Do you Ruch?

So I have a long sleeveless jersey top to which I am inexplicably attached.  However, did I mention that it's jersey?  And do you know what jersey does to a body that doesn't look like an ironing board?  It ain't pretty.  So as scary as it is to alter clothing for which you've paid more than a dollar, I took the chance knowing that if I didn't it would be relegated to the "don't-know-why-I-can't-quit-you-but-will-never-wear-you" pile.

In walks the technique known in the Project Runway world as "ruching".  For those of you who have been sewing for years, this just means creatively gathering up the sides of a garment.
Using needle and thread of an obvious different color, I sewed a wide stitch up along the side seams.  (Make a knot so that you don't lose your thread when you start pulling, which will happen.. NOW!) Pull the thread and you'll see the fabric start to pull up.  Pull as much or as little as you like and then make a knot at the end of the thread to temporarily lock it in place.
Go over this line again with a tighter stitch - either by hand or with a sewing machine.  I found using the sewing machine to be a bit cantankerous and almost started verbalizing its grievances.  So, full disclosure, on the other side, I just found it easier to make little tucks/folds as I sewed along the side seam.  The result is indistinguishable.

Speaking of the result, the effect of the ruching is that it creates distracting layers of, um... ruches.  While I'm not going to post of picture of me wearing my new objet d'art, here's the final product:

 It's not a great shot.  It looks like I just crumpled up the dress and threw it on my bed, but that's only because of the kind of fabric and the fact that I intentionally (cough, cough) made my gathers erratic.  It looks really cool on.
Remember, it's essentially just sewing a loose stitch along one side (or even a diagonal), pulling the end of that thread until it gathers the way you like, and sewing over it again.  Here's a picture of tight ruching on a stiffer fabric:

On another note, the protests in Egypt are still going on, even if Anderson Cooper has come back to America.  I've been on semi-strike from blogging  because it's been hard for me to do much of anything lately, and frankly, it just feels so wrong to be thinking of and detailing crafts, when my fellow countrymen and women are risking their lives and futures for the noble struggle towards a just and safe society.  This is not a communist plot, this is not a Muslim Brotherhood plot, this is the brave youth of Egypt demanding self-determination and accountability for crimes committed on such a big scale that they have been swept under the international rug.  ("The greater the crime, the greater the amnesty"-International criminal Henry Kissinger)
Keep these heroes in your prayers, and think of them sleeping under army tanks for shelter from the night air when you tuck yourself and your children in bed.