Ruffling

Tutu-torial 3:

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Ruffling

After cutting multiple layers and widths of tutu net, the net is ruffled or pleated. There are a number of ways of doing this:

1) Using a ruffler attachment on a sewing machine

2) Using a specialized ruffler such as a pleater or Johnson ruffler

3) By hand: double, triple or more 

three types of pleating: double hand pleating, smocking pleated, machine ruffled

three types of pleating: double hand pleating, smocking pleated, machine ruffled

A good quality ruffler can cost up to $95.00 but if you are making a lot of tutus it is worth the cost. Make sure that you purchase your brand of machines' ruffler, not a cheap generic. It may all seem to work well in the beginning but the generic rufflers do not have the correct clearance for the feed dogs and can damage them, leading to a very costly repair.  You may think you are "saving" money but trust me on this, you are not!! (Ask me how I know this? I purchased and used a $25.00 generic ruffler which damaged the feed dogs on my machine so badly, broke off teeth, that they had to be replaced to the tune of almost $200, plus I could not use my machine for 8 weeks while it was in the shop, so I was unable to do any work during that time.)

If you were to go into business, one thing to consider is a machine called the Johnson ruffler.

All this machine does is ruffle.

I own a Sally Stanley smocking pleater and for pleating tulle, chiffon, organza etc. it is wonderful if a little slow and time consuming. A smocking pleater is a magical device that has three roller barrels, with multiple channels in it where specialized needles are place. Each needle has to be individually threaded, then the fabric is fed into the pleater and the pleater barrels are moved by cranking a little lever. The fabric slowly rolls through the barrels and comes out with tiny, parrallel pleats.

 

Hand pleating is the only way to create the beautiful, even, professional look of a tutu. I learned how to do this by reading the directions in The Classical Tutu book by Claudia Folts and by watching a Youtube video put out by Tutu.com. 

 Real tutu net pleats very well, tulle is another story. Good quality tulle, made here in the US, is very soft and so it is hard to get it to hold a pleat. I have found though that if you sew or serge 2-3 pieces on top of each other, the tulle has enough body to pleat well. Another advantage of that is that by using multiple layers of tulle, you can create wonderful, vibrant colors and shading.