Definition
Shirring is gathering fabric with several parallel rows of stitching, usually with elastic thread in the bobbin, to create a stretchy, textured panel.
Shirring turns a light woven fabric into a fitted, stretchy area: a bodice that hugs the ribs, a waist, the back of a dress or the cuffs of a sleeve. The rows pull the fabric into soft puckers, and the elastic lets it stretch over the body.
How to shirr on a home machine:
- Wind elastic thread onto the bobbin by hand, evenly, without stretching it.
- Use regular thread on top, a stitch length of about 3 to 4 mm and normal tension.
- Sew from the right side, in parallel rows 6 mm to 1.5 cm (1/4 to 5/8 in) apart, stretching the previous rows flat as you go.
- Secure the elastic ends by tying them or by catching them in a seam.
- Steam the shirred panel with the iron hovering above it: the elastic shrinks and the gathers tighten.
Cut the panel about 1.5 to 2 times the body measurement it will cover. Shirring suits light, soft fabrics such as cotton lawn, voile, double gauze, seersucker and viscose; heavier fabrics do not gather enough. Results vary between machines, so test on a scrap of your fabric first.
Ready-to-wear clothes often call shirred bodices smocked, but true smocking is hand embroidery over pleats. Compare also with gathering and elastic.