Ruche
Lovely pleats of fabric embellish pillows, upholstery and bedding thanks to ruching
A ruche is a pleat of fabric much like a fold that has been sewn into place. Ruching is the result of many evenly spaced pleats across an expanse of fabric, creating loose gathers. Ruches are similar to pleats, plaits and pintucks, which began at the neckline of women's fashions and on quilts.
The French word "ruche" literally translates as "beehive," possibly because ruched fabric resembles all the evenly spaced cells of a hive.
To ruche a fabric, a sewer slips a thread through several layers of fabric and then pulls the thread to gather the layers into a pucker.
Picture a girl's dress on which elastic thread is used to ruche the cloth at the chest, to give some flexibility and room for growth.
A pleat is a gather in a piece of fabric, typically ironed flat, and a tuck is a gather that's sewn flat. A dart is a shaped tuck, also sewn flat. Ruched fabric has a wonderful loose loft to it.
