Constructing a Tee Top on a Serger
As I indicated in my last post, I cut a knit tee-top and planned to construct it using my serger and not my sewing machine. That was a great plan, but it did not work exactly as I planned. First of all, I did not have enough energy to make a top in one day as I could have done previously. Everything went much slower than anticipated. And it was not all smooth sailing!
I started by serging together the shoulder seams which was the same starting point I would have used when sewing with my sewing machine. I cut my pattern with a seam allowance of 5/8”. I found the marking on my serger that showed me where the outer edge of my fabric needed to be for a 5/8” seam allowance when the serger was set for a 4-thread overlock stitch. I held the seams together with small plastic clips instead of pins because it was easier to remember to remove them before they reached the cutting blade than to see the pins and remove them. This was the first of several steps that slowed down the construction process. If I had sewn the seams on my sewing machine, then finished each side of the seam with the serger, no pins or clips would have been necessary. At the same time I was clipping the seams together, I had to add a strip of knit stay tape to stabilize the shoulders to prevent stretching. I had to position it on the right spot so that the seam would go through the stay tape to hold it in place. It was a little unnerving when I stepped on the foot pedal and starting serging and cutting off 3/8 “ of fabric from the seam allowance at the same time. If I cut off too much, there was no way to put it back on! The process of simply serging together the shoulder seams felt like it took forever!
After the shoulder seams, I was ready to finish the neckline. I realized this, too, was going to be a problem. All knits are not equal. Some have more stretch than others, so the length of the neckband varies even on the same pattern due to the stretch factor. I usually begin by taking the circumference of the neckline at the seamline and multiplying it by 0.75. The first neckband I cut was a little short, so my neckline had puckers. Fortunately, I decided at the last minute to baste the neckband onto the neckline with my sewing machine. I am so glad I did! If not, I would have serged off 3/8” of my seam allowance and then had to rip off the band and resew it. It was a little easier to remove the basting stitches and cut a new band.
Once the band was serged, my next step was to finish the raw edge of the band with a cover stitch. This would also hold the band in place. I had not set my serger for a cover stitch in at least a year, so I knew it would take some research to recall how to do it. I started by looking at the “Quick Reference Threading Guide” for my Baby Lock Ovation serger. I followed the directions for the “Cover Stitch – Right Narrow”. The instructions were clear so I was successful in setting everything up except threading of the two needles. I inserted needles C-2 and C-3, but I could not tell from the picture how to thread those two needles. My friend, Stoney, was no longer available for me to call to figure out how to make these hi-tech machines work! I was forced to go on-line and look for a video that show me how to thread the needles. I watched the first video I found about 7 – 8 times before I gave up. The lady gave great instructions for setting up the cover stitch, but every time she described how to thread the needles, she held her hand over the chain/cover needle thread guide and I could not see how she got the thread into the guide. I finally gave up and the next day I continue my search to try to find someone else who had a video on the subject. Fortunately, I found one and she turned the machine around where the guide could clearly be seen and kept her hand out of the way. At last I understood and was able to thread the needles for the cover stitch! My neckline was not perfect, but it is wearable.
I followed a similar procedure to install the sleeves. I basted them into the garment and then serged them. I also serged the side seams with no problems.
Next, I ironed on 1” strips of fusible light-weight interfacing to the edges of the sleeves to stabilize the hems and 1 ¼” strips to the bottom edge of the garment. I turned up the hems and pressed them into place. With the right side of the garment up, I placed the bottom hem under the needles where I thought left needle would just catch the top of the hem. However, I misjudged and it went into the fabric above the hem. This caused the fabric to pucker and the hem was a mess. After about 6-8 inches, I stopped and ripped out the stitches. I tried again, but it still did not look good. Again, I ripped out stitches.
I decided to try the cover stitch-wide and took out the C-2 needle and moved it to the C-1 location. The knit I used was very light-weight and thin. I think this was part of my problem. I thought if the needles were spaced further apart, it might help. The third time was the charm. It worked well. At least well enough that the garment is wearable!
Shown below are pictures of the inside side of the garment as well as a picture of the outside of the finished garment.
The pictures shown below show the inside of a garment with the seams finished with a serger after the entire garment was constructed using a sewing machine. The serger was used only to finish the seams.
As you can tell, this was not a speedy process for me. I still have a lot to learn about different serger techniques, but one thing I know for sure. The way to learn is to keep trying and I intend to do just that! I hope each of you will keep sewing, serging, and learning!
Judy
#makeateeshirtusingserger #coverstitchmachine #usecoverstitchforneckband #sewing #sewingproject
