How to Sew Gathering Into a Yoke

Yoked shirts, dresses and skirts nearly always involve attaching a gathered piece below the yoke. While it looks like a complicated process, it actually involves only a few steps. The most important thing to remember when attaching gathering to a yoke is that you want to distribute the gathers evenly for a neat look without bulky bunching.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Pins

Instructions

1. Loosen the tension on your sewing machine to make the longest stitches available.

2. Stitch a line 1/2 inch from the edge of the piece to be gathered. Repeat 1/4 inch closer to the edge.

3. Reset the machine for normal tension and join the shoulder seams on the yoke, according to the pattern instructions.

4. Pull the top threads of the gathering lines on the first piece to draw the fabric together. Continue to pull gently until the piece is the same width as the yoke. You may find it helpful to tie knots in the opposite ends of the threads to prevent accidentally pulling them out completely.

5. Lay the gathered piece flat on your work surface and space the gathers evenly across the width.

6. Pin the gathered piece to the one layer of yoke, right sides together.

7. Stitch the piece together, using a 5/8-inch seam allowance.

8. Turn the pieces right side out. Fold the yoke over the gathering.

9. Fold the seam allowance of the remaining layer of the yoke under and pin it to the gathered piece. Hand-stitch them together. If you prefer, you can topstitch the entire yoke with the sewing machine instead, once you finish its construction.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've pulled the gathering threads to the right fabric width, tie them with the bobbin threads to keep them in the right place.