I have a bernina serger with  differential feed. Can I gather a little girls dress with the differential  feed, and if so how do I? I need to attach the bodice to the skirt, the skirt  being the item that needs to be gathered, It seems to me there is a way to do > this unsing differential feed that gathers the bottom material more than the  top?? Or am I dreaming???

No you are not dreaming. Yes, you can gather using the differential feed. You can't attach the top to the skirt, unless you are using the gathering attachment. With that attachment you can gather and attach in one operation - works slick! For the price of the attachment and the amount of gathering you will be doing I think I would invest. ($15 range, give or take, depending on the dealer) On some models of Bernina, you do need to buy an adaptor to attach the gathering gizmo. What type of fabric are you using? What model?

When I gather a lightweight fabric, I usually use two needles (4 threads) and tighten the thread tensions on the needles as high as they will go. This will produce a nice gather and a finished edge in one operation. If it produces too tight a gather, simply lower the thread tensions a number and try again. Continue until you have the correct gathering ratio. If it does not gather enough, simply pull the two needle threads simultaneously to add more gather. Really like to gather this way! Just finished doing some gathering on ruffles for sleeves for our high school production of Fiesta (Cinco de Mayo). Should have seen the boys roll their eyes when they saw those white satin tops with ruffles all over the sleeve <G> I live in a conservative area . . .

Mary Alice in Lancaster Co. PA