Don't have a serger and you want to sew stretch?

this entry was written just a week after my last post, but the lack of blogging mojo delayed its publication!

Me too.

On Pattern Review you can read about what a serger can do and a discussion on a sewing machine vs a serger. The latter thread was something that I read before purchasing my last sewing machine. It convinced me that for what I do, a serger would be just like getting a new power tool: handy but not essential unless I'm remodeling the entire house. If I was to take up sewing professionally, I would go buy one.

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OK. so your set on giving it a whirl on your sewing machine.

What supplies do you need?

1. high quality jersey and thread, otherwise its like knitting with 100% acrylic yarn. If you buy cheap jersey, not only will you be wearing a garment that doesn't breath but you'll have a tough time getting the seams to lay down correctly.  A few months ago, early in my jersey sewing, I made a dress with some nice jersey.  I thought lining it would be a good idea, so I tried lining it with cheap jersey from JoAnns.  The lining continued to misbehave no matter how I tried to topstitch it.    The thread you use is equally important. Thread does degrade over time and can become more brittle.
2. special needles for your sewing machine (knitting translation: its akin to knitting into the loop rather than part of it) When sewing jersey you'll need a ball point needle.  That means that the tip is rounded so that it pushes the fibers apart rather than piercing the stitches.  A sharp needle would pierce the stitches compromising the stretch of the fabric.  Ideally you'll need a  #70 or #75 needle if sewing a light weight jersey.
3. any old sewing machine. Yeah, I really believe this even though I recently bought a new machine. See below for a list of useful stitches.

Right side: (L to R) straight stitch, regular zig zag, straight stretch stitch, stretch stitch Wrong side: (L to R) straight stitch, regular zig zag, straight stretch stitch, stretch stitch

Don't know what sewing machine stitches to use? You have a few options if you only have a very basic machine.

1. Straight stitch The same stitch that you use to sew your wovens. To use this stitch you simply stretch your fabric as its being fed into your sewing machine. You may need to work on figuring out how much to pull it, but this method is totally doable. I would caution you from doing this too much as if you put too much pressure on your feed dogs (that pull the fabric through) it could harm the timing of your machine.
2. Zig zag stretch Set your machine to a narrow zig-zag and you get a stitch that easily stretches (without breaking).
3. various stretch stitches What this looks like on your machine really depends on your manufacturer (I think). It could be a dotted single line icon, or three side-by-side, or a mini-lightening bolt or all three. Refer to your manual for what stitches your machine has.
Have fun and just remember to try some test pieces first!






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If you're confused about what needle to use with what fabric, here's 's a handy guide describing when you want a sharp and what size for a large variety of fabric types.