Jessica Giardino

Knits 101 Session 6: Sewing Knit Fabric

Jessica Giardino
Duration:   19  mins

Description

It’s finally time to dive into sewing knit fabric! This session covers everything you need to know about sewing knit fabric on a sewing machine. Familiarize yourself with the best needle and thread types for stitching knits. Then check out several edge finish options to complete any knit project.

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Okay. So we're finally ready to start sewing. When you're getting ready to sew your knits, you need to first take into consideration your needles and your threads. First let's look at needles. So you always sew knit with ballpoint needles. So these are two different types. This is a jersey needle, and this is a stretch needle. Depending on what you're sewing, I mean, if you're sewing jersey, you're going to want this jersey needle. If you're sewing stretch, most fabrics stretch. But they'll tell you right on the back here. So this is for elastic materials and highly elastic knitwear. The medium ballpoint is specially designed, I, and it prevents skip stitches. So it'll tell you right on the back there exactly what you want, which is super helpful. So this one has a medium ballpoint. I'm guessing this one actually also has a medium ballpoint, but you want to match the density of your needle to the density of your fabric. So if you're sewing a very thick fabric, you would want to go ahead and get a larger needle, but make sure it's still ballpoint and for stretch fabrics. So I have one of those in my machine now, and I'm ready to go there. You might also be sewing with twin needles, which you'll recognize this. This goes with almost every type of sewing machine these days, and inside, there's what looks to be a gum wrapper and this itty bitty twin needle. And this is a very thin twin needle, whereas this one, I got special at the store, which is an extra wide twin needle. And that's really nice if you want to, the extra wide ones kind of give it a more professional finish, but the twin needle, even just this thin one, is still gonna look really nice on your finished product. So either one will work, just make sure that you choose one that you prefer before you start sewing with it. As for thread, in general, I think it's okay to use all-purpose thread, especially if it's polyester, because it will stretch with the garment a little bit here and there. You don't want your seams to stretch too much. But if you have polyester thread, then it's, which I have in my machine, and it's all-purpose. It will, it matches to the fiber content of your fabric. So take that into account. You can also, if you're sewing something really, really stretchy. If you're selling swimwear or any, like if you're making leggings, the whole thing is going to just grow in size when you wear them. You want to make sure that you have nylon thread, which is what this is. And you can look and see here, the nylon thread is very thin and gossamer, and it kind of fans out, and sort of is fibrous, which is sort of a pain to put it through your sewing machine. And you can put it through your sewing machine, you can put it on a serger. It works great and it's perfect for overlocking. So you want to use that with your overlocking foot on your sewing machine, and then in the serger, that's what you'll be doing. So this is the nylon and it works, I like it. I try to, I secretly try to avoid using it because I think it's a little bit harder to work with. So definitely for your first knit project, go ahead and get polyester all-purpose thread. Now regarding presser feet. So if you're sewing just as a zigzag stitch, which there are a couple of different zigzag stitches, which we're going to look at in just a moment, you're going to use your normal presser foot, which is, this is my normal presser foot. But if you're doing overlocking on your machine, you'll need an overlock foot, which is this guy here. And you can see that it has this little gap right here and an arm, and what it does is it wraps the thread around the arm as it stitches. Now, this is the one that I have for my Brother machine. This is what it looks like. You might see other ones out there that have a gauge that you can crank up or down to increase or decrease the seam width. And those are really lovely. They're great, but this one works just as great as well. When I sew with mine, I line my fabric up right here through the crease or through the opening, and it wraps the fabric right, or the thread right around the edge as it sews it, so that's nice. Now, speaking of sewing, whenever you're getting ready to sew knits, I highly recommend getting out your machine and looking at all the stitches. Definitely look at your owner's manual, and see what they recommend for sewing stretch fabrics. So you'll find that you usually have a zigzag stitch, which is, as opposed to a normal zigzag, that kind of, which is just this back and forth kind of W-shaped, you might have one that is more lightening bolt-shaped, that goes down, which is what I started with here. Stitch five is the first zigzag on my machine, and it's a lightning bolt shape, which you can, it's very small, but you can see it right there, right along the edge. And you'll see I stitched it and it still stretches with the fabric nicely. So that one would be a good one to use if you're just doing, if you're uncomfortable, if you don't want to do overlock or if you're doing edge stitching, where it's going to show up, it kind of looks nice, and then I have all the different zigzag stitches as we go. So there's this zigzag stitch, and you can see that also stretches, which was stitch seven. And this zigzag stitch, and they're all just different ways for a zigzag stitch to form. This one is a serpentine stitch, which also stretches with the fabric. And it looks pretty nice, you can see it's kind of that S-shape. And this is a graded zigzag. So it does one stitch and then another stitch to make the peak, and then one stitch, and then another stitch. And so this one right here, which is stitch 10 is pretty stretchy, and I like that. So if you're working with something really stretchy, go ahead and use it. And then stitch 11 up here, we get into the overlock stitches. Where I was using that overlock foot, and they stretch nicely as well. Again, you just want to choose one that both pleases you aesthetically, and seems to be the best fit for your fabric. If it's a high stress seam, if this is going to be something that is used for athletic wear, or is going to have a lot of activity going on while you're using it, you want to make sure you use an overlock stitch, because that's gathering the threads over the edge of the knit and it's going to keep it nice and strong. So there you go. Those are the different stitches. I recommend making a stitch chart like this when you first start sewing knits, so that you can get a feel for what it's like to sew your knit fabric. And I want to let you in on a little secret. So if you are sewing your knits and they keep getting bunched up in the feed dogs or pressed down into the bobbin feed area, the problem is that it's probably a lightweight knit and it's getting put down there. There are special needle plates that you can get, or throat plates that have just one small opening, and you can use that instead, if you prefer. That one, you do have to make sure you're moving it as you work with it, and it will keep it from doing that. Or you can use tissue paper. Now I have a special secret, which is that I take my tissue paper and I just cut it or rip it into little strips here. And this is just regular tissue paper that you get at the card store or the grocery store. And so when I sew with it, it does get stuck to the back of my fabric, but you can just rip it right off. And then, so if I'm sewing, say, a seam that's just this little piece right here. I would put my, oh, we might need a presser foot. So I would put my presser foot on my sewing machine. So another way, and other things that will keep the knit from getting stuck is instead of starting right here at the very, very edge, we're going to start just a little ways in, that should still be within the seam allowance. So you can see I'm starting at about a quarter inch past where the needle goes. Additionally, put your needle down into the fabric before you begin sewing. And then when you're ready to start sewing, keep that tissue paper right on the back, and just sew as you would. So I'm going to choose a zigzag stitch, let's, that's a good one. Okay. So let's begin sewing. There we go. And we'll just kind of form the stitches, we work easy peasy. Now, and my machine has this amazing let me cut the thread for you feature, which I am in love with, so I always use it. So you can see I've got my stitches right there. It didn't get stuck in the feed dogs at all, and on the wrong side or on the backside of the seam, we have, where the tissue paper has actually just come away already, and I just rip that off, and it's gone. There might be a few little pieces, but when you wash it, those are just going to disappear. And I've got my zigzag stitch place in place, and everyone is happy. So that's a good tip. So if it's getting stuck in your machine, just grab some tissue paper. I've heard you can use any type of paper. I personally have had the best luck with tissue paper, so whatever you think is best. So with that in mind, you're ready to actually sew. The easiest way to finish your knits or any sort of edge on your knits is to leave it raw. Is to not actually sew it at all. Is to not fold it up, is to just do nothing to it. Because they will roll up on their own, as you can see. They will be totally fine, and no one will ever know, no one will be the wiser. And you can actually accentuate that feature, if you want, with like a line of stitching so that it doesn't roll much further past there, but raw edges are totally fine in knits. And the sturdier the knit, the more it's going to stay right in place, it's not going to look weird at all. I, personally, don't think it looks weird at all anyway, I think it looks fine. But if you want a more polished look, you might want to consider some of the other options. So let's begin by looking at a banded edge. A banded edge is good to use, maybe on, well actually, like a hem of a shirt. I have a lot of shirts that have banded edges. I have shirts with sleeves that are banded. Haven't seen too much in collars, but you could give it a go, you know. To make abandoned edge , seam finish or edge finish. You'll have your, this is our pattern piece. Let's say it's the bottom of our shirt, where you're gonna be hemming it up. You want to measure the length, that length remains the same. So these match up there. But then you want to cut it, so that it's the width of the band times two. So if it was, you wanted a one and a half inch band, it would be three inches, then add in an inch or add in a half-inch, I apologize. Add in a half inch, and that will cover your seam allowances. Because all you do is you just fold it right side out, so let's make sure I have that. Pull the right side out like so, and then you put your folded edge right side to right side, like so. And I'm actually going to go ahead and use an overlock stitch here. So I better put my overlock foot in. And this is just a really easy peasy, quick and simple banded edge. You can do this on a sewing machine, you can do this on a serger, there's a lot of different options. So we're going to take our edge here that we have, and select one of my favorite overlock stitches, let's get a good one. There we go, which this one is just sort of a zigzag. I believe on my chart, it is stitch 12. So we're good there. So now I'm aligning those edges with the opening in the presser foot. And again, I'm starting my stitching just past the, about a quarter-inch past the needle. And also I'm going to make sure my thread is underneath my presser foot. That's another good tip. Always start with your thread under your presser foot, then the thread won't just pull back up and annoy you. Okay. Needle down and we're ready. So we'll go real quick, right along the way. And as I go, I'm just lining it up, right along that opening in my foot, in the presser foot. And it forms a stitch nicely. This is a great way, the stitch will stretch as you wear it, and away we go. And so that thread is just wrapping right around the edge of the fabric. You would want to backstitch, which on some of these overlooks, they just, they don't actually backstitch, but they go in place and make a batek. Cut it off and pull it out. Okay. So let's look at this. So on the actual stitch, this is what it looks like right here. You can see I've formed that stitch nicely, it's still quite stretchy. Then you will just press this down. And I like to take the seam allowance and let it go up towards the garment or whatever your project is, and press it right there. So once you press that, we'll do a little finger press. It'll look something like this, which is a banded edge. So it's that folded over edge right there, and once pressed nice and neat, that's going to look very professional on your edging and it's going to look really, I think it's like a cute sporty finish to something, right? It looks nice. So there's your first edge finish you can work on. The next one is what I like to call a double raw edge or a double-rolled edge. So , oh, let's get our fabric ready. This one, we actually won't use our overlock stitch, we'll use a normal stitch. You're going to take your fabric, right side up, and you can choose, I could do the metallic one or I could do the blue, whichever I prefer. And you're going to, on the wrong, so this is the right side. This is the right side of both of these. Nope. Yeah, there we go. So I'm going to take it like this. I'm going to put, so that it just sticks out. So the bottom piece only needs to be, it can be whatever you want it to be. But this is even thicker than I even require. So if I want it to stick out, say that much, then I would plan on making my stitches right along here. So think of it as stitching that right along this edge here. And if it helps, you can do that side up as you sew it. So you're just going to sew right along this edge. You can do, I'm going to do a zigzag stitch. You could do this on a serger as well. You just have to fold it. So bear that in mind. All of these seam finishes can be done on a serger, except for the double needle, which is just for this. But the serger will use a double needle, and so, there's also that. Okay. We're gonna take, ooh, we're going to take off the presser foot, put on our normal one, and find a nice zigzag stitch. So let's do, we'll do that sporty one, the lightning bolt. Okay. And I could, of course, pin this. I'm not, because I am just, loosey goosey, doing some samples for you here, but absolutely dependent if it makes you comfortable, and then go to town. Backstitch to the beginning, and then tell the machine you still want to keep sewing, there you go. It just does that quick zigzag down. And I'm just lining up the , oh, pardon me. The upper edge of the wrong side piece, the extra curl piece, with the inside part of my presser foot. Okay. And then down here, we'll backstitch a little bit. Cut the thread. Okay. So on this, on the wrong side, this is what it looks like. It's just a piece of fabric that's been attached. You don't have to worry about that unraveling, because it's a knit and it won't. And on the right side, as you continue to wear this, it's going to roll up. And it's going to slowly roll up together. So it'll kind of start to look like this, just these two rolls and they will stop at the stitch line that you made. And I've seen this on a lot of different garments. I've seen it on collars, I've seen it on sleeves and hems, and it's really cute. It's sort of just a fun way to finish your seams. I like it. Especially with this glitter, it's so fancy. Okay. And then our very last one that we want to do is we want to sew with our twin needle. So I'm going to put my twin needle in. So I just need to use my little screwdriver and unscrew the jersey needle that I've been using, which all twin needles should be ballpoint. Okay. I have now installed my double needle, which means I've used my little screwdriver here, taken out the single needle that was in there, and put in my double needle that came with the machine. So it's the thinner one. It's not the extra wide. You should know that your needle, your automatic needle threaders will not work with your double needles, because the needle is not in the same position. And you're going to need to put on an extra spool up top here. Some machines have a little hole for them right here that you can put them in. Mine just has, you put the spool on top of your bobbin threader, which is also fine. And I'm using two different colors of threads, so you can see how it works when we do this. But of course, you might want to use two of the same color of threads, so that it looks consistent throughout and very professional. Now, this is a piece of fabric that we prepped earlier. It has steam-a-seam in the center, between these two pieces. And I recommend putting that in when you are going to do a double needle, because that will reinforce the fabric as you sew it. And it's just folded over once, you can fold over twice if you want. But you don't have to worry about enclosing a seam or anything, because it'll be fine, 'cause the knit will not unravel. So I've got my double needle in, I've put the presser foot down and the needle into the fabric. And you just feed the thread through, the same way you thread your machine with just one spool of thread, so you don't have to worry about that. So we'll start with like a backstitch or two. Again, the stitch that you use on your machine is determined by your specific manufacturer. So I've had machines that have a specific double-needle stitch, and that's the only one you can use. And you need to specify how many needles you're using. This machine, you use, it shows you on a chart which stitches will work with the double needle, and which stitches will not. And so I've just put it on a straight stitch, and you'll see, when you do that straight stitch, it's double on one side, and on the other side, it makes a little zigzag. And it still stretches with the fabric, so that steam-a-seam is in there, which means it makes it thicker. And normally, what you would want to do is fold it up and do the double stitch on the other side, which would have been the right side of our fabric. But I went ahead and did it on the wrong side. But you know, maybe it's because I like the look of that. You can do that, maybe this is a whole new edge finish that we haven't explored yet. Yeah. So you would do the double needle on the other side, traditionally. But in this tight version, you would do the double needle right here, on the wrong side, or the right side of the fabric. And on the back, it will be that zigzag. So that's the double needle, and those are all the different edge finishes I have to show you. So when you're sewing your knits, remember to just take it slow, explore all the stitches you have, and take some time to learn how to use your sewing machine as you're sewing knits. Now, let's talk about serging. Have you, do you have a serger, you wanna know how to use it? Well, I'll be right back to show you how. Stay tuned.
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