Elastic shirring creates a wonderful stretchy texture. It occupies the space between the simplicity of gathering and the intricacy of hand-smocking. We cover the technique itself as well as several free project ideas.
In between the simplicity of gathering and the intricacy of hand-smocking, lives one of our favorite texturing techniques: elastic shirring. You've probably owned a garment or two with shirring on the bodice or sleeve edge. It was the style on those iconic 1970s peasant dresses, and it remains popular in new fashion trends. Shirring is
The shirred sundress is a wardrobe standard for summer. But S4H is never one to settle for standard! We spun the traditional one-seam-up-the-side design, taking it from ordinary to trendy by adding a flirty eyelet underskirt and a precious sash with its own flower pin. Both of our classic fabrics have a sweet, old-fashioned goodness.
Learn how to do elastic shirring; it’s easier than you think thanks to elastic thread. Then, whip up a super cute summer sundress in your favorite fabric. Includes links to the full shirring tutorial and a matching sun top.
We cautioned you about "shirr madness" and then we fell for it ourselves! In our original shirring tutorial, we warned that once you learned how to do it, there would be all kinds of projects crying out for this pretty, rumply, stretchy touch of texture. While rifling through out S4H stash of favorites, we spotted