First, let me say that choosing the right needle is of utmost importance. Over the last year I've experimented with various needle sizes, I've read literature on needle life, and I've tried virtually every specialty needle on the market. I won't discuss my brand preference, but I will say that using the appropriate needle and changing your needle frequently are two keys to sewing success.
Above: A stretch needle will help you with Lycra and other true stretch fabrics. A ball point needle will help you with knit fabric (this includes jersey, velor knit, t-shirt material, sweatshirt jersey, etc).
When working with knits you will likely use a ball point needle. Ball point needles penetrate between the knitted fibers not through the fibers like universal needles. This is important especially when working with light weight knits. If you use a universal needle, you run the risk of actually creating holes in your fabric that will degrade the integrity of your garment.
Now that we've covered needle choices, lets talk about your fabric and your pattern. Choose a pattern that is specifically designed for knit fabric. Some examples are:Butterick 5101
The pattern jacket will tell you what fabrics are suitable for the garments shown . The first few times you work with knit fabric you should follow these guidelines, but once you become more comfortable with knit fabric you can tailor your pattern to just about any fabric you choose.
You will cut out your pattern just like any other pattern. Once you have all of your pieces cut and marked you will begin sewing. Here are some helpful hints to get you started.
-Do not pull your fabric through the machine. It's tempting to pull or push fabric regardless of what type of fabric you're working with. Although I tell all of my students NOT to pull there fabric or force their fabric through the feed dogs, it's especially important here. Pushing or pulling your fabric through the machine is only going to distort your garment. Knit fabric is SO easy to distort and our objective here is to maintain shape. Let the feed dogs do all the work. On a properly working machine, you should not have to pull or push your fabric. It should glide through between the presser foot and the feed dogs with ease. If this is a problem, I would have your machine checked and tuned up.
-Change your needle after ever four to six hours of sewing or if you feel that your needle has been stressed by a bulky seam or pin. This will maintain stitch regularity and it will help your machine perform to your expectations.
-Finishing is important. Here I will talk briefly about using three stitching techniques: stay stitching or serging, topstitching, and utility stitches.
--Stay stitching or serging will keep your cut piece of fabric in shape and it will help you when you are ironing a hem or preparing to join pieces.
Above: I've stay stitched the neck and sleeve hems.
Above: I've used my stay stitch/serged edge to guide my iron as I fold my edge over.
--Topstitching reinforces your inseams and it helps your garment to look professionally finished. Notice, I always use my presser foot as a guide. I find it gives me a very accurate and straight line parallel to my finished edge. Its a fantastic way to get a high end look without buying extra feet or working with chalk lines.
Above: I'm now topstitiching my finished edges in place (necklines and hems).
--Utility stitches can be used as decoration, as seen below, but they are also useful in lieu of a serger. This is partly because they interlock your fabric with several parallel stitches, but they also tend to provide more stretch--key when working with knits (NOTE: A stretch fabric is not always a knit, but a knit fabric always has stretch!).
Here I've used a honeycomb stitch as a decorative stitch, but in reality it's a stretch utility stitch.
Sewing a knit garment isn't much different than sewing a woven garment. You just have to be prepared for a little extra flexibility. Below is a synopsis of what I did...
The first step I used is to serge or stay stitch (if you don't have a serger) the edges of my pattern piece that will need to be hemmed and finished. Why is this important??? Because it helps me to guide the fabric around curves and corners when I'm ironing and sewing, it stabalizes the fabric so that we maintain shape and it offers a road map for you to follow.
Secondly, I've ironed and then finished my external seams. Here, an external seam is any seam that is not joined to another. For example, a neckline or sleeve hem are external seams.
Thirdly, I've topstitched the seam using the right finger of my presser foot to guide me through my seam. Then I've added a utility stitch, 1/4 of an inch parallel to my initial seam, to secure my raw edges and to add interest to my garment.
My fourth step is to join all of my inseams. I join my inseams with my serger, you could use an interlock utility stitch if you don't have a serger. Once all of those seams are complete I use a straight stitch to add a safety stitch. Some sergers do this for you. My serger is a four thread model and although it provides a lot of stability, I like having that extra insurance.
Finally, I iron all of my joining seams and topstitch. Topstitching really reinforces the garment and helps it to look professional and clean.
I plan on posting a series of Yoga and exercise projects in the near future. If you're interested in this project and pattern and would like more information please don't hesitate to contact me.
~M
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