Dental floss is not only good for your teeth and gums, its great for gathers! That’s right. The next time you have to make lots of gathers, say for a ruffled dress or a home-dec project, try this method. It’s easier and faster than the traditional double row of stitches, and it saves wear and tear on your fabric. All it takes is a spool of dental floss, and it will make your life so much easier!

Set your zig-zag stitch to its widest setting – on my machine that is 6mm, and a fairly long stitch length – 4mm is my favorite length. Center your dental floss under your presser foot and stitch the length of your fabric, making sure to keep the dental floss free, as shown.

Cut the floss the same length as the edge to be gathered.

Stitch over the floss with a large zigzag stitch. Make sure not to sew directly on the floss.

After stitching the length of your fabric, secure one end of the dental floss and pull up the other to create the gathers:

Secure one end of the floss and pull the other to create your gather.

Adjust your gathers and attach them to your project. Very fast, very pretty!

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