How to Use a Ruffler Foot

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I know what you are asking? What is that medieval contraption in the photo below? Well, it is a Ruffler foot! This amazing foot can gather and pleat all at once with only one row of stitching. This tutorial will teach you how to use a ruffler foot to cut down on your gathering time substantially.

Table of Contents

Ruffler Foot

What is a Ruffler Foot?

A ruffler foot is an attachable sewing machine foot that gathers and pleats automatically. It can save an enormous amount of time for larger projects.

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!!!!!

Rufflers are available for most makes of sewing machines. You can also purchase an after-market model from eBay or Amazon fairly inexpensively. Just check whether your machine has a high shank or low shank so you purchase the correct one. The one I use is an aftermarket model.

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.

When to Use a Ruffler Foot

If you only have a small section to gather then this is probably not the best method. But if you have lots of gathering or pleating to do you will be amazed how quickly you can complete your project.

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.

Step 1 - Attaching

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.

Step 2 - 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.

Step 3 - Safety Check

SUPER IMPORTANT - Don’t sew a stitch until you have checked the following:

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.
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.

Step 4 - Test Run

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

How to Use a Ruffler Foot - Settings

Know you know the basics of how to use a ruffler foot, you will want to know how to adjust it.

Your Ruffler has 2 points where you can make adjustments.

Distance of Pleats

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
12 – larger pleats

Depth of Gathering

The second point of adjustment comes from the black knob attached to a long 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.

How to Use a Ruffler Foot - Sewing Tips

FINISHING - You don’t need to back stitch 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.

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.

How to Use a Ruffler Foot - 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.