Sewing Knits at Sewing Retreat

Have you ever been to a sewing retreat where you can spend the day and as much of the night as you wish just sewing and visiting with others who enjoy sewing?  It is really fun and productive!  I just returned from a sewing retreat with the Lansing Clippers Chapter of the American Sewing Guild.  I had an enjoyable time and came back with four new tops ready for fall.  I also returned home inspired by the projects I saw others making.  I will soon be sewing with new ideas I got from other sewers and with a new burst of energy.

This year I took four knit tops to sew for my fall and winter wardrobe.  I cut them out at home in an effort to save some time at the retreat.  I wanted to be ready to sew as soon as I unpacked.  I even serged the edges before I left.  I did not serge the necklines and armscyes.  I thought that might distort them or have an impact on the fit of the sleeves and neck. 

I cut two of the tops from McCall’s M6964 and two from Kwik Sew 2900.  I used 5 different types of knit fabric.  There was mid-weight cotton knit, a loosely-woven sweater knit, a firmly-woven sweater knit, a very stretchy slinky-type knit, and a printed knit that had only a little stretch.  I had used both the McCall and Kwik Sew pattern many times but with a different type of knit fabric.  I realized that each of the four tops would probably fit me differently.  To be prepared for that situation, I cut each one ¼ inch larger at the side seams than my original two patterns.  I can always take a large seam allowance, if needed.

I combined the stretchy slinky-type knit with the printed knit to make a top with a yoke.  I made the yoke and sleeves from the printed knit and used the lilac slinky-type fabric for the lower front and back.  I used McCal’s M6964 for this top, so it has bust darts.  I did not make any alterations to the garment.  I sewed it exactly as I cut it and used a 5/8” seam.  It fits okay, but I probably could have left off the additional ¼” on the front and back at the side seams because the slinky-type knit has a lot of stretch.  A picture of the top is shown below.

 

Next, I sewed the loosely woven sweater knit using Kwik Sew 2900 with no bust darts.  I definitely did not need the extra ¼” I added to the front and back at the side seams.  I sewed the shoulder seams together and then used a ½ inch seam to baste the front and back together although the pattern called for ¼” seams.  I checked the fit and the top was still too large so I took another ¼” in at the side seams.  That worked much better; however, when I put on the top, it stood out away from my body at the hem edge.  I decided to add a band at the bottom to see if that would cause the top to lie flat.  The finished band width was 1 ¼” and it resolved the problem.  I used stay tape in the shoulder seams of this top as well as the others.  It keeps the shoulder seams in place and prevents stretching. 

The neckline of this top is larger than the other top made with the same pattern.  That is caused by the loose weave of the fabric.  I should have stabilized the neckline as soon as I cut it, but I did not do that.  Now that I have the band sewed onto the neckline, I will seek another solution to the problem.  I am thinking I might sew a turtleneck dickey for this top.  A picture of this top is shown below.

 

The third top I made was also a sweater knit, but it was much more closely woven than the black top.  I had no problems with it except I did not need that extra ¼” I added to the side seams, so I just took larger seams at the sides.  The fabric was much easier to work with than the knit shown above.  A picture of the finished green top is shown below.

The fourth top I made was an aqua mid-weight cotton knit.  I used McCall’s 6964 pattern.  I did not need the extra ¼” I added to the side seams.  It went together quickly without problems.  It does look a little plain, so I am thinking I may add an embroidery design to it at a later date.  A picture of the garment is shown below.

 

A good resource for sewing knits is the book, Knits for Real People by Susan Neall and Pati Palmer.  There is also an article about how to stabilize knits with stay tape in the current edition of Threads Magazine.  It is the Fall 2021 Number 215 edition and the article is on page 66.  Too bad I did not read the article before going to the retreat.  If I had, I might have handled the neckline of my black top differently!

I hope you will make something from knit fabric soon.  If you haven’t sewn with knits, do some research before you begin.  Have fun sewing whatever projects you choose!

Judy

 

 

                                                             Making Bags and Purses

I usually concentrate mainly on making garments; however, lately my focus has been on making a purse and a bag.  The change in my sewing focus occurred after a friend gave me a piece of fabric that was printed with lots of shoes and purses.  My friend gave me the fabric because she knows how much I love shoes.  I decided to use the fabric to make a purse.  I took McCall’s  M6532 out of my pattern stash and cut out the bag.  Once it was cut, I knew it was too large to be a purse.  I think it will be an overnight bag or a sewing project bag.  I can’t tell you I enjoyed making this bag.  I didn’t!  It was very cumbersome and hard to handle under the presser foot.  The main part of the bag consisted of 4 layers:  the main fabric, a medium weight fusible fleece, fusible Peltex interfacing, and the lining fabric.  In addition to those layers, the straps consisted of the main fabric doubled over and lined with a medium weight fusible fleece.  So, this purse required some heavy duty sewing with a denim needle.  The bag also had pull-tabs at each end made in the same manner as the straps.  However, they were doubled over to make the tabs and sewn right onto the center end seam.  The machine was required to sew through the four layers on the main part of the bag and the four layers on the top of the bag as well as sewing through both layers of the tab at the same time.  My Pfaff Creative Icon and I were not up for that challenge!  I couldn’t even get the seam to stay under the presser foot.

Finally, tired and exasperated, I decided to call my neighbor who makes purses and has a heavy-duty single stitch machine.  She told me to bring it to her and we would make it work.  After another two and one-half hours, Linda McCoy was able to sew the top of the bag on for me.  We did away with the pull tabs at the ends of the bag.  I think I now understand why having a commercial sewing machine would make a project like this a lot easier.  No, I will not be using this pattern again unless I make some modifications to it.  Pictures of the bag are shown below.

 

Recently, we were invited to a surprise birthday party for a friend.  I needed a quick birthday gift to sew.  I knew I had a pattern for a small crossover bag that I worked on about two years ago.  I sewed three of them and made some changes in the pattern after making the first one.  I added pockets for credit cards and drivers license and also made the bag just a little larger.  The larger version made it easier to also carry a checkbook.  The last version I made is large enough to carry all my essentials (money, credit cards, driver’s license, cell phone, pen, and comb) and yet small enough that I cannot overload it.  I no longer have the sore shoulder I used to get from carrying a bag too heavy for me.  You can view these purses on my post of August 16, 2019.

I decided to make one of those bags for my friend.  I made it just a little larger than the last one I made.  The cover and lining piece when cut measured 9” x 14” instead of 8 ½” x 13” like the previous one I made.  I used a piece of decorator fabric I had on hand.  Quilting cotton would also work fine for making one of these purses.  I used a piece of low loft batting between the fabric and the lining.   I used the same fabric for the strap with a piece of batting inside the folded fabric. 

Pictures of the finished purse are shown below. 

 

I hope your sewing projects are going well.  Don’t be discouraged if they don’t all go as planned.  Sewers are known for their ingenuity.  You can resolve whatever sewing problems come your way! 

Judy