Gather (sewing)

The whole of the fabric flares out into irregular, rolling folds beyond the gathered stitching.

[2][3] Gathering seams once involved tedious hand sewing of basting, which was time-consuming, especially with heavy fabric.

Now, a quick and easy way to make a gather is to use a wide zigzag stitch with a sewing machine.

Both the upper and lower thread are pulled long and placed in front of the sewing machine.

Finally, the upper and lower threads are pulled to gather the fabric.

Paul Revere in a shirt gathered at shoulder and cuffs, 1776.
This photo shows a quick and easy method of machine gathering. This zigzag gathering technique is the strongest and most sturdy method of gathering. [ 4 ]