Here’s a question for you – who loves to sew? OK since you’re sitting here kindly reading this blog about SEWING from a FABRIC STORE, that might seem like a silly question so let me expand! Who loves to sew with cottons but when you think about sewing with knits, you break into a cold sweat and you start to quiver with fear? What….only me? Alright, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration but I’ll be honest, sewing with knits is something I very rarely do! A few years ago I did sew myself a dress for my daughter’s Grade 8 graduation and it turned out “pretty good”, thanks to my google search “how to sew with knit fabrics”! Here’s a few of the basic tips I followed, maybe they can help ease you into the world of sewing with knits:
- use the proper machine needle: jersey/ballpoint needles for looser knits, stretch needles for highly elastic knitwear. We also carry the Chrome line of Schmetz needles, the “best of the best”! They’re even stronger and will resist heat and wear longer…give them a try!
- use the proper stitch: use the “stretch stitch” which looks like a jagged lightning bolt to help give your seams some stretch just like the fabric. You could use a zig-zag stitch if that’s all your machine has though.
- start sewing your seam in slightly and then backstitch to catch the edges. If you start sewing the seam off the fabric, you will soon be frustrated because the fabric will get sucked down into the feed dogs!
- use a walking foot if you have one: this will help alleviate the above problem for knits and many other sewing applications! Truthfully, I use my walking foot for about 90% of the things I sew! This special foot has feed dogs on the top, too, meaning that it moves bulky, slippery or otherwise difficult fabrics under the sewing needle evenly so no bunching, no fabric eating lol!
My fellow Funky Monkey Fabrics coworker Wendy is a superstar sewer of cottons AND knits so you better believe I was begging her for pictures of her knit projects that I could share on the Blog! Enjoy this gallery of Inspiration!
So is everyone ready to dive into the world of sewing with knits? I certainly am getting there, especially when I see all the cute things that Wendy makes, along with all the pictures that our Customer’s share of their completed knit projects!
If you’re ready, now’s the perfect time to stock up since this weeks sale is a 10% savings on all solid knits with the code “solidknit10” till Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 12 a.m.!
Have a great week everyone, and Happy Sewing!
Shawna and Special Guest Contributor, Wendy!
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