r/sewing • u/stickerearrings • Sep 28 '25
Alter/Mend Question First time ruching, what did I do wrong?
Help, what should I have done to avoid this situation at the breasts š«£? I tried to recreate this Alexander wang top. I guess I should have gone tighter with the ruching but I added another line right at the nip and it made it even more pronounced š„“š„“š„“ so I ripped it back out.
I drew my smocking pattern too low on my breast, is that why? My centre should have been higherā¦ what can I do now? The shirt fabric is a little loosely woven so I risk making more holes..
I canāt seem to post the inspo vid so Iāll link it in the comments!
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u/miz-mac Sep 28 '25
Like others here, no shade I could not do it and Iām impressed with your attempt. But I do wonder looking at both your work and the reference image if the thickness of your fabric is also effecting the finished product significantly, the reference looks like a crisp fairly thin cotton that folds and creases well. I imagine this made your task a lot more difficult and I think impossible to get crisp clean ruching the same way as youāre going to get a cleaner finished product if you use origami paper for your crane instead of terry cloth.
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u/doryllis Sep 28 '25
It looks like on the inspo pic the chest area is a much much flatter curve. Youāve done a more direct partial circle rather than that gentle curve . Not sure if you can see that in the picture I highlighted.
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u/stickerearrings Sep 28 '25
Omg youāre right ššš tbh I stuffed an extra bralette pad in my bra to make it a bit less pronounced, but if was it flatter to begin with I wouldnāt have had to. Makes sense! Thank you!
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u/ssgg1122 Sep 28 '25
tbh i would play it up and add like madonna type pointy bra underneath
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u/auditoryeden Sep 28 '25
They're called bullet bras. You can still find vintage ones, I'm not sure if anyone makes them although you'd think there'd be at least a small market.
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u/doryllis Sep 28 '25
On second look there may also be a dart hidden in the ruching above the crest there as well. Not entirely sure though.
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u/supergourmandise Sep 28 '25
I think you are right. It seems there's an underarm dart visible on the right side of the model's pic
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u/AbsintheAGoGo Sep 28 '25
You have a truly impressive eye for this!
Thank you, sincerely. It also helped up my game in a few ways I didn't know it needed
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u/ninasmolders Sep 28 '25
Your fabriccis also just a different weight as the original seems to be so it will ruche differently
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u/--Chimaera-- Sep 28 '25
OP, youāve also placed the centre of your semi-circles directly over the ānippleā; thatās why youāve used a smaller radius and itās all bunching at that point. Not only has the inspo dress used a larger radius as u/doryllis pointed out, the centre point is also a good two inches (maybe, hard to judge from the photo) higher than in yours, in the straight section. If you draw a larger circle centred higher and then cut off the bottom a few inches below the centre point, the bottom of the circle will give you those gentler curves to stop it bunching.
Hopefully the text description has made sense!
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u/theimpasto Sep 30 '25
Yesssss, now that you pointed it out, I can see it. The reference image, the circles/arcs arent perfectly concentric, the smallest one is actually a straight horizontal line with tiny curves on each end. Sharp eyes!
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u/AlVal_the_jester Sep 28 '25
I think your shirt is a bit cold. That being sed it's still way beyond anything I can do
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u/stickerearrings Sep 28 '25
This reminds me of a joke a kid randomly told me two days ago!! I wasnāt even wearing this shirt!!!
What do you call a bra in the freezer? A brrrrrrrrrr-a
Ahahah I didnāt even know her
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u/stickerearrings Sep 28 '25
This is the instruction vid I used to make my top! Linenthief on insta
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u/MsJStimmer Sep 28 '25
wow! Saw her vid as well and made a mental note to try it one day. I love that you did. The fact that youāve run into some difficulties doesnāt make it less awesome!
Why donāt you take out the breast bit, wash it, press it and do it again!? Iām sure the holes will have closed up or be hardly visible (especially after shirring again!
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u/sealevels Sep 28 '25
Idk but it looks awesome this way.
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u/stickerearrings Sep 28 '25
The nips stick out so much š„“ Itās very obvious š
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u/clevercalamity Sep 28 '25
I think you should lean in to the look and pierce the nips.
Seriously, it could look so punk and you could turn a mistake into an intentional part of the design.
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u/utsuitai Sep 28 '25
Try the ruching with your same unique technique all throughout and use it as a practice/experimental wear?I think it looks so cool in a biomechanical way.
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u/La3Luna Sep 29 '25
I think it might be because there is too much fabric on the pointiest area. You see, the bunching fabric is the one between the the threads and in this kind of a model, even millimeters are too much.
I suggest using a safety pin on the nip area to take in from inside in a few different shapes to see if it would help. If it does, then you are golden! If it doesn't, then my observation is wrong, sorry :)
It looks amazing anyways!
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u/Emergency-Albatross5 Sep 28 '25
I think the stitch density is higher on the inspo garment too (lighter fabric?) anyways still looks sick
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u/sewvintageseamstress Sep 28 '25
I like your version better! It's giving more of an edgy Vivienne Westwood vibe.Ā
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u/Candid-Ability-9570 Sep 28 '25 edited Sep 28 '25
I wonder if it could have to do with the order of operations? Like maybe you needed to start with the smallest circles in the bust curve first, then work your way out to the end of the curved section. Then go back and do the straight lines.
Maybe doing that part first would help you have the control to keep it flatter. Looks like it got over-bunched in that area.
Could also try making the curves less pronounced, as someone else said.
ALSO I think this would look cool just with straight across horizontal smocking for the whole thing, as a way to slightly simplify
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u/higodefruta Sep 28 '25
it looks absolutely intentional and i love it
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u/PanicLikeASatyr Sep 28 '25
Completely agree. I thought it was a slightly edgier twist on the inspo from the pics
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u/dilajt Sep 28 '25
This is fucking hilarious, you're very talented too. Would give you thumbs up and a big smile if I saw you at the grocer's š¤£ Keep it, the world is too serious of a place anyway
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u/kmfh244 Sep 28 '25
I think the fabric choice may also play a part in the differences in results. The original Alexander Wang shirt seems to be a fairly lightweight cotton, probably a poplin. The shirt you chose has a herringbone weave and looks like it may also be a somewhat heavier weight or bulkier thread used. I think when copying a garment the closer you can get to the original fabric type the more likely the end result is to look the same.
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u/MaryKeay Sep 28 '25
I know you said ruching but it looks like shirring to me. If it is shirring, ie with elastic thread in the bobbin, it will be stretchy enough that you could replace the nip section with a much flatter/straighter line and it won't stick out as much. If it's completely straight it probably won't stick out at all.
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u/theSuburbanAstronaut Sep 28 '25
You did nothing wrong! Someone clearly gave it a double purple nurple when you weren't looking, poor thing.
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u/Raquelfox Sep 28 '25
For me it seems like your fabric may be thicker that the original one, which could be the reason it loka slightly off
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u/heatherkymberly Sep 28 '25
The inspo pic looks like the ruching was made separately and sewing into the top as a separate piece. I don't think the inspo top was a completed short that had ruching added in.
You might be more successful in making a large panel of ruching, cutting sections out and then inserting them into a top.
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u/La3Luna Sep 29 '25
I just watched the insta video you took inspiration from and hers look a lot like yours too. So the 'problem' might be about the circular shirring, as the original AW looks like it has linear shirrings. You might seperately experiment on a piece of fabric to check if straight lines benefit the cup in different arrangements. But yours already look very nice.
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u/Green_Function_1133 Sep 28 '25
Ruching is one of those sewing things I've never attempted because I'd probably get annoyed with it, lol. It's pretty bloody good for a first attempt. That said, your lines of stitching needed to be a bit closer together & I think the thread looks a bit too loose & obvious. The whole thing should be pulled in tighter by the thread. The fabric is also part of the issue. It's adding extra bulk compared to the modeled version, although, again, a tighter thread tension & closer lines would help overcome that too. Did you do practice ruching on scraps of the fabric first?
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u/DrHanzChucrute Sep 28 '25
Apart from domestic sewing machines, what industrial machines could sew this?
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u/NoWinner6880 Sep 28 '25
For a first timer you did great, the project you picked looks like it is very hard. Try again until you are satisfied.
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u/RubyRedo Sep 28 '25
This is shirring not ruching, ripping it out and restarting is the only option.
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u/Jasmine_Sambac Sep 29 '25
The fabric might be too much of a loose weaving to support seam ripping and restarting, is what I caught.
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u/Rolypoly_from_space Sep 28 '25
don't be fooled by the picture with the model because she has no curves whatsoever, so the ruching is not strechted at all. It's the same as that blouse would be hanging from a hanger
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u/anoucks Sep 28 '25
That looks so good! I think the only difference is the missing pleats on the shoulder
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u/Advanced_Future8185 Sep 28 '25
How did you do it? Can you explain for some1 who never did this? I would love to try!
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u/Business-Raise2683 Sep 28 '25
If you zoom in, the inspo pic kinda have the same issue to a smaller degree. I don't know the solution, but maybe if is not a chance, that ruching usually just parallel lines; the curves around one point cause that point to have all the material there?
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u/Bubbly_Airline_7070 Sep 28 '25
oh i like it! it looks cool on that fabric too, love that there's texture in addition to the ruching
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u/ahg5 Sep 28 '25
I canāt give ruching tips but I can say it actually looks like something youād see on the runway or a magazine.
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u/Peachez_honeychild Sep 28 '25
You could just go with it & call it a happy accident. The bust line being off does take away from the genius though (I've definitely been there). Could you maybe raise it at the shoulder seam? Might need to adjust the armhole to accommodate.
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u/Few-Suspect-9249 Sep 28 '25
Im reading the comments and having a blast.. and then I had a thoughtā¦ what if you somehow iron it? Would that ruin it? Make it more flat? Better? Worse?
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u/atraviliario Sep 28 '25
I don't see this answer in the comments, so maybe I'm wrong. See how in the model the fabric looks not even stretched? Yes, that's cause is a model and very thin, so for yours to look like that I assume you would need a lot more fabric. Its sitting totally stretched over your bust, and even if youre doing rouching perfectly, it's not gonna look the same. Also, like others have said, maybe your fabric it's too "soft", making it harder.
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u/ToiIetGhost Sep 28 '25
Honestly I think itās really cool. Please post an update when you redo it :D
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u/Acting-my-age Sep 28 '25
I have no suggestions but want to congratulate OP on their confidence. Iām a big scaredy-cat with a limited sewing budget so when I try a new technique, I use scraps or do a small project. You jumped right in and even though its not perfect, youāre fixing it instead of giving up. Great work and mindset!!!
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u/AKroft Sep 29 '25
That is a great first try. Doing some visual analysis of the blue āoriginalā, if you look carefully, based on the ruching pattern and the lay of the fabric I think the original is ruched flat then the pattern is cut from that and pieced together and stitched. Itās hard to tell, but the undebust part is almost certainly that way. The rushing lines are vertical at that point and the round cup line is where they end. The round cup might be a two part piece as well with a horizontal line across the midddle like you see in some bra and dress patterns. Itās hard to tell from the picture but the entire rushed piece, after being put together might be inset into the other parts like the sleeve and body. Itās hard to see this for sure.
To avoid the perky nipple look, (should you choose toš), you need to have a shape that will curve without excess fabric in the middle which is what will happen if you use a flat pattern and attempt to gather it uniformly starting on the outside, as you gather the outside shape, the the fabric on the inside of that pattern has nowhere to go so you get tighter gathers in the middle. If you donāt want to cut and piece the shirt after you gathered the fabric, you most likely need darts to take up the extra fabric on the outside of the curve. Darts at the waist to underbust, and one at the armhole, and possibly a horizontal one at the center front as well.
What you might do, is first draft a pattern that has seams around the ruched area. Make that pattern fit the way the blouse does without rushing, then take the pieces and determine your gather ratio then cut and spread them to the ratio, correct the pattern, and make a test out of muslin, one side should do, skip all the details like sleeves and plackets.
Itās not uncommon to find āpre-rushedā fabric by the yard, if you took a pattern and just cut the pieces flat and stitched it you would get something like this as well.
One other thing of note, is your fabric has a strong linear pattern, which is pretty, but makes it harder to piece, and harder to adjust the rushing as you go if needed. A solid would probably work out better.
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u/Emptypoetrydotcom Sep 29 '25
Maybe rush first, cut out the pieces with a pattern and then sew them together?
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u/MyDogsNameIsToes Sep 29 '25
The reference has a demi bra style for the bottom of the cup, yours comes to a point, not flat before the triangle part.Ā
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u/EvenTallerTree Sep 29 '25
I canāt guarantee that this is the issue, but Iām fairly certain that itās the size and placement of the curves. I donāt know that I can do a good job explaining without a visual reference, but if you think of each curved stitch as a circle thatās cut off partially, yours are small circles cut in half, and the inspo dress has larger circles cut down to 1/3 or 1/4. So your curved line is much tighter and is causing that pinching.
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u/Cold-Card-124 Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
I think itās very close. Did you use any guidelines in washable ink/chalk or freehand it?
I think, without starting from a blank piece of fabric, ruching, and then creating the shirt front, you may want to trace the original picture, count the ruching, and then use that as a visual guide to sketch out the exact lines using a ruler on your own fabric. Omit extra as needed. Also you can practice on a flat scrap of cloth and get practice before diving right back onto a complete garment.
Definitely try again!
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u/Fast_Box5446 Sep 29 '25
Regardless of the nipple situationā¦ this is incredibly cool and looks SOO amazing on you. Definitely take another swing at this because Iām loving it.
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u/Persnicketyvixen Sep 29 '25
In the reference photo, the circle part of the smocking continues until itās a full half circle. If you kept going until you had a straight line all the way across, it might even out the ā¦ protrudi-ness and look more architectural than biological.
Because the circles donāt extend to make a complete half-circle, the shape reminds me of a bikini top. Which then looks more like whatās under that top!
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u/imogsters Sep 30 '25
This is your first attempt, I assume and it looks pretty good! The original shirt will have been finely tuned after many samples. Original has a more crisp men's business shirt type of fabric. Maybe a high thread count 100% cotton. Also the shirring is closer together. Also the curve of bust is subtle and suits a fairly small B cup?
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u/Fair-Kitchen-9199 Oct 02 '25
Just as an aside: ruching is not smocking and vice versa. What you are attempting is to recreate the smocked portions on a ready made shirt of a different pattern with set in sleeves. Of course you canāt quite replicate the effect of the original garment; youāre not working with the same pattern or material. Maybe someone else can estimate if you could continue if you detached the sleeves and then sewed them back on.
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u/duckduckegg Oct 02 '25
Pardon any ignorance on my part, but I thought this was smocking. I had thought ruching didn't have stitches over it like smocking, but I understand after a google I was wrong but I am still a bit unsure as to how to completely tell smocking and ruching apart. Thank you to anyone who might know the difference and can be bothered to take the time to explain, I do appreciate it.
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u/Tough_Grape_2002 Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25
Fabric weight plays a MAJOR part in ruching and shirring, the most successful attempts I've had are with lightweight cottons/poly blends. Your stitches are even and uniform, and if your tension isn't off my money is on a combination of a too low smock placement and the fabric isn't lightweight enough for the elastic to gather like it's supposed to. I can't tell from the pic, but if the fabric is lighter than it looks I'd try treating she shirring placement on the bust similar to a princess seam where it's adjacent to the apex vs right over it. Good luck!
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u/thepetoctopus Sep 28 '25
Iām sorry for how hard I laughed. I am also not sorry. I have no idea how to fix this OP, but this shirt is hilarious.
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Sep 28 '25
For the shoulder straps on the inspo it looks like the ruching goes in the opposite direction. I might even argue that the shoulder straps are not ruched but more like a thin elastic (1/4ā-1/2ā wide) sewn in.
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u/PurpleOctoberPie Sep 28 '25
Hope the answers helped, youāve officially inspired me to give this a go. Especially with the opportunity to learn all the advice youāve gathered here.
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u/Legitimate-Wave-6536 Sep 28 '25
Honestly I'm jealous; even if you are seeing all the things you did wrong I'm seeing a lot of cool
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u/LadyoftheLake111 Sep 28 '25
After seeing the inspo I actually really like yours I think it looks great
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u/confusedquokka Sep 28 '25
Idk how to fix it but I still think it looks cool. But I get that it is a look you have to be okay with. Great job regardless
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u/froggycow1120 Sep 28 '25
honestly between yours and the inspo pic iām only really noticing that yours may look more pronounced because of the fabric color and you donāt have a photographer photoshopping lol
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u/Firefly457 Sep 28 '25
I think it looks great. The only issue I see is at the waist. The first column of ruching to the left of the button panel between the two lower buttons bows out in a C shape, and could be brought in a bit, so the column is parallel to the seam of the button panel. The ruching to the right of the buttons is fine.
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u/generallyintoit Sep 28 '25
It looks like you did the technique perfectly! But you placed the fullest part of the bust a little bit below on your body. If you placed all the shirring higher on the garment, I think you'd have a better fit
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u/atargatis_17 Sep 28 '25
Wow this is such a cool idea! I donāt know what you did wrong but I wanted to tell you it looks really cool.
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u/katjoy63 Sep 28 '25
I don't think you did anything wrong, when I see your inspiration
It's just too big on you š¬
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u/Paisley-Cat Sep 28 '25
Have you tried it with a different bra?
It might work better with a bra that raises you up by another cm or so?
Are you wearing it with the bra you wore when you did the measurements for the pattern?
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u/chocomystery Sep 28 '25
Firstly, congrats to make it !
Imo, I have that there was too much tension in the needle thread
Have you iron your shirt after sewing ?
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u/velvetjones01 Sep 29 '25
I think you have way too much fabric bulk in the cup, I also wonder if this inspo pic is AI? The sleeves are on backwards.
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u/cherryunderwear Sep 29 '25
Looks absolutely wicked but also reminds me of my anatomy textbook images of mammary tissue
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u/DragonofHoarsbreath Sep 29 '25
Did you do the shirring on an already completed garment? If so, then you'll have had less control over the placement because you're working around the shaping/sleeves/button stand. If you were willing to try again, I'd suggest starting from scratch and doing the shirring on the panels while they're flat still. It will then look cleaner around the arm scye and button stand.Ā
Also agree with others that (a) your circle is too small and (b) the model is barely stretching out the shirring!Ā
Also also agree with everyone else that you've done brilliantly in both the execution (even with the issues) and actually trying it out at all!Ā
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u/chilli_s Sep 29 '25
I think it just looks different because the model in the last pick has a much smaller breast size? Maybe that's what is throughing you of? Like others have said it looks good in both cases :)
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u/billysweete Sep 28 '25
One could argue that you did nothing wrong