How to Use a Ruffler Foot (Fastest Way to Gather and Pleat Fabric)

A ruffler foot is one of the fastest ways to gather and pleat fabric, saving you hours of sewing time on large projects. While it may look complicated at first, this powerful sewing machine attachment can create perfectly spaced gathers and pleats in just one pass. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use a ruffler foot step by step, including the best settings, tips, and when it’s worth using instead of traditional gathering methods. For more ways to create fullness, read my compete guide on how to gather fabric.

What is a Ruffler Foot? (Sewing Machine Attachment)

A ruffler foot is a specialized sewing machine attachment that creates evenly spaced pleats or gathers in fabric. It can be adjusted to create different pleat depths and distances. This presser foot is ideal for projects like ruffled hems, pillowcases, or decorative trims, as it saves so much time. It can save an enormous amount of sewing time for larger projects. The ruffler foot can also be called a sewing machine pleating foot or ruffler attachment.

Read about all the different sewing machine feet you can use for gathering and sewing.

Use a ruffler foot when:

• Sewing long ruffles
• Working on skirts, curtains, or trims
• You need consistent pleats
• You want to save time

I have a love-hate relationship with my Ruffler foot. If it is a small project, it is not worth all the effort to set it up, but if I have a large amount of gathering in my project, it is AMAZING!!!!!

If you look very closely at the gathers produced, they are actually tiny pleats. When sewn into a garment, they just look like larger gathers. For fine gathers, you may be best using a traditional method where you pull the bobbin thread.

💡Read more about the best sewing machine feet to buy when you get a new machine. These specialty feet will make your sewing faster and easier.

How To Use a Ruffler Foot (Step by Step)

The fastest way to gather large amounts of fabric is to use a ruffler foot. It creates consistent pleats or gathers in one step, saving significant time compared to traditional methods.

1. Attach the Ruffler Foot

Attach it to your machine as per the instructions. Generally, they attach to your shank with the bar at the back, and then the black semi-circular loop goes over the needle clamp. You will notice that most of the bulk of the foot is in front of where your feet normally sit.

It looked daunting the first time looked at the actual foot but once you have it snapped on at the back it comes together nicely. Don’t force anything and take your time.

2. Set the Stitch Type

Set your machine on a straight stitch with a length of 4.0. This foot will not work with a zig-zag or any other stitch type. You do not want any width to your stitching.

3. Set the Ruffler Foot Settings

Know you know the basics of how to use a ruffler sewing foot, you will want to know how to adjust the pleat depth and distance. Your Ruffler has 2 points where you can make adjustments.

Distance of Pleats Using a Ruffler Foot – The first is in the front where you will see the lever shown in the photo below. You will see there are 4 settings for the Ruffler here – star, 12,6,1. This tells you how many stitches there are between each gather or pleat. The larger the number, the larger each pleat will be.

• Star – no gathers
• 1 – gathers
• 6 – small tucks (every 6th stitch is a tuck)
• 12 – larger pleats (every 12th stitch is a tuck)

Ruffler Foot Settings Explained

Setting	Function
Star	No gathering
1	Every stitch gathers
6	Small pleats
12	Larger pleats
Screw adjustment	Controls depth

Depth of Gathering with a Ruffler Foot – The second point of adjustment on a ruffled foot comes from the black knob attached to a long adjusting screw at the back. This adjusts the depth of the gathering by adjusting stitch length. A smaller number gives larger ruffles and a larger number gives fewer ruffles.

4. Do a Safety Check

SUPER IMPORTANT  – Don’t sew a stitch with the ruffler sewing foot until you have checked the following:

1. NEEDLE POSITION– That the needle goes through the hole without touching any metal. When I first started using my Ruffler foot I broke a lot of needles by forgetting to check. You may have to adjust your needle position slightly to the left or right. If the needle is hitting the side metal of the Ruffler you should also check that your needle is not bent. Try replacing it.
2. FOOT DOWN – That your presser foot is down. This foot is so large it is not always easy to tell if it is down or not. If you try and stitch with the foot up you will cause a thread jam.

5. Sew the Ruffles

Once you have checked the above, grab some scrap fabric and do a test row of stitching.

Tips and Troubleshooting a Ruffler Foot

Here are some tips if you run into any problems:

• FINISHING – You don’t need to backstitch at the ends. I’m not sure about all brands, but my foot did not like going backward. Instead of backstitching, just tie off the ends. (Learn how to tie ends)
• TEST – Like a gathering foot, you will need to play around a little to get the look you want.
• CUTTING – I always cut the length of my ruffle longer than I need and then trim any excess at the end. Just make sure you don’t ruffle too tightly as it is almost impossible to adjust the stitches. If you need to be more accurate with your gathering, then cut a strip of scrap fabric 10 inches (25cm) long and gather. Then measure its final length. If it measures 5 inches then you have a 2:1 gather. If it is 3 inches then it is 3:1. Make some notes so you remember next time.

Using a Ruffler Foot on Flat Fabric

You can also stitch your ruffle to a straight piece of fabric at the same time. For example when you need to join a ruffle to a hem or a skirt to a waistband. For most hem ruffles you should always hem the bottom first – I forgot since I was just sewing a sample for you.

Ruffler Foot vs. Traditional Gathering

Traditionally gathering is done with 2 or 3 rows of stitching with the longest straight stitch length. The bobbin threads are then pulled, resulting in fine gathers. While not difficult, this method can certainly be time-consuming, especially when you have multiple ruffles on your project.

A ruffler will save time and has the additional advantage of pleating as well. You will notice though, that the ruffler produces larger gathers that look like small pleats.

Ruffler Foot vs Gathering Foot

The first thing you are going to notice from this photo is the enormous size difference. A gathering foot is considerably simpler and smaller than a ruffler. It is designed to produce gentle gathers in thinner fabrics. It will not do pleating. A ruffler, by contrast, can gather and pleat thin and thick fabrics or various weights. If you are a home sewer planning to make some money from your sewing then both feet are a must.

Ruffler Foot FAQs

In Conclusion

A ruffler foot can save you enormous amounts of time when you are sewing larger amounts of ruffles on garments and other sewing projects. It does take a little more time to set up, but is a wonderful addition to your sewing kit and a real time saver for enthusiastic sewers. Now you know how to use a ruffler foot, what will you use it for? Share your comments below.

More Articles On Gathering:

1. How to Gather by Hand
2. Shirring (sewing with elastic thread)
3. Gathering with a Serger
4. How to Sew Ruching
5. Gathering with Cord
6. Gathering with Elastic
7. How to Gather Tulle
8. Gathering Foot
9. How to Sew a Flounce
10. Types of Ruffles