Calculating the Fullness of a Gathered Skirt

⁣My demonstration is with little half-aprons for the sake of simplicity and being able to show it all on the screen, but these same principles apply with anything that is gathered. For example for a gathered skirt, this should give you a good idea of the fullness you are looking for and how to calculate it. Or for gathered sleeves, you can plan for how puffy you want the sleeve to be.

The 3 levels of gathers I did here are:
50% gather (6" + 3" = 9" starting length)
100% gather (6" + 6" = 12" starting length)
200% gather (6" + 12" = 18" starting length)

As you can imagine, fuller gathers take significantly more fabric so that is another consideration when planning your sewing project. A half-apron can be done with any amount of gather and still would look beautiful and be practical, so I usually use up scrap pieces of fabric instead of planning out the gather amount. However, for skirts, dresses or sleeves, I do more planning because I want to decide what the garment will look like.

If you're using a pattern to sew, you won't have to worry about calculating gathers, but having this skill will allow you to adjust the pattern to better suit your style.

I hope this all makes sense and gives a useful visual. Since I am new to SpiritusTV, I am not yet familiar with the individuals on this platform, especially with your level of sewing skill, so I would appreciate any comments and messages letting me know about yourself and what you might want to see from me. I can do videos for beginners who have never touched a needle and thread before, or if you're more experienced, maybe we can learn some new techniques together. Just let me know!

May the Lord reward your works
Ani Slattery

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Thank you for watching and please let me know what you think of the video, and if you have any requests for what you'd like to see in the future.

Our family has felt a strong call to pursue traditional skills that have been lost in the modern world, and we want to share it with others as much as the Lord will allow. My husband does carpentry, animal husbandry, butchery, writing and publishing. Find his channel here: https://spiritustv.com/@Traditional_Skills

I share traditional handiworks such as sewing and embroidery and I also have a little shop where I sell some of my handmade goods such as aprons, head coverings, embroidered neckties, Catholic embroidery kits and rosary pouches. Or you can follow me on Instagram to see my past or current works.

My shop: https://www.taurusnecrus.com/ani
My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ave.domina.angelorum

Or contact me for custom sewing requests or to get in touch: ani.slattery@gmail.com