Operation Prom: day 1

So on Friday night, I realized that there are only 14 days until:

But of course we had a full weekend,  consisting of a school play, soccer games galore, and music concerts and competitions, leaving little time to sew. A little panic set in and a lot of anxiety over the finished product. BTW didn’t he color in the letters nicely? There was much planning involved and several co-conspirators.  He handed the ‘M’  to her in person–such a fun way to be asked to prom, don’t you think? She’ll probably remember it for the rest of her life :). The invitation will  most likely stay on her bedroom wall for a long while.

Sunday afternoon, (only 12 days left) I was able to get this project started. I have to turn these:  into something wearable and hopefully beautiful. My DD says she feels like Cinderella–not knowing if she’ll have a dress or not –and that of course it will be perfect, because I’m sewing it. Not too much pressure.

Day 1:

Measure twice, trace once. Her measurements match one of the sizes exactly. How often does that happen? I was very skeptical. Also a bit worried that the sizing has not been re-done since the pattern/design was originally made in the 50’s. I traced her size just in case it turned out to be the horribly wrong size. Lots of darts and markings on this one.

I concluded that a muslin was a necessity. A muslin is a test run of the garment that one is making. Done in inexpensive fabric to test the sizing and fit, before using the intended fabric.

Here is the finished muslin sewn up. It fits well, and  will only need minor adjustments on the lower darts along her waist. Bust darts lined up perfectly, thank goodness. She does want it more fitted, so we will most likely do more final adjustments to the final product, before adding the skirt piece.

It was an interesting construction method– one that I have not done before. The lining is basted to the bodice first, then darts and side seams are sewn. I questioned sewing along dart lines, before making the actual darts, as instructed to do. But after doing the muslin, I see the wisdom in it. Doing the lining this way will also enable me to achieve a more fitted bodice later. It will have an invisible side zipper, so following the instructions carefully. The instructions so far have been great. Vogue rocks!  Whenever I’ve made their patterns, I learn and become a believer in their methods. The garments always fit well and have superior results, because of these methods.

This is bringing back memories of when I sewed my own dress for my first prom. I was also 16. Theme for ours was “Just You and I”  — a popular song at the time, with a horrible grammar error in the title. Why do they do that? I can’t listen to the song without thinking that sounds wrong.  Anyway, I hope her dress turns out much nicer than mine did…

And so we have the end of day 1.

Operation Prom

One day this week, we woke to find this:

A little annoyed, I tried to pick it up off our front walk, thinking that my youngest had dropped and not picked up some of her artwork. As I lifted it, I noticed it was taped down. Then it hit me… P is for Prom and this may be meant for my teen. Yup. As her day went along, she found the other letters strategically placed, which spelled it out for her. Her answer was “Y is for yes.”

For any mothers or fathers who have not had the painful experience of shopping for formal dresses with their teen aged daughter yet, let me just say, it is ugly out there. Cheaply made, ill fitting dresses run amok out there and I was not looking forward to the adventure. Nor was my daughter, who cannot find anything cute that actually fits. As for me, I just would like one designer to realize that not all teenagers want to look like prostitutes immodest.

My daughter has a strong sense of style and not  wanting to subject herself to cheap looking, mass produced dresses, or settle for a less-than-perfect dress, so she asked the loaded question: “Mom, would you make me a dress?” To this challenge I respond, if you can decide on a pattern. I refuse to sew with the big three, so she was limited to Ottobre, Burda, or Vogue. She picked this:

Of course she wants a couple things changed, but all in all very do-able 🙂 She chose her colors, a soft pink, and away we flew.

I thought since I will not be doing any other projects until said dress is completed that I would journal the creating of my daughter’s first prom dress. Isn’t being sixteen a magical time?  Do you remember your first prom? Have you seen “bad  prom photos” on the Ellen Degeneres site? Some are just the best ever!!

With ruffles, please! Leggings mini sew-along tutorial

My daughter loves leggings with ruffles 🙂

Leggings are one of the simplest and quickest projects for girls, big and little girls alike. Using a nice cotton lycra knit, you can make leggings that look great and are made to last. I usually look for a cotton knit with at least 8% lycra and weighs between 6-10 ounces per square yard. Mind you, that’s a square yard, not 6-10 ounces per yard. There is a difference, but I have found many online fabric shops do not distinguish between the two. Remember to ask if you are unsure.

Weighing knits: A square yard means just that: a square of fabric 36 inches by 36 inches. Whereas, a yard is a piece of fabric  36 inches by whatever its width. Most knits are 60 inches wide, which will give a much different weight at 36 X 60, then at 36 X 36.

Fabric: For leggings, make sure the fabric you choose  has a good amount of stretch. Lighter weight cotton lycra will also work.

Pattern: Find a pattern that works for you. If you have never tried the pattern, or you’ve never made leggings before, then I suggest making a test pair out of your least favorite knit. This way you can test for size and fit, before committing your coveted fabric to something that may not work. I have tried 2. The first is a Farbenmix; the laguna skirt has a legging pattern that comes with it and it has a great fit. I tried  Burda 9615 pattern recently (for its convenience of not having to trace and add seam allowance). The sizing is good, but the rise is too high for my daughter. My daughter wears skirts and leggings below her belly button, so I took about 2 inches off the rise, to give you a better idea of how I adjusted it for a better fit. It’s also a good idea to measure your daughter’s inseam and compare it to the pattern, since this tutorial will have you hem before the inseam is sewn.

Okay enough noise, let’s get to the tutorial. Adding ruffles is supper easy and fast.
Pre-wash your fabric and cut out your leggings. Notions: Make sure you have stretch needles for your machine, as well as a stretch twin needle for hem. You will also need matching thread (2 spools for hemming with a twin needle) and elastic.
Step 1: cut some strips of fabric for your ruffles. I cut mine 20 inches by 1 1/4. My daughter wears size 9 in this pattern. If you are making toddler sizes, you may want more narrow ruffles, say 3/4 of an inch or 1  inch wide. I cut 4 strips, in order to have 2 rows on each pant leg.

Step 2: make a single row of gathering stitches down the center of each strip. Use the longest stitch length, leave the threads long, and do NOT back stitch.

Step 3: Hem your leggings, using a stretch twin needle. Follow the tips and how to’s on this post if you’ve never done a double needle hem on knits before, which walks you through  threading your machine properly and technique.

Step 4: pull up the bobbin threads of your gathering stitches on your ruffle strips and pin them to you pant legs, placing the ruffle right side up on top of the right side of pant leg. The wrong side of the ruffle will be facing the right side of the pant leg. Starting with the lowest strip, pin it along the hem. Pin it close to the bottom. Pin the second just above the first, keeping them relatively straight. You can have them overlapping a bit, so when they curl after washing, they still look close together. Repeat for other leg. Note: you don’t have to finish the edges, because knit fabric does not fray.

Step 5: Sew the ruffles in place, using a zigzag stitch and making sure to remove pins before they go under presser foot.  Using a zigzag stitch is important, so the ruffles will easily stretch with the fabric. Using a straight stitch won’t work, because it won’t stretch. Instead the threads will break when the pant leg fabric stretches. It’s best to try to zigzag right over the gathering stitches.  Note:If your rows are so close together that the pins of the upper rows are getting in the way as you stitch your lower rows in place, then it’s probably best to pin and sew one row at a time.

Step 6: (Optional) Carefully remove gathering stitches. If you  have sewn your zigzag stitching centered over the straight gathering stitches, then gently pull on the bobbin thread and it should come clean out. If not, you can use a seam ripper to pick them out.

Step 7: Sew the inseam. With right sides together, match the hem and ruffles together and pin in place. Sew up the inseam of your leggings. Make sure you remove pins before the go under the presser foot. Do not sew over any pins.

Step 8: sew crotch seam, by turning one leg right side out and putting it inside the other leg, so that right sides are together. Match up inseam seam and pin in place. Sew using serger or stretch stitch.

Step 9: Finish waist, according to pattern or method shown in this post.

For more info on sewing  crotch and waist, see my yoga pants tutorial here, or follow pattern’s instructions.

So the ruffle leggings are done, and no fancy pattern was needed. Hope this tutorial helps you to create some fun and one-of-a-kind leggings for the sweet little or big girl in your life. Leggings seem to be the most requested clothing essential in my home lately. It’s nice to have some ways to make them a little more special 🙂 Have fun creating!

~Erin

An Extensive Gathering Tutorial

Here is my gathering  tutorial for how to make great gathers. Gathers are where many little girl skirts and dresses get their twirl and puffy sleeves get their puff. Tutorial will demonstrate how to sew together a gathered piece of fabric to a piece of fabric that is not gathered. There are many other ways to gather and attached gathered fabric to another piece of fabric. This tutorial shows the method that I prefer and techniques that work for me. Remember hover over picture for details and information 🙂

General Instructions: Make gathering stitches along the edge of the piece of fabric that will be gathered. To form gathering stitches, sew two parallel lines of stitches close to the edge that will be gathered, between the markings on pattern if given. Do not sew too close to edge or fabric will fold and gathering may not work properly.

First determine the seam allowance (where the seam will be sewn) and then sew gathering stitches on both sides of that seam allowance. For instance, most of what I sew has a 3/8 seam allowance, so I would sew gathering stitches ¼ inch and ½ inch from raw edge.

Once you’ve made your gathering stitches, just pull on both bobbin threads at the same time to gather. Pull until the fabric is gathered to fit and then smooth out gathers evenly. Pin in place and sew as directed in instructions.

Gathering stitches can easily be removed with a seam ripper once garment is finished, so don’t worry if your gathering stitches are outside the seam allowance and show on the outside of the garment. Simply use a seam ripper to remove any gathering stitches from the outside of your garment, and trim threads close to fabric. Most often, once you’ve loosened and pulled several stitches, the gathering stitches come out easily by pulling on the thread. With my preferred method, one row of gathering stitches will be showing and consequently removed after gathered fabric is sewn to non-gathered fabric, such as a bodice.

I will expand here on specific applications: the sleeve and the skirt in garments, as they are common places in which fabric is gathered for patterns and designs.

Gathered Sleeve:

The first step is to determine the center of the sleeve, so that it can be lined up with the shoulder seam, and subsequently gathers can be evenly distributed on either side of the center.

Many patterns will have this marked for you. If not, then fold sleeve in half and mark with a fabric marker.  Pin sleeve center to shoulder seam, right sides together. Pin the ends of sleeve in place. Picture below shows that I have pinned my sleeve in three places: center at shoulder seam and the ends. This important, because once gathered, it is hard to know where the mid way point is.

Now pull on the bobbin threads until the sleeve fits the opening.

With your thumb on one side and forefinger on the other side, slide the gathers to spread them more evenly. The gathers should move and slide easily as you loosely hold them as shown below.

Once spread evenly, pin them in place, making sure to keep raw edges together. I use a lot of pins, and I admit that I don’t remove them while sewing the gathers in place. This is the only time I do this, as sewing over pins is NOT a good thing to do. I go very, very slowly, so I can stop before the needle may hit a pin. It is best to stop and remove all pins before sewing over them, which also prevents your sewing from going wonky or off course.

If you do hit a needle, it could break and either hurt you or your machine—this is why it is not a good thing to do. So if you do sew over pins, then go extremely slowly and cautiously. In addition, if you do hit a pin, you will need to change your needle. I use a somewhat short stitch length (2.5 or 3 on my machine) and use my left hand to hold the gathers in place as I sew. See Notes below for photo of what I mean.

Notice the orange thread is sewn along the 3/8 inch seam allowance and is sewn down the middle of the gathering stitches, shown in the pink thread.

After the pins are removed, the gathering stitches are easily removed as well, by pulling on the bobbin threads until all the way out or using a seam ripper.

Gathered Skirt attached bodice of a dress: (or use the same ideas for attaching to waistband)

The bodice usually has side seams, but you may need to mark the center front of bodice, and center back of bodice, before beginning.

You will most likely be sewing the skirt in the round, so mark the skirt piece in 4 equal sections. If the skirt piece has side seams, then these will be two marks, and half way between them for your remaining marks. If not, as example shows, then fold in half and then in half again to mark your quarter points. Use a fabric pen to mark skirt piece’s quarter points.

Now pin skirt to bodice (right sides together). If you have side seams in skirt, then match them with the side seams in bodice. If not, the match the marks. If working in the round and you have only one seam in your skirt piece, it’s usually best to pin this to the center back mark.

Please note:  My example is sewn in the flat and the center back is completely open.

Now pull on the bobbin threads until the fabric piece that is to be gathered fits the bodice. Pull both threads together and evenly for best results. Using thumb on one side and forefinger on the other side, slide the gathers over and through to each section. Once the gathered fabric is the same length as the bodice, then make sure each section has enough gathers to fit that section. In other words, within each section, the un-gathered piece lies flat and the gathered piece fits that section.

Now spread the gathers evenly within each section and pin in place, making sure to keep raw edges together. I like to use lots of pins to help prevent the gathers from moving and shifting, while I sew them in place. See sleeve tutorial above for more info on pins and sewing.

Sew together on the seam allowance (shown in blue thread), right between the gathering stitches.  Remove gathering stitches, by pulling on bobbin threads until all the way out or use a seam ripper.

A few additional notes:

Pulling on the needles threads of your gathering stitches will also work, but the bobbin threads pull more easily.

Once you have pulled gathering stitches and gathered fabric fits the area to be sewn to, you can secure the threads before spreading the gathers out evenly.

I like to tie the bobbin threads into bows, as shown below.

Another method is to wrap the bobbin threads around a pin at the edge of gathering stitches. This allows you to spread your gathers and gather close to the bow or wrapped pin, without losing your gathers.

While sewing my gathered fabric to the non-gathered fabric, such as a sleeve or skirt, I hold the gathered fabric firmly, to prevent shifting and to prevent the presser foot from flattening my gathers, as shown below. Make sure to tuck your thumb up against your hand, and out of the path of the presser foot, to prevent injury.

Of course there are many other methods, and I have tried many of them. This is my tried and true method for lovely gathers. I do not like using my ruffler, because it makes teeny tiny pleats, not soft gathers. With this method, I can! When making a twirl skirt or tiered skirt and submit to my serger or ruffler foot (because it’s faster), I always regret it. I have never regretted using this method. I hope you enjoy using some or all of the techniques described in my tutorial. I’d love to hear how it worked for you, or if you have any questions, please post below 🙂

Happy Twirling!

~Erin

Sew with Me: yoga pants

Here’s my sew along, designed for beginners (or new to sewing knits) in hopes of teaching new skills and empowering others to try new things. I will be using a Jalie pattern, #2215, which includes sizes for my little girl, teenager, and me. The pattern is designed in such a  way that I can trace a custom fit for each of us. The fit is amazing and easier to adjust than I could have imagined. For seam allowances follow your pattern.

Machine and  sewing stitches:

I use my serger, but a traditional sewing machine can be used as well, which I have done with good results. To use a traditional sewing machine, sew side and crotch seams with a stretch stitch. Some machines have this, sometimes called a lightning stitch, which looks like this:

If you don’t have a lightning stitch, then it’s best to use a a very slight zigzag stitch. Stretch fabrics will stretch, so your stitch needs to have some stretch, too, or the thread will break when the garment/fabric stretches. Zigzags allow the fabric to stretch without breaking the threads. Serged seams have a lot of stretch, which is why sergers are used a lot for sewing knits. However, knit fabrics don’t fray the way woven fabrics do, so there’s no need to finish seam allowances if using a traditional sewing machine.

Another technique for using regular sewing machine is to stretch the fabric slightly as you sew a straight stitch. then use a zigzag seam to finish the seam allowances. This takes some practice, but results are very nice.

Fabric choice: make sure you have chosen a knit fabric with stretch and recovery. Cotton interlock or a jersey knit without lycra will not work well for this project. It will stretch, but not recover. The result may be baggy bum and baggy knees pants 😦

Okay, let’s get to it. Here is my method for using stretch knits.

Step 1Cutting out is important. Lay down your fabric, so that you can see the fold is on the grain. This important so your pant legs fall straight. Have you ever bought rtw pants and one leg twists? Well, that happens when it’s not cut straight on the grain. Get as close as you can and you’ll be fine. You just don’t want it to be way off. Here’s how I do it. I don’t use the selvage edge as I would for a woven; I use the fold edge with right side of fabric facing up. When you look closely, you’ll see little lines of knit weave vertically on your fabric. Try to  follow one line all the way up your fold. Here’s a pic to help (hover for more details):

Now make sure to measure the distance from the marked grain line on the pattern pieces to this fold, all along the grain line, to ensure your pattern piece is following the grain as it should. Handy pic of me doing this:

Pin along the grain line of pattern to keep it in place, while you pin all around the pattern pieces. Then cut the pieces out.

Step2 Side seams. Now make sure you can tell the right side of the fabric from the wrong side. Look closely at pink fabric  pic above  to see the difference(remember hover for details). Pin the front leg pieces to their corresponding back leg pieces, with right sides together. Begin at the top and work down. Pin outside the seam allowance and vertically(parallel to raw edge), so the pins are out of the way while sewing the seams. Make sure you have the raw edges together as you pin. Here is a teaching picture of how I do it:

Needles: Make sure you have stretch needles in your machine!

Sew your seams, making sure to remove any pins that start to go under your presser foot, as this will make you go wonky and off course. Here’s what it looks like for me. Notice all my pins are facing the same way? And they have the ball end toward me? This makes getting them out of the way, if needed, much easier 🙂

Step 3Remove pins.Turn one pant leg right side out, and place it inside the other leg, so that they are right sides together. Match up the crotch seams and pin in place(if pinned across the seam allowance as shown, then make sure to remove before sewing seam). Now pin the rest of the crotch in the exact manner as was done for the side leg seams.

Okay, put those sergers away. The rest will be done on the traditional machine.

Step 4 Waist: Cut a piece of elastic according to your pattern. Sew into a loop, by zigzag stitching across the ends. Make sure it is not twisted.

Now quarter it. Fold in half and then in half again. Mark the folds, in order to mark the elastic circle into equal fourths. With the garment inside out, pin the elastic to wrong side of pants, along the waist, matching the marks to a seam. There are 4 seams and 4 marks; you will only put in 4 pins and leave the rest loose.

To the machine. Using a zigzag stitch, you will sew the edge of the elastic to the upper edge of the fabric (waist). Sew each section at time, stretching the elastic to fit the section, keeping the elastic along that raw edge as you sew.  As you sew, hold in front and in back of the presser foot, holding at the seams/pinned spots. Try to only stretch the elastic and not the fabric. Overlap your stitches, by sewing a bit past where you began. Now my pants are green 😉

Fold elastic to the inside, so that the elastic is now covered by  fabric. Sew close to the raw edge again along the raw edge, again using a zigzag stitch. You don’t need to pin, or even stretch as much, just make sure fabric is smooth as you sew and elastic is up against the fold on the top edge. You don’t want a gap between the elastic  and the folded edge, because this would make your waistband not as straight. Stretch so that the fabric is flat and without puckers. If adding a size tag or folded ribbon to distinguish front from back, now is the time to tuck that in 🙂

Step 5 Now for the hem. You can serge  a rolled hem or lettuce edge hem, but my girls like the double stitched look. It’s easy to do as well. The main thing on this is the tools:  thread your machine properly and make sure that twin needle is a stretch twin.Sewing a twin needle creates a stretch stitch that looks great and has a nice, clean finish.

Threading the machine: You will need to keep your needle threads separated in 3 places (if possible. this is how my machine is and many others, but you may want to look in your machine’s manual for specifics for your machine).

1. threads must unwind in opposite directions to keep them separate. The first spool, shown on the left below, will unwind over the top to the left side.

The second spool, shown on the right side will unwind over the top to the right side.

2. threads should be kept separate in the tension disk.There is usually a divider piece inside the tension disk, to create an inner and an outer path within the tension disk. It’s hard to get a photo of this, but you can see the thin metal piece sticking up in the pic below. This divider keeps the two threads separate, yet still fed through the tension disk.

3. the thread guide just above needles

Thread first  spool completely, then thread the second. The first spool should be threaded through the inside track of the tension disk, and through the last thread guide (just above the needle). The second spool will then be threaded through the outer track of the tension disk, and will not be threaded through the last thread guide. Bobbin has no special instructions. After threaded, I am able to place the first spool back down into sewing position, to help keep the threads from touching.

Now that the machine is all set and ready to sew. Press the hem of your pants, using a hot iron. Fold up the lower edge of pant legs 1/2 inch (or hem allowance given in pattern) and press well. The press is important, because it allows you to sew your hem without the use of pins. You can pin your hem in place, but make sure to remove them before they go under the presser foot.

Turn pants right side out, and sew hem with right side facing up. Place the fold along a sewing guide (those lines along the needle plate, marked with different seam allowances). Choose a sewing guide that is less than, but close to, the amount you folded and pressed (hem allowance). This will help you catch the raw edge on the inside.  Sew hems, beginning  at the inner seam, so your overlapping will not be a visible when wearing your pants. Use  a long, straight stitch to sew hem (I use 3.5 to 4 stitch length). Go slow and follow the guide line to keep it straight.  Overlap your stitching an inch or so. Tip: don’t back stitch when sewing with a twin needle. Often the result  is a broken needle. Since you are overlapping, back stitching is not necessary.

Here’s what the inside looks like.

After you’ve sewn your hems, trim any excessive seam allowance than may fold and show on the outside. Otherwise, just trim all your threads and your pants are good to go!

Jalie yoga pants X3 🙂 I used 3 different fabrics: green are an organic cotton stretch jersey knit (the  lightest weight of the three –very soft), blue are medium weight cotton(93%) lycra(7%) knit, and the hot pink pants are a medium to heavy weight cotton(90%) lycra(10%) knit.  All fabrics were manufactured in USA and worked very well for this pattern. 2 pairs are moving to the house down the street, to live with my daughter’s good friend, who rejects most rtw clothes. The fabric and style many kids prefer at a fraction of what rtw yoga pants cost.

I hope this sew along has  helped. Sewing knits is really fun, especially when you have the right tools, and know a few tricks for making it work for you. Please leave a comment if you found this helpful or if you have used this tutorial to make some stylish and comfy pants!

~Erin

Knit-phobic?

So I’ve been sewing most of my life. Every now and again, I would stitch up something in a knit fabric. Not thinking much about the specifics, such as what type of knit I was sewing up. I just did it. Until recently, I had not thought about why I didn’t sew with knits more often. In fact, I have felt a bit knit-phobic at times. Wanting to sew with knits, but fearful of the wonky seams or epic failure.  But why? After all, I love wearing knits, as do most people. I remember sewing a knit polo shirt dress in Junior high and it was pretty stylin’–though it had no RL polo logo. Then I heard something a few weeks back, which forced me think about how we are so influenced by others. “Knits are so much trickier, so I try hard to discourage the students from sewing with them.” What?!? This is a teacher. That seemed odd to me. I see her point. She wants the kids to have the best chance at success and  feel good, and avoid overwhelming them. Yeah, that makes sense. After thinking about it, I also have at times shied away from a sewing pattern that was designed for knits. And I have heard other experienced sewists express similar feelings about sewing with knits.

That being said—If I had heard her comment as a kid, I would have most certainly been determined to do it. If someone says you wouldn’t be able to do something, should you believe them? Or work harder to prove them mistaken and prove that you are capable, to others and  to yourself. After all, it’s our self-efficacy which helps us to achieve more and live healthier lives. Through hard won accomplishments, we build our self-efficacy, which not only empowers us to accomplish more difficult tasks later and seek out solutions, but helps us to keep trying when faced with frustration.

The way I see it, there are several factors that prevent new sewists from attempting and mastering the ability to sew with knits, in addition to the Negative Nellies telling us we shouldn’t, or that it’s too difficult.

There are  a wide variety of knits, from cotton interlock to single and double stretch knits, like lycra knits and jersey knits, which can get confusing. Whereas all woven fabrics are basically thought of as the same, even though they also vary. It just seems easier to get away with sewing them as if they are all the same. The other consideration are the tools. Without the proper tools, sewing with knits could get ugly. Fast. But once you know there is more than one kind of knit, you can learn how to sew with each one and find ones that work best for you. And once you have the right tools, your machine will be more likely to work with you when sewing with a knit fabric.

What Kind of Knit are you using?

Knits are just different, not difficult. There is a big distinction here. They are created differently, but can be very forgiving if you know which knits are easier to sew with and have the correct tools. A knit with a good stretch is forgiving, because if and when it stretches while being sewn up, it recovers it’s shape.  A cotton interlock does not stretch as a cotton lycra knit does, so it must be sewn differently. If you are new to sewing knits, then I suggest starting with a stretch knit (cotton lycra is my preferred), with a substantial weight (medium weight or heavier). Stay away from light weight knit jersey and interlocks–at least for now. SewZanne’s Fabrics  has a great fabrictionary to help explain the different fabrics available.  She also sells a lot of great knits! Don’t hesitate to email online fabric stores with questions. Most welcome that and are prompt in responding, from my experience.

Pattern consideration: As far as patterns, make sure the pattern you use is designed for knits. On the back of most patterns, it has a sections for “suggested fabrics.”  It does help to have a good fitting pattern as well, but I’ll save that rant for another post.

Do you have the right needle for your fabric?

Needles are extremely important. I am surprised at how often I’ve heard friends say that they only use universal needles. I must give a look when hearing this, because most often they ask, “Why? What needle do you use?”  Not so much is the  universal needle a bother to me, but the idea that one needle is thought to possess  a kind of “sews all” capability. Just like rtw clothes, one size does not fit most. The idea behind needles is that they are designed to sew different fabrics, different weights and different types, or they are designed for different sewing techniques. Match your needle to the type of fabric for best results. For sewing with knits, get some Schmetz stretch needles. Use size 75/11 for medium weight cotton lycra knits. You will also want to buy a few Twin Stretch needles for hemming or necklines. I have not found these at big sewing stores, like JoAnns, but a specialty fabric store may be your best bet (or the internet) It needs to be a stretch twin, not a regular twin needle. Another thing to remember is that you’ll need to use stretch needles in your serger as well.

If you need more guidance on needles, the Schmetz website has a great needle guide for using the right needle for your fabric and projects: http://www.schmetzneedles.com/learning/household-needle-chart.htm

That’s it for now. I hope you got something useful from it. This week, I will be sewing up several pairs of yoga pants for a couple little girls and taking some pics, so I can post a sew along tutorial. If you are interested, pop back in a day or so. I’ll be using a Jalie pattern and a few different cotton lycra fabrics. They stitch up so quick and are such a favorite around here!

~Erin

Something New (at least new to me)

Welcome to my blog. This is my first post, and I thought it would be fun to jump right into the thick of it. I am planning a series of sew-alongs, to help beginner and intermediate sewists gain different sewing skills, and the confidence to try new techniques. I know from my experience, there is a huge learning curve, but that learning curve can be quickened with the right tools, as well as tricks and tips from others. My hope is to help, inspire, motivate, and teach. So if you have any techniques that you’d like to see a tutorial for, or any questions, ask away! I love talking about sewing 🙂

~Erin