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Sewing stretch fabrics
May. 6th, 2014 10:04 amI am blessed with a job that lets me work with stretch fabrics every day and an education that is mostly focused on tailoring techniques and therefor I get to see both sides of the sewing spectrum. The downside to this situation is that when I have questions about my job, the people at school can almost never explain exactly what to do.
Sometimes other seamstresses come up to me and sigh that they would never be able to work with stretch fabrics all day. They tried it once or twice and ran screaming from their sewing machines.
Well, here's a very big secret: there are tricks for everything. There's tricks to sewing perfect buttonholes, piping, welt pockets and of course on how to sew stretch fabrics.
My sewing machine and serger are quite picky about their needles. If I don't have the right needle in, my tension will be off and me stitches will be wonky. Sometimes it eats the fabric just to spite me. So if I sew stretch fabrics, I'll be damned sure to have a needle in that is fit for sewing knit fabrics (ballpoint or jersey needle). I have a box to store several kinds of needles. Currently, I've got jeans needles, jersey needles, quilt needles (a little sharper), microtex needles (very tiny, perfect for delicate fabrics like georgette, silk or chiffon) and universal needles.
And then there's the pattern. It's difficult to decide on which size you will need and sometimes what you sew in one fabric will fit, but in another will not fit at all. This article explains a lot about knit fabric behaviour. Some fabrics stretch and then don't recover so your finished garment will be too large. (Eye-opener!)
Other people swear by 'negative ease'. At school they just tell me to draft a pattern to the smallest ease. At work we draft with a negative ease of sometimes 10 centimeters (7%), depending on the fabric and pattern. Stretching your fabric that tight will make for a slinky top, but it will show every bulge and imperfection and it will have a tendency to ride up to the smallest point, usually your midriff or waist. Some fabrics become more see-through at that amount of stretch, or if they are printed the base colour will show through. I personally favour the exact measurements or slightly smaller, so the top won't be too big. This is a matter of trying out what works for you and the fabric you're working with.
And then: sewing it. You're perfectly capable of sewing stretch fabrics with some practice. Yes, they're hard to manipulate and they tend to shift a bit, but once they're under your sewing machine, they will usually behave after a fashion. A walking foot helps (I'm blessed with a built-in one) but at work I don't even use one. But you will have to make sure your seam stretches by sewing with a small zig-zag. Stitch length 1.5 (normal) and width 1.0 (narrow) works very well on my machine, but fiddle around a bit on a scrap. You don't want to rip your seams at first wearing.
I took the pattern of a HEMA longsleeve and use it as a base for my tops. It's slightly smaller than my measurements at waist and bust, but not too much. I can adjust the pattern's neckline and sleeves to taste. And it works very well for new garments. It makes me want to go fabric shopping!
Sometimes other seamstresses come up to me and sigh that they would never be able to work with stretch fabrics all day. They tried it once or twice and ran screaming from their sewing machines.
Well, here's a very big secret: there are tricks for everything. There's tricks to sewing perfect buttonholes, piping, welt pockets and of course on how to sew stretch fabrics.
My sewing machine and serger are quite picky about their needles. If I don't have the right needle in, my tension will be off and me stitches will be wonky. Sometimes it eats the fabric just to spite me. So if I sew stretch fabrics, I'll be damned sure to have a needle in that is fit for sewing knit fabrics (ballpoint or jersey needle). I have a box to store several kinds of needles. Currently, I've got jeans needles, jersey needles, quilt needles (a little sharper), microtex needles (very tiny, perfect for delicate fabrics like georgette, silk or chiffon) and universal needles.
And then there's the pattern. It's difficult to decide on which size you will need and sometimes what you sew in one fabric will fit, but in another will not fit at all. This article explains a lot about knit fabric behaviour. Some fabrics stretch and then don't recover so your finished garment will be too large. (Eye-opener!)
Other people swear by 'negative ease'. At school they just tell me to draft a pattern to the smallest ease. At work we draft with a negative ease of sometimes 10 centimeters (7%), depending on the fabric and pattern. Stretching your fabric that tight will make for a slinky top, but it will show every bulge and imperfection and it will have a tendency to ride up to the smallest point, usually your midriff or waist. Some fabrics become more see-through at that amount of stretch, or if they are printed the base colour will show through. I personally favour the exact measurements or slightly smaller, so the top won't be too big. This is a matter of trying out what works for you and the fabric you're working with.
And then: sewing it. You're perfectly capable of sewing stretch fabrics with some practice. Yes, they're hard to manipulate and they tend to shift a bit, but once they're under your sewing machine, they will usually behave after a fashion. A walking foot helps (I'm blessed with a built-in one) but at work I don't even use one. But you will have to make sure your seam stretches by sewing with a small zig-zag. Stitch length 1.5 (normal) and width 1.0 (narrow) works very well on my machine, but fiddle around a bit on a scrap. You don't want to rip your seams at first wearing.
I took the pattern of a HEMA longsleeve and use it as a base for my tops. It's slightly smaller than my measurements at waist and bust, but not too much. I can adjust the pattern's neckline and sleeves to taste. And it works very well for new garments. It makes me want to go fabric shopping!
