Sewing knits can be mysterious. don’t be intimidated! While every sewing machine handles knits a bit differently, there are some universal tips that will help you get the best results. Let’s talk about what stitch you should use on your sewing machine. I think it’s good to note that a serger is ideal for knits but definitely not necessary. You’ll be on your way to sewing your favorite top in no time!
Let’s test out some stitches, shall we? First, cut some equal strips of the fabric you want to use. I cut mine 3″x10″. I measured the stretch of the fabric, which turned out to be about 40%. This is a good amount of stretch for any top, dress or skirt.
NOW LET’S START TESTING OUR STITCHES!
Not all sewing machines have fancy stitches. If you only have a straight stitch you CAN sew knits but, as you can see, you will need to stretch your knit as you go and it will end up slightly puckered.
A zig zag stitch is on nearly all machines and is a great option. Make it a little narrower so your seams will lie flat. You may want to test out the difference between your 3 step zig zag and your regular zig zag to see which you like best.
A knit stitch is a nice, straight stitch that also has stretch. It’s durable as well. As you can see, it doesn’t have as much stretch as some other stitches but it does make your seams lie flat.
See Kate Sew: An intro to knits, the first post you want to read!
Melly Sews: An up close look at the differences in types of knit fabrics
Shwin & Shwin: Knits 102, understanding the coverstitch and overlock stitch
MARCH 24TH IS THE LAST DAY TO BUY THE JUST ADD JEANS COLLECTION! PLEASE DON’T MISS OUT! THE PATTERNS WILL BE FOR SALE INDIVIDUALLY BEGINNING MARCH 25TH.
UPDATE: This is what my stitches look like on my machine.
credit: andreasnotebook.com
It’s garage sale season, which means it’s easy to pick up t-shirts for 50 cents or so – much less than it would cost to buy knit fabric. It’s also summer break for the kids, which means it’s a great time to clean out closets and figure out what can be donated or upcycled into something else. Today’s tutorial shows you how I turned a couple of garage sale tees into cute nightgowns for my daughter – it only takes two seams and less than a yard or so of elastic.
Here’s how to turn a tee into a princess nightgown:
I used a women’s size S tee from Old Navy for my 2-yr old daughter. If you have an older daughter you’ll probably need to start with a larger shirt. You want to make sure that the shirt is long enough to fit as a nightgown.
You’ll start by threading elastic through the existing neckband and sleeve hems and gathering them up to fit. This gives the nightie a cute peasant-dress look.
Use a seam ripper to slice a small hole on the inside of the neckbinding, then thread narrow elastic through the neck band and back out the same hole. I used 13 inches of elastic for the neck and about 7 inches of elastic for each sleeve. You’ll probably just want to start with a longer piece of elastic, thread it through, then try on your daughter and tighten as needed. Once you cut your elastic to the right length sew each end together with a zigzag. Repeat on the hem of each sleeve.
Once the neckline and sleeves are gathered, turn the nightgown inside out and lay it on a flat surface. Place a tee that fits your daughter over it, and pin a new seam starting just above the sleeve hem, going up under the armpit, and back down to the bottom of the nightgown as shown below.
Sew new seams and try one to be sure it fits. If it does, trim away seam allowance (if it’s too small you’ll need to unpick your seams and sew new ones – not that stuff like that ever
happens to me
At the hem you can fold your seam allowances to one side and zigzag them down flat so they don’t hang out the bottom of the nightgown. You can even use matching thread if you’re less lazy than I am. (Sorry Mom, but the two-year-old isn’t going to notice I didn’t use matching thread.)
Press the side seams open and you’re through!
My daughter said it looked like a princess dress, so I added a little crown in silver puffy paint to the blue version:
She likes the pink one as well:
credit: itsalwaysautumn.com
Today, I am starting a new series about sewing machine feet. Since my husband and I will be moving into a temporary apartment while our new home is being built, sewing machine feet seemed like a great sewing series. I will have limited space in the apartment and a less-than-organized sewing area ~ and sewing machine feet don’t take up much space but allow for tremendous creativity.
Like my previous series’ on Machine Embroidery, I will attempt to be thorough and cover the basics. Think of this series as a starting point for your creativity.
Throughout this series, I will be demonstrating with Bernina feet. However, all manufacturers make similar feet. Visit a local sewing store and ask them to show you the feet that would be appropriate for your machine.
Let’s start with the All-Purpose Foot.
While Bernina calls this an all-purpose foot, many manufacturers will refer to it as a standard foot, or a zigzag/standard foot. No matter the name, it should have similar features.
As the name indicates, this sewing machine foot is designed for almost all purposes. When you purchase a sewing machine {either new or used} it will come with an All-Purpose Foot.
No matter what your machine’s manufacturer calls this foot, it is basic in every way.
It should have a slot or opening of some sort that allows you to pull your threads to the back of the machine. This keeps threads from creating a bird’s nest when you start sewing.
The All-Purpose Foot should have an opening wide enough for you to do zigzag sewing as well as other decorative stitching.
Most All Purpose feet will have some sort of markings that helps you sew straight. On this foot, there is a center guide marked in the center of the foot. This will help create nice straight stitches.
Fabric should easily fit beneath this foot and allow you to make needle position adjustments or stitch width adjustments. In the photo below, notice how the foot is wide enough to hold the fabric in place while my needle is positioned near the edge of the fold.
This allows me to control needle placement. The center mark helps keep my stitching straight.
The beauty of an all purpose/standard foot is how well it works with decorative stitching. The 5mm opening on this foot allows for ease of stitching when using many of the utility and decorative stitches that are built into a machine.
Using a rayon or polyester {embroidery} thread will only add to your ability to create.
Take a minute and get creative with your Sewing Machine Feet.
Sew on and sew forth ~
Clear Sole Foot
Edge Stitch Foot
Open Toe Foot
Buttonhole Foot
The Zipper Foot
The Invisible (Concealed) Zipper Foot
The Walking Foot
The Satin Stitch Applique Foot
The Non-Stick Foot
The Ruffler
The Gathering Foot
credit: seasonedhomemaker.com
Understanding about fabric grain is an essential element to know when sewing with woven fabrics. It’s something that new sewists tend to skip over and seasoned sewists occasionally brush off.
Why is fabric grain important. It’s extremely relevant when sewing garments, especially pants. Have you ever owned a pair of jeans where one of the seams twisted towards the front or back?
The reason for this is the manufacturer didn’t bother to look for the fabric grain when cutting out the fabric. Finding the fabric grain is also important when sewing pillows, especially ones with a distinct pattern.
Before starting, there are a couple of steps that need to take place to get you ready to make an envelope pillow.
Pre-Project Steps:
You will need to be familiar with your sewing machine. Have it threaded in a complementary color thread with a new needle (80/12). You may want to sew a few practice seams on some fabric scraps before moving forward.
Another pre-project step would be to wash, dry, and press your fabric. You NEVER want to work with wadded up wrinkled fabric.
What is the Fabric Grain Line?
All woven fabrics (like 100% cotton) have a grain line. This occurs during the manufacture of the fabric when it is being woven. Picture a loom with its long threads stretching out. Those long threads form the fabric grain or the warp.
In the weaving process, shorter threads are woven under and over across these long threads, thus forming a woven fabric. The shorter threads form the crossgrain or the weft.
The bias runs 45-degrees across the grain and will stretch. There are times you want to cut along the bias, but this isn’t one of them.
The grain line runs parallel with the selvage edge. This is the factory edge that is stamped with the manufacturer’s name.
There are two selvage edges on cut fabric, one with the manufacturer’s information and the other that matches the fabric.
The grain lines are the strongest threads in a woven fabric and in most instances, you will want your pattern to run along these lines, making it sturdy.
Try this experiment: Pull your fabric along the grain line (or selvage). Notice that there is hardly any stretch.
Now, pull it across the crossgrain {this would be the edge where the fabric was cut at the store} and notice how it gives a little.
Lastly, pull it along the bias and see how it really stretches.
If you ignore the fabric grain, you may end up with your fabric being cut on a bias, which runs across the grain. The bias will cause your fabric to pucker and stretch; and your project will not fit correctly or may hang funny.
Finding the Fabric Grain Line
What if you are using a scrap of fabric that no longer has a selvage or perhaps you are repurposing something? There is still a way to find the straight grain. Below is a scrap of fabric with unknown grain lines. Since the fabric’s pattern in non-directional, I will need to find the grain.
Pull on the fabric (like I did above) until you find the warp, or grain. Make a 1” snip.
Now, pull and tear across the fabric, leaving a frayed edge. Pull out the excess threads until the top threads are on all along the same line.
That even thread line is your grain line! Now, all you need to do is set this grain line on a straight edge, like a cutting mat, and you will be able to square up the other side.
Isn’t that easy? Please, please remember that the cut edge from the fabric store rarely is square and you will need to find the true grain line before cutting out any project.
credit: www.seasonedhomemaker.com
Experience (and watching my stats) tells me that you guys like quick, simple, easy sewing tutorials. So I’ve been brainstorming simple projects. Today I have one that takes probably under 20 minutes. Very quick and easy! It’s a Simple Phone Wallet Tutorial:
It’s just a little pocket to keep your phone it and I attached a clip so you could hook it on to your bag, keys, or whatever is handy for you. Just slide your phone in:
It’s designed similar to the Keychain Chapstick Holder. Can you tell I have a thing for pink polkadots?
SIMPLE DIY PHONE WALLET TUTORIAL:
Supplies Needed:
Clasp (any sort of keychain clasp will work)
Small amount of fabric
Small amount of fusible fleece
Instructions:
I made this to fit an iPhone 5S. If you have a different phone, no worries, you can adjust to make it fit.
You will want to cut your fabric so that it is twice as wide as your phone (with case if you keep it in a case) plus about 2-3 inches. So my phone is 2.5 inches wide. I cut my fabric about 8-9 inches wide.
I cut the length of my fabric at about 14 inches and then cut off excess before I sewed it. Measure your phone’s length, double that and add a couple of inches.
Now I have a piece of fabric that is about 9 x 14 inches. Cut a piece of fusible fleece the same size and iron it to the back of your fabric. (I will tell you that that is going to add bulk (and cushion) to your project. If your sewing machine struggles with a lot of bulk, use a lighter weight liner).
Fold your fabric in half lengthwise (so that it is 4.5 inches by 14 inches) and stitch across one of the short sides and down the long side.
Turn it all right side out. Press it flat.
Now grab your phone. Fold the wallet up and test how far up you want it to go to match the size of your phone. Cut off any extra length that you don’t want.
Fold under the unsewn edge. (Folding it all inward.)
Stitch this edge closed.
Now, fold the edge you just sewed up as far as you want it to fit your phone and sew up each side. Your phone should now be able to slip inside:
Now to make the little strap, cut a piece of fabric about 4 inches long by 2 inches wide. Fold it in half with right sides together and sew up the long side. Turn it right side out and press it. Then fold it in half, loop your clasp though it and sew it in place in several places on the back of your wallet:
That’s it! So simple right!
credit:crazylittleprojects.com
Like with any great craft, comes the need for organization. And Lord knows, when you sew, you've got your fabric, your thread, your needles, and of course, your bobbins. I thought those notches in the spool ends or grips at the end of one spool end (like the Guterman's brand) were ingenious! It keeps the loose strand of thread from unraveling off the spool and tangling with everything else.
But why, oh why, couldn't they have thought of something similar for the bobbins?
For years on end, my bobbin storage looked like this:
How did I collect so many bobbins?
A nasty, stringy mess of thread and metal. It looks even worse when I'm working on a project.
For the life of me, I could not think of how to tame this beast! I didn't want to blow money on another plastic case. They were already in a plastic case.
Until I came across this idea on Pinterest. Use those pedicure toe separators.
You know, those foam thingies you use to separate your toesies when you're giving yourself a pedicure. I admit, I don't usually have those things in my house. Which would eventually reveal that I don't normally give myself a pedicure...but I digress.
I happened to come across a whole bunch of fabulously colored ones at Michael's yesterday.
Lime green and watermelon, please.
And hells to the yes, I picked them up! They came with nail files and cost about $1.00 each. Can't go wrong with that. Recycle the clear plastic packaging; use the nail files. Can't go wrong.
So, to battle I went with the messy bobbins.
You shall not defeat me!
They fit perfectly in the separators - both the metal bobbins and the plastic ones!
Down with you, nasty loose thread! Just turned it counterclockwise and it was tamed. And the loose thread? Just rotate the bobbins until the ends are neatly tucked in.
EHRMAGERD.
Look at that. Doesn't that look sweet??!!! And here they are in my sewing box.
