Knit Fabrics Juneau AK

Meg McElwee of Sew Liberated shares her tips for working with knits today! Meg’s second book, Growing Up Sew Liberated, will publish in May 2011; it contains clothing patterns for babies and kids using knits, in addition to other toy and accessory patterns using woven fabric. Meg will highlight some projects she’s made with knits this week on her Sew Liberated blog, so be sure to check those out. We’ll also have more tips and projects to share this week to help you feel super-confident with knits!

Many people think that knit fabrics are scary, when, in fact, they are such gentle monsters-– kind of like Muppets, really. Although they’re kind of funny, they’re also super soft and pose no real threat to the motivated sewist. I’ve taken up sewing with them a lot more since having a baby-– there’s nothing better for comfort wear, and what’s more important than coziness for little ones?

The key to working with these Muppet-like knits is to know which strings to pull to get the professional-looking results that you want. I thought I’d share some of my favorite tricks:

1. Know your sewing machine or serger inside and out. You don’t need a serger to sew knits successfully, but you do need to know the capabilities of your machine. Any tips that you read online or pick up in a book won’t tell you what settings your machine needs in order to sew knits without frustration. Read the manual and set aside an afternoon to really master your machine, fiddling around with different settings and plenty of scrap fabric. If you purchased your machine (or serger) from a dealer, they usually offer free machine mastery classes for their customers. Take advantage of your dealer! I just had an issue with the coverstitch function on my serger, and I took it in and had someone sit down with me and troubleshoot. It was super helpful.

2. Get the right needles for the job. More often than not, I use Schmetz Stretch needles (130/705 H-S) for sewing with knits. On heavier-weight knits, I might use a ballpoint/jersey needle, but if I’m getting skipped stitches, I’ll switch back to my trusty stretch needle. You’ll also want to have Stretch Twin needles on hand for sewing hems and a mock coverstitch (more on this below!).

3. Overlock or zigzag stitch all seams. Knit patterns are cut with less ease because the fabrics themselves are stretchy. Think of the neck opening on a basic t-shirt-– it needs to stretch a good deal just to get over your head. So, the seams that you sew on a knit need to stretch as well, or else the thread will break. An overlock stitch on a serger is a very stretchy and strong seam, and is perfectly suited for sewing seams on knits. If you’re sewing on a regular machine, check your manual to see if it has a mock-overlock stitch or a jersey stitch. Both are well-suited for kni...