Today I'll be showing you my favourite neckline finish for knit fabrics. It's my personal method for sewing knit neckline bindings, and I prefer it to the standard method!
Overcome your knit fabric anxiety and see how easy it can be to stitch with stretch with this helpful guide to sewing knits with or without a serger!
Are you tired of your hems looking wavy or stretched out on knit fabric? Our video offers some tips and tricks so your knit garments turn out looking their best.
How to hem curves on knits - this trick will help you get smooth hems on stretch fabrics using your regular sewing machine
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Using A Twin Needle can give great results when finishing knit projects. But what should you know before you start to use this method? Find some hints here.
Sergers can be used for hemming thin knits. They give a handmade-not-homemade vibe to the exterior of your FASHUNS. Let’s explore types of serger hems and the tools and tips to help you sew t…
Learn 5 different ways to sew a knit hem in this tutorial with video and written instructions
We have all come a long way in our Serging 101 series! In case you missed out on any of the previous serging posts, we have already covered how to set up your serger, how to thread for rolled hems, how to thread for seams, and a few other posts in between. And now today we're going to learn how to serge with knits! One of the things I love about sewing with knits is that they don't fray, so it's not absolutely necessary to serge the edges. However, I have four boys and I'd like their clothes to get a lot of use, so I tend to serge my edges for extra durability. I also sew all of my seams with a sewing machine before serging. It takes just a bit more time and makes them a lot more sturdy. So that two-step method is what I'll show you today! First, the sewing machine. When I sew with knits on my sewing machine, my favorite stitch is the "lightning bolt" stitch, as I like to call it, that you can see circled above. It gives a really strong stitch while still allowing the knit to stretch when it's worn. Please notice that the one I circled is NOT the same thing as a standard zigzag stitch, shown as #10 above. You can use the zigzag on knits too but the finish isn't as nice. My second favorite stitch for knits is the #18 stitch above. It is a straight stretch stitch (at least on my machine) and gives a sturdy stitch but doesn't allow quite as much stretch as the lightning bolt, so it might cause problems with puckering. It is great if the lighting isn't available on your machine though. One thing to note with the lightning bolt stitch is that it does start out strong so it might pull your fabric down with the initial stitches if you're right on the edge of the fabric. I like to start down about 1/8" and that seems to solve the problem. Alright, on to sewing! After sewing the seam with the lighting bolt stitch, your seam will look like the one above! Now you're ready to serge! On my Brother 1034D serger, I set my tension dials all to 4, as you can see in the photo. For your machine you may need to adjust the dials based on the recommendations in your user's manual. For the settings on the side of my machine, I put the first dial at 1.0 if I'm using a low-stretch knit, or up to 2.0 if I'm using a super stretchy knit. The second dial I put at a 4, and the third dial I put just above a 5. I also make sure my knife is engaged. Again, your settings may be a bit different but these work great for my machine. To begin, put the presser foot down and chain off a tail, as shown above. Then line up the edge of your fabric with the appropriate seam allowance. Mine is 3/8" and is marked by the red arrow in my photo. With the presser foot down, begin serging. Be careful not to pull or stretch the fabric as you go because it will cause puckers in knit! Notice that the knife is cutting off the excess fabric where the yellow arrow is pointing. That reminds me of another reason I always sew before serging! Anybody who has accidentally left a pin in the fabric can tell you that when a pin hits the knife blade of the serger it is NOT GOOD! That is a mistake I won't make more than once! I like to have my edges sewn and pins removed before getting anywhere near my serger. As you serge your outfit, if you come to a curve don't panic! Just gently guide the fabric through at a gradual curve. Think about how you drive around a curve in a car - gradually and smoothly, using the line as your guide. When you get to the end of your fabric, simply serge off the edge of it, forming another tail. Cut the threads and you're done! You should now have a neatly serged edge. I aim to have my serger stitching very close to, but not quite on top of, my sewing machine stitches. Now if I stretch out the seam, no threads show through on the outside of the fabric! It is a secure seam that is ready to stand up to a lot of rough-housing from my boys! Aren't these adorable? I love this Space Invader knit I got from Misty over at BWD Fabric and Supplies. This was my first time ordering from her and the quality is fantastic -- not to mention the super adorable prints she has in knits, such as Jack Skellington, Minnie Mouse, and right now she's taking pre-orders for Alice in Wonderland! I have several more of hers that I have in my stash for future blog posts and I can hardly wait! But first I'm going to finish up this super cute outfit I started. Any guesses on what I might be making to coordinate with these little guys? Let's Create! ~ Kristen
*Hi there new visitors & welcome. If you find this tip helpful be sure to follow Make&Wear for future posts :)* Sometimes invisible zips worry me that they will come open. Especially when t…
I took part in the #LilaKAL that is going on at the moment. On My Making List 2015 was a warm sweater for me and I decided that this would be a quick way of getting it done. I held two yarns together - a strand of Pear Tree 8ply seconds and a strand of Isager Tvinni. It gave me a gauge of 16 sti
When it comes to constructing knit garments, there is very little that requires the help of your sewing machine when you have a serger. This means that a basic sewing machine can most certainly get the job done with its serger buddy doing all of the heavy lifting. So what exactly makes a serger a better option for sewing knits?
This cute knitted bunting pattern is so easy to make the kids can help, and they can pick the colours, too!
How To Sew Stretch Fabric. Tips how to sew stretchy fabric. Sewing stretchy fabric & sewing on stretch fabric need not be hard. See my guide.
Here's 8 tips for sewing with sweater knits that will help you sew them without wavy seams and hems so that you're proud to wear them in the end!
How to Service Your Sewing Machine Yourself: A Step by Step Tutorial
I often get a question from my readers - how to sew straight? In this guide, I will show you how to easily keep stitching lines straight. I will talk about topstitching mostly because keeping seam allowances equal is a different topic. Have you ever had problems with crooked stitching lines? I bet you had. Even intermediate sewists are struggling sometimes to do it and had to rip and redo stitching. But sewing in a straight line is much simpler than you think. And I want to help you to sew straight every time.
Say goodbye to those annoying tiny t-shirt holes with this quick and easy repair!
A great list of over 50 sewing tutorials, with many different sewing projects, tips and techniques. Many of these sewing tutorials include video lessons.
Ever notice how many types of elastic you can find at the fabric store? There’s braided elastic, knitted elastic, and woven elastic to name a few. And then you get into your specialty elastics. Meliss
Serging and overlock stitches look complex, but they are super easy to remove. Easy to follow video guide to unlock the secret. Don't just pull!
Adding stitches in the middle of a row can be done with increasing techniques, but adding to the ends of rows generally means using a casting on method. But which one to use and when? I'll help you fingure that out today.
Did you know there is no one right way to weave in your ends? Here we teach you several of the best options to achieve beautiful results!
YouTube is full of fascinating videos involving all sorts of things, including sewing! Whether you often check out sewing videos on YouTube or have yet to explore that world, we think you will appreciate this list of what we think are the 10 Best Sewing YouTube Channels you'll want to follow. It was difficult to narrow down the list to only 10 as there are many more amazing tailors and seamstresses who make useful videos and who truly make the best sewing channels on YouTube, but we felt that these were the accounts with the most variety. There are also videos on techniques and projects for all skill levels. No matter what you are looking for when it comes to sewing, you will find a channel in this list that is worthy of hitting that "subscribe" button. Before we get to these top sewing YouTube channels according to us editors here at AllFreeSewing, did you know that we have videos, too? Check out our original sewing videos here. Watch our useful video right below and then keep scrolling down to get to our awesome list of sewing YouTube channels we love. If you like them, be sure to subscribe to take advantage of all the free tutorials, tips, tricks, and projects they all have to offer every week! Sign Up For More Free Patterns >>>
tutorial on joining the ends of quilt binding
10 Sewing Hacks You Probably Didn't Know- Whether you are a sewing pro or just a beginner sewing it is always helpful to have some sewing tips.
How To Sew Stretch Fabric. Tips how to sew stretchy fabric. Sewing stretchy fabric & sewing on stretch fabric need not be hard. See my guide.
Tips for sewing sweater knits on a sewing machine
Need a refresher on the different types of seams at your disposal? Or maybe you’re starting out and doing research to better acquaint yourself with your
Here's what to do when your sewing machine thread bunches up. Sewing machine thread bunching up on the top or underside of fabric is a common problem & a frustrating one! But don't despair, there are lots of things you can check to solve this issue. Refer to this checklist before call a sewing machine repair man!
Learn how to sew a zipper with these 6 helpful tips. Sewing in a zipper will be easy on your next sewing project.
Stay stitching happens right at the beginning of the process of producing a fine garment. Learn how to sew stay stitch step by step and why.
This sewing tutorial will help you learn how to hem knit fabric with a serger or sewing machine. I’ve compiled my tried and true tips on hemming knits so that puckered hems and popped stitches are avoided
Learn new creative uses for fabric stabilizer including appliques, pocket templates, sewing with knits and more!
Tired of tugging up your T-shirts with a low neckline? Raise them up! This video will show you a basic alteration you can do to raise a t-shirt neckline.
Cutting patterns is my least favorite sewing chore ever. So I'm sharing my favorite tips and tricks for cutting patterns out quickly so you can get sewing.
A step-by-step tutorial showing you how to knit the picot cast-on edge. A simple method with stunning effects totally suitable for beginners.