This is a repost of an earlier blog. Actually one of my earliest blogs, a little rewriting and possibly this time people enjoy it!
I sewed with knit six months upon completing the striped skirt. What an accomplishment. For the first time ever, people liked my product and commented about how much they liked it. I felt FAMOUS! Let me tell you, this didn’t happen overnight. Lots of things can go wrong when sewing with knit fabric. Hopefully my mishaps will be a blessing in disguise and help you avoid those same issues.
1. Knit can be two way or four way stretch. This doesn’t really matter, it all stretches right? I thought that too. Then I spent about an hour or two making the ultimate tee shirt. It looked amazing! But, I sewed it with the stretch going vertical instead of horizontal. In case you’ve never made this mistake, it means I couldn’t fit into the shirt. It had no stretch at all in the areas that need to stretch. But, I could probably pull it down far enough to wear it as a dress. Funny, unless it’s your shirt. haha
2. Leggings wear best in a four way stretch. Yes, you can make pants to your heart’s delight in two way stretch fabric. But, chances are the knees will bag throughout the day. Unflattering? YES! A four way stretch ensures the fabric maintains a proper fit all over your legs. So professional, no one guesses you sewed the legings. Okay seriously, no one will consider you made it yourself unless you tell them.
3. Heming Isn’t really an issue, or so they say. Most people do not hem their knit garments. To me, this never really made sense. I don’t find clothing at the GAP that is not hemmed. So, I have always hemmed my garments. I’ve tried several ways.
UPDATE: If the knit is spandex and rayon blend, no hem is needed. Similar clothing sells in department stores and boutiques upwards of $4o!
Rolled hem, created using a rolled hem or cording foot. This works well for some knits. I have found it works best with those containing a little rayon. I tried it recently with jersey. This did not work so well.
Double hem, is primarily used in the ready to wear industry. Lots of articles and websites will tell you this cannot be done without a double needle. Simply not true! I have done them since day one with my normal sewing machine. When it’s time to hem use the standard 5/8″ seam, then go over it again using the 3/8″ seam. The same look is achieved. Now, when you tell people, because you will want them to know, you made this. They will not believe you! Added BONUS, no extra equipment required.
Cut edge hem, again this is one I do not use because I’ve never seen it in ready to wear and it makes me self conscious. If you like it or need to put that just finished garment on and head out for the evening. By all means do it. It is a time saver for sure. This would probably be easiest to get away with when using tissue knits.
The three D’s of blogging are as follows (anyone hear a Dr. Seuss song?) disclose, deliver, and disclaim. From time to time, hopefully more often than not, this blog will accept compensation for opinions provided.
Lucy’s Disclosure—
The opportunity to accept such wonderful perks may at times influence the posts herein. The content may not always be identified as an advertisement, paid post, or sponsored content. Compensation for blogging will in no way prevent me from giving my honest opinion, experiences, and beliefs. Everything contained in Lucy’s Sewing Lab is my personal opinion or view.
Lucy’s Disclaimer—
I link to a lot of other websites, it’s a great way to share a wealth of information with my readers. I am very generous with sewing information and websites. I cannot be held responsible for the content found on the linked blogs. I also am not responsible for any actions the other bloggers may take. The accuracy of information provided is current only on the day of publishing.
Lucy’s Deliverance—
Cute huh? Lucy will try to feed her readers new information at least twice a week. We all have lives though right? So, I sincerely hope my lovely readers will understand if more than seven days pass without hearing from me. I promise I am sewing, hopefully, and thinking about you and your needs to learn more and more about the wonderful world of sewing. Now that all the D’s are out of the way.
What exactly does that mean? Capsule Wardrobe? At first, I wasn’t sure. A time capsule? And why would anyone want a time capsule wardrobe is beyond me. But actually capsule wardrobe simply means a minimalistic wardrobe. This is of great interest to me. I vowed at the beginning of the year not to buy any clothing. I’ve done incredibly well, although I did purchase a shirt my daughter designed. I don’t really count that as clothing though,it is art!
So, while researching this new idea I came to realize the wardrobes are normally about 32-37 pieces. I better get sewing! Unless I count all my shoes, maybe even one by one, I am seriously lacking. But, in theory, this sounds like a great challenge! There are various methods of creating this wardrobe. In most methods, the first step to a capsule wardrobe is to empty, yes empty, everything out of your closet. Okay, I just moved my clothing into new closet so that sounds like a pain. But, it is the first step, so guess what I’m doing today?
Possibly the easiest method I found suggested creating seven outfits from the clothing you already own. That sounds great but, to me, that already means seven bottoms. I’m not sure I have seven bottoms, so, again, I better get sewing. I found this great app though to keep track of your outfits. For me, this wardrobe plan consists of finding great sewing patterns that are versatile.
So far, I use all the patterns in the photo above. The pants/shorts pattern has supplied me with two pair of pants and two shorts. The skirt pattern I’ve used once and I’ve made two of those dresses. I just love the jacket though. I need to make that as well. I guess I really only need to make one more bottom. I have more clothing than I thought. I bet you do too. Really this concept is much easier for the seamstress. We do not have to scrounge around for clothing in stores. We can simply find four or five fabrics that work well together both in prints and solids. The most challenging part for me isn’t finding the patterns to make or the fabric for that matter. The challenge is to find the time to sew all the clothing required for a “minimalist” wardrobe. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to give it a try, I may even pick up a book or two from Amazon to help me through the struggle.
The Kindle Books are especially helpful to me. I can always find my phone or iPad to read them when needed. So, with my patterns, fabric, app, and kindle books, I am ready to get started. Look for my outfit combinations on future blogs. Most of all ENJOY!
When I first started this blog I made a best of list to include what I thought was the best sewing blogs. Well, some time has passed and now I think I need to revise that list or better yet create a best of list for beginners. When I started sewing again, I had no idea where to look for anything! I was so glad I had a friend that was willing to help me find my way around.
Singer it’s the brand of machine I purchased. I don’t know if the brand makes a difference or not but, the section for beginner sewing has projects. I didn’t have a single pattern when I started sewing. They have a very easy section. I used this quite a bit in the beginning.
Pink Chocolate Break she has a great beginner sewing tutorial section. Wonderful, especially if, like me, you haven’t bought any patterns yet.
Andrea’s Notebook I used this and made the most beautiful kimono. HINT*** I used stretch lace with a border. I didn’t need to hem it. That, for me, is always a huge plus!
What the Craft has an awesome tutorial for making a circle skirt. You know, so you have something to wear to work. Your friends will be so impressed!
Sewing Directory one of the best beginner sewing shopping trip guides. Actually, if I was an organized type beginner, this would be number one on my list.
Simplicity this company has a section of patterns called learn to sew. Yes! Of course I have used most of these. I love them! If you like using videos to sew there are several produced by Simplicity that have video tutorials online as well.
Mimi G. this is a designer that produces patterns for Simplicity along with tutorials. The link will take you to her tutorial page.
Pattern Review this is a good resource for pattern shopping. I find a pattern I think I may like and search for a review on here. This helps me decide if the pattern is worth the money or not. It’s saved me a few hours. The occasions I wasted time and money trying to make something and failed I did not refer to this resource. 🙁
Craftsy I love this place! So many free sewing lessons. I have all the free ones I could find. Free topics include everything from sewing machine feet, zippers, bag making, sewing with knits, and probably more I have not found yet.
So Sew Easy she shares tutorials as she masters the technique.
Possibly you haven’t really looked into sewing books much. I got back into sewing and immediately had to have a sewing book my grandmother gave me 30 years ago. It’s the Simplicity Sewing Basics book. Then, I ventured out on my own and found Gertie Sews Vintage Casual. This book is amazing! It’s staggering the amount of information I have learned from this book, not to mention the FREE patterns she includes.
Let me start over, Gertie has a blog and not only do you get to learn from her daily, but you get to see what she looks like. Very refreshing and on trend immediately you feel HIP just for having clicked on her blog. She’s a tattooed girl with great vintage taste and a vast amount of sewing information to share. But, for people like me. I really like to have the book in hand. I wasn’t to use my pretty highlighters, you know? Pages come alive for me when I get to add color and quickly find the information I need. Honestly, I am kicking myself for not purchasing this book sooner. The patterns she included with the book would’ve saved me a ton of money. Because, I’ve purchased as many of those patterns as I could find, and they are not even by Gertie! I wish they were though.
Her book is divided into two sections SKILLS and WARDROBE. The wardrobe section is essential to the seamstress hoping to banish RTW clothing from her life. She included 22 patterns! Okay, this book sells on Amazon for around $25. For the price of the patterns alone on sale for 1.99 each, you know, Hancock and Joann’s like to have the sales. Anyway, at that price you could only walk out the door with 12 patterns. Gertie, that sweet but sassy girl, is packaging the patterns and the book together for $25 what a sweetheart, right? Seriously, don’t take it from me. Look at the Gertie Sews Vintage Casual: A Modern Guide to Sportswear Styles of the 1940s and 1950s“>book, her website, and see what you think.
Most of all ENJOY!
***I was not paid in anyway for this blog. These opinions are solely the opinions of Lucy’s Sewing Lab.
Mad Men a show about midcentury life! I love how the life is so different today and hate it. Various reasons for the love hate relationship. I mostly hate that family dinners and women in aprons are no longer the norm. Life seemed simpler? I miss seeing women in aprons. No I am not anti feminism. Aprons are so fun! They conjure up days passed of grandmothers and fresh pies, of mothers making dinner out of love for their families. Mad Men, wildly popular because we love nostalgia. For some of us, it’s more history than nostalgia. I was very young during the period of the show, not even alive until mid 1960s.
I’ve began making aprons. I love how it makes me feel. With every seam I remember something else from my grandmother and her sisters. Wearing aprons was a daily occurrence for them. I love thinking about making beautiful aprons that mimic Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress, someone’s favorite pair of jeans, and the gingham curtains on the kitchen windows. One thing I’ve learned about nostalgic sewing is that there is more detail in the garment than today. When was the last time you saw ready to wear clothing with bias tape on it? Probably never!
So, I’ve learned to sew with bias tape. It makes things look so finished. I used lace trim when I was younger. But, sewing with bias tape is something to be mastered. First of all, I had no idea the tape wasn’t meant to be placed around the raw edge and sewed. Nope! It seems that the proper way to attach bias tape is to sew the tape with the raw edge of the tape and the raw edge of the fabric matching. WOW, that tidbit saved me tons of time and headache.
In case you haven’t shopped for bias tape lately, it’s kind of pricey. Since I am a tightwad, I made my own. It’s really easy. Much easier than expected. It involves cutting the fabric on the bias. Basically, create a piece of fabric into a square. This will be double thickness. Then, fold the fabric diagonally to create a triangle. Pretty easy so far huh? At this point, place the folded edge of the triangle on a straight line of your cutting board. Measure the width you would like, and cut. Continue cutting using the same width. Another method is completely different, although, mine worked fine. There are great detailed instructions of another method here.
In any case, I love making my Mad Men attire and aprons. I hope you will at least try to make one. They are really fun. Most of all ENJOY!
“>book, her website, and see what you think.