the tiny little ribbon gather middle right of the pic.

Gathers: wrapping

Pebbles from North Beach, Lowestoft. Dishcloth cotton wrapped with wrapped with coton a broder.

Gathers: pulled threads

Pulled threads on scrim.

Multiple gather: crepe, organza, net and chiffon

Multiple hand gather with silver thread.

Crepe, organza, fine net and chiffon.

Hand gathers: organdie and lavender

Hand gathered organdie circles stuffed with lavender.

Hand gathered ribbon tie.

Machine gathers

Machine gathered lawn.

Stitch length 6.

Chapter five: quilting techniques

Wadded, shaped and padded samples, 12 in total.

Wadded quilt sample: calico and silk noile

Cotton bump wadding.

Base layer calico. Top layer silk noile.

Machine stitch 28 with variable stitch width and length 2-3.5.

Madeira metallic thread 260.

Wadded quilt sample: fine net

Grass and debris from North Beach Lowestoft.

Base and top layers fine net.

Giant running stitch in wool. Cross stitch knots in chenille.

Wadded quilt sample: calico and scrim

Bubblewrap wadding.

Giant running stitch with DMC linen L822 Ecru and metal thread.

Wadded quilt sample: calico and polyester

Conventional quilt sample with polyester wadding.

Base and top layers calico.

Running stitch with DMC stranded cotton 25.

Washed after stitching to pucker.

Shaped quilt sample: muslin, calico and organdie

Lavender Sprigs from my friend Bev's garden.

Base layer muslin and calico. Top layer cotton organdie.

Running stitch with cotton and silver thread. Whipped between the sprigs.

Very bendy and smells gorgeous.

Shaped quilt sample: calico, bubble wrap and scrim

Debris from North Beach Lowestoftand found and bought shells.

Base layer calico and bubblewrap.Top layer scrim.

Stab stitched with DMC linen L822 (sadly no longer available). Knots with linen and metal thread.

Shaped quilt sample: calico and fine net

Luminous plastic stars (came with the house, plastered over the bedroom ceiling).

Base layer calico. Top layer calico and fine net.

Stab stitched with Madeira Silk 018.

Shaped quilt sample: felt and calico

Pebbles from North Beach Lowestoft.

Base layer wool felt; top layer calico.

Stab stitched with anchor coton a broder.

Creates a chunky fabric.

Rouleaux

Silk, calico and fine net.

I followed the instructions on p14o of Needlework School.

Very fiddly.

Padded quilt sample: organdie and twin needles

Cotton organdie, one layer only.

Twin needles 2.5mm at stitch length 2.5.

Cotton thread: stitched on the bias which gives a slightly three-dimensional effect.

Stuffed with starlight silver thread and white stranded cotton.

Padded quilt sample: calico and twin needles

Calico, single layer only.

Twin needles 2.5mm at stitch length three.

Cotton thread.

Stuffed with two strands of coton a broder.

Padded quilt sample: muslin and silk noile

Hand-stitched channels with running stitch in DMC danish flower thread: Ecru.

Each channel stuffed with two length of Anchor quilting wool.

Padded quilt sample: calico and cotton organdie;

Top row left to right: sequins; dried flower petals; bugle beads.

Middle row left to right: dried flower petals; jellyfish pic; feather.

Bottom row left to right: sequins; dried flower petals; shells.

Decorative machine stitch 35; cotton thread.