How to Press Gathers Without Crushing Them?

Gathers are a common technique used in sewing garments that you’ll see anywhere from skirt waistlines to puff sleeves. It’s a basic skill that you’ll need to learn how to do at some point. But if you go ahead and try to press the gathers the same way you do any other seam, you’ll end up crushing the lovely flounce.

The best way to press a seam with gathers is to flip the fabric to the reverse side and press only the seam allowance. Use the tip and edge of the iron to carefully press along the seam without allowing the iron to crush the gathered side.

This is one of those basic skills that takes some practice, but you’ll use it all the time. It can even help for pressing pleats and tucks when you need to be careful not to add extra creases to the fabric.

• Check out more tips to press your seams and make your garments look professional

1. Press the gathered seam away from the gathered side

You (almost) always want to make sure your seam allowance is pressed away from the gathered side of the seam. For example, if you have a gathered skirt, you should press it toward the waistband. This helps to keep the seam flat and makes it a lot easier to avoid crushing those gathered while you press the seam.

There are exceptions to this (there are exceptions to everything in sewing, aren’t there?). Sometimes you want to make the gathers pop more. The best example of this is gathering along sleeves. You get a very different look depending on whether you press the seam toward the shoulder, or back toward the gathered sleeve.

If you want the gathering to give more of a puffed look, you’ll need to press the seam back toward the gathered side. If you want it to sit flatter, you’ll need to press the seam toward the shoulder.

2. Press right on the seam

When pressing gathers, you want to focus on pressing them right on the seam and seam allowance, without allowing the iron to touch the gathered side of the seam. Always make sure you’re working on the wrong side of the fabric, with your seam allowance visible.

If you’re pressing the seam back toward the gathers (like the exception that I mentioned in step one), this is a bit more difficult. Basically, you want to get the tip of the iron directly on the seam line to lightly fold the seam allowance back over. Then, after the seam is heated a bit and the seam allowance is going in the right direction, remove the iron and use your fingers to further press the seam.

3. Go carefully using the edge of the iron

Rather than using the whole face of your iron, delicately use the edge, near the pointed tip. This gives you more control of the iron so you can easily adjust your iron around the seam. 

I also recommend going carefully and going over each seam twice. The first time, use minimal pressure on your iron. You just want to get the seam pressing in the right direction. On the second pass, you can press the seam more thoroughly (still using just the edge of the iron). This gives you a chance to test-press the seam and get the gathers to start relaxing before you press it fully.

Do you have to press a gathered seam?

The traditional advice is to press all of your seams, even the gathered ones. However, not everyone follows this rule. You can feel free to experiment with the look and feel of the gathers when you press them and when you don’t, and decide for yourself what looks best.

Personally, I will usually press my gathered seams, especially if it’s connected to a waistband or shoulder seam that you want to look completely flat. The only times that I will break the rule is occasionally with flounces and ruffles.

Can you steam a gathered seam?

If you are having trouble ironing your gathered seam, you can also use steam to press them. However, this method can take quite a long time if you are dealing with a long seam. There are two ways of going about this depending on the type of steamer you have:

1. If you have an iron that is also a steam. Typically what you would do here is steam the seam without touching the iron to the fabric. Then use your fingers to press the seam and flatten it without crushing the gathers.
2. If you have a handheld steamer. This is a bit more difficult, and it will require you to have some form of heat-resistant covering for your hand to avoid burning yourself (I use heat-resistant grilling gloves). You will need to use the steamer in one hand while you flatten and finger-press the gathered seam with your gloved hand.

What is a puff iron and can it be used to press gathers?

Once upon a time, there was a little gadget called a puff iron. This was an egg-shaped electric device that is clamped to a table and heated. You then press the gathered seam around the curve of the ‘egg’ to get a perfect press.

The problem is that these devices are no longer manufactured due to a warehouse fire in the early 2000s. The only way to find one is if you manage to find a vintage puff iron online or find one hiding away in your grandma’s sewing supplies.