As you can see in the image above, on the original ruff the linen was gathered into tiny 3mm pleats on the inner edge. This would form the circle that would become the neckband. I began by marking in pencil 3mm intervals along the length of the ruff. I did this in sections at the same time as gathering to prevent the marks rubbing off.
I used a doubled length of cotton thread for the gathering; I thought two strands would make it stronger and less likely to snap halfway through.
The fully gathered ruff was a lot bigger than I had expected, with a surprisingly large neck circumference. The inner edge was chaotic and fraying; I was ready to sew it to the collar.
