Ruching

Ruching is a pleating or ruffling technique of taking equal, measured stitches diagonally across a narrow piece of trim in a zig-zag pattern and gathering the fabric along the seam line, straightening out the seam. The result is equally-sized puffs of fabric on both sides of a central seam, each side offset from the other by half the length of the zig-zag.

The orange yarn marks the ruching path	The blueish yarn marks the ruching path
The gathering (ruching) thread has been drawn straight.	Starbella Flash drawn up on ruching thread

Another method is to slip stitch along the ruching lines. This creates an equally measured path along which the yarn can be easily folded, creating two overlapping rows of petals.

Top: Starbella Flash trimmed in Lily Daisy #30 crochet cotton
Bottojm: Trendsetter Flamenco trimmed in Velnette

When wrapped spirally, ruched ruffle yarn makes a distinctive ruched rose.

Basic Stitches: Double Crochet

Double Crochet

Double crochet is, in my opinion, the quickest and most effective fabric, or filling, stitch in crochet. It works up more rapidly than single crochet, without the long bars and open spaces of treble crochet, double treble, or bullion stitch.

In ruffle yarns, the longer stitch of double crochet presents a deeper ruffle than single crochet. On the flip side, the longer stitch means a longer length of unruffled "back side" between rows on The Scarf, while reducing the "z-direction" — the thickness of the scarf. It makes for a thinner, more flexible scarf, and in a ribbon yarn, can bring to mind the curls of natural fleece or the evenly-spaced curves of an Elizabethan ruff.

Insert hook through next open loop of yarn.
	Insert hook through next open chain or stitch; wrap next open loop of yarn around hook. Use hook to draw the last thread through the chain or stitch.
Wrap next open loop of yarn around hook. Draw thread through the loop and yarn-over on the hook.
Yarn over once again, and draw through both loops on hook.
Row of Double Crochet (Flamenco by Trendsetter)	Row of Double Crochet (Twist & Twirl by Bernat)
After a few rows of stitches:
Flamenco (Trendsetter) Twist & Twirl (Bernat)	Top to bottom: Flaunt (Loops & Threads) Sashay (Red Heart Boutique) Starbella (Premier Yarns)

Basic Stitches: Single Crochet

Single Crochet

Single crochet creates a dense, thick, shallow ruffle.

Flamenco by Trendsetter Yarns	Insert your hook through the chain top of the previous row or round, or the top of your foundation chain.
Slip the next free loop of the yarn's working edge over the hook.
Draw the thread through the previous-row loop.
	Slip the next free loop of the yarn's working edge over the hook.
Draw the thread through both loops on the hook.

After the first row:
After several rows:
The other side of the work:

Examples

Top to bottom: examples of single crochet in Flaunt (Loops & Threads), Sashay (Red Heart Boutique), and Starbella (Premier Yarns). Note the short yarn height, shallow ruffles, and dense texture.