Patterns for Pirates

P4P stylish, modern, wearable patterns

P4P University – Easy gathering methods

Hello, pirates! Today I wanted to talk to you about gathering and show you 4 of the easiest gathering methods that do not require investing in new gadgets or feet for your machines. All the methods I’m showing are applicable to both woven and knits.

Gathering with your serger

My favorite method of gathering is using my serger and its deferential feed. You will be switching your differential feed to the highest setting possible (in my case 2.0) and tightening the tension of your left needle. It is very important to test your new settings on a piece of fabric that is the same as the fabric you intend to gather. You will be able to see if you need to loosen the needle tension, tighten it or fidget with the right needle too.

For more tips and details watch the video below.

 

Gathering with two rows of basting stitches

The most popular method of gathering, and the one most often used in our patterns (Judy’s favorite) is gathering with two parallel rows of stitching. This method uses your sewing machine.

Note: your first row of gathering stitches should be about 1/4″ away from the edge and your second one 5/8″ away.

 

Tip: For the basting stitches, use a different color thread than the fabric do you can remove it easily.

Gathering with elastic

The next gathering method I wanted to show you is one that uses elastic, clear elastic or knit elastic. Avoid using no roll elastic!  Also, make sure to exercise (stretching it a few times) before cutting.

Start by measuring the opening of the bodice and cut a pieces of elastic that matches the opening. Don’t forget to add seam allowance.

Note: I used 1/4″ knit elastic. This method works beautifully with clear elastic.

Sew the elastic in a loop and mark its quarters. Follow the method as in the video below.

 

Gathering with yarn or floss

The last method I wanted to show you is commonly known as gathering with floss. You will simply sew a wide zig zag stitch over a floss or yarn and simply pull the ends to gather. Super easy!

 

 

Tip: if you’re using yarn, use thin yarn and preferably a color different than the fabric you’re gathering so you can easily pull it out.

There you have it, 4 easy gathering methods that will help you achieve beautiful, even gathers for your skirts and ruffles. No matter which method you use it’s important to hit the seam with a nice hot iron and steam (as much as your fabric type will handle), this will help if you accidentally stretched the bodice at all while attaching as well as set those gathers nicely.  Now go sew a Boundless or a Sunshine dress and show off your new gathering skills.

How to shorten zippers

 

Ahoy pirates! Today on the blog I wanted to show you how to shorten different style zippers. With the new Go-To Jacket patterns releasing, you will be playing around with various size zippers so I find that it’s easier to just stock up on longer zippers (30-36″) and then shorten them based on your needs.

*Plastic separating zippers

Let’s talk about plastic separating zippers first. They are my favorite zipper style for kids and women casual wear. And shortening them is a peace of cake. There’s no need for any fancy tool or muscles 😉

Simply grab a pair of scissors that you do NOT use to cut fabric, a measuring tape and a lighter. Measure the length of the zipper you need for your jacket, mark it on both sides of the separating zipper. Move the zipper pull down and cut the desired length. Follow the instructions I give you in the video below to create a “zipper stop”.

Note: since you’re working with an open flame (if you don’t have a hot knife) please be extra cautious and avoid having your little ones “help out” 🙂

TIP: Always measure 3 times before cutting the zipper, just to be sure. 

*Metal Separating Zippers

The other separating zipper you may use for hoodies or jackets is a metal zipper. Walmart always carries them so, on a pinch, it’s a good alternative for plastic zippers.

Shortening a metal zipper is more time consuming and it requires a little bit of elbow grease and more tools but it’s totally doable. Just grab those non fabric scissors, a measuring tape and some long nose pliers and watch the video below.

TIP: Mark on both sides of the zipper where the waistband meets the bodice, the pockets and the hood. This will make it a lot easier to make sure that everything matches when you zip up the jacket.

*All purpose zippers

If you are making a Wiggle dress  and you need to shorten the all purpose zipper you are using you will only need your scissors, a measuring tape and some thread. Simply mark on the BOTTOM of the zipper (not the top as you did for separating zippers) where you would like for the zipper pull to stop.

Sew by hand a zipper stop at the mark you just made. Simply sew back on forth over the zipper teeth a few times. You can certainly use your sewing machine for this step but I find it easier to just hand sew the thread zipper stop. Cut the zipper 1″ below  the thread zipper stop you just created and seal your zipper ribbon with a lighter. Optionally, remove the plastic teeth below the thread zipper stop. Tadah! You have shortened your AP zipper in minutes.

 

Now that you have shortening zippers all figured out, go and sew all the Go To Jackets and make sure to post them in the Patterns for Pirates group!

P4P University – knit cuffs

Ahoy Pirates! In our first P4P University blog of the year I wanted to give you a few tips and tricks to make adding knit cuffs to your projects easy peasy. Whether you’re sewing for yourself, your significant other or your little ones, adding cuffs to your sleeves or leg openings can be a tedious job. We can change that!

*Choose the right fabric for the cuff!

As I mentioned in the Neckbands 101 blog post, choosing the correct fabric for your cuffs will make a huge difference. The best one is rib knit or ribbing. If you do not have any ribbing handy or the colors you have do not work for your project the next best thing would be cotton spandex. I mainly use cotton spandex in for my kids’ shirts and joggers cuffs as I like to coordinate it with the main fabric. Whatever fabric you pick, make sure it has at least 50% stretch and excellent recovery.

*Always cut the cuff with the greatest stretch horizontally.

Always cut your cuffs cross grain! Even if the fabric you use stretches over 50% in both directions, you should never cut against the grain. Read all about the importance of “the grain” in Roberta’s blog post, When It Goes Against the Grain. 

*Press your cuffs!

I know I talk about pressing a lot in my blogs, but you have to believe me, it makes your sewing life so much easier. I recommend grabbing those cuffs and giving them a good steam press as soon as you cut your fabric. This will create a memory hem that will make it so much easier to fold them once you sew the “loop” closed.

Press your cuffs after you sew them on too! 🙂

*Snip the seam allowance to create less bulk

This is one of tricks for creating less bulk at he seam. Once you sew the cuff to create a loop, grab your sharpest scissors and make a cut as close to the stitch as possible without, of course, snipping the stitch.

That little snip will make it so easy to please the seam allowances on opposite sides when you sew fold the cuff. In doing so, you will have so much less bulk at the seam, your serger will thank you! 🙂

*Place your sleeve inside the cuffs

Mark the quarter points on the sleeve (or leg) opening as well as the cuffs. I find that for the smallest of sizes, marking just the half point is sufficient.

To make sure you will not have your seam allowance on the outside of your sleeve (or ankle) 😉 place the right side of your sleeve inside the cuff and match the quarter (or half way) points.

*Sew or serge with the presser foot inside the sleeve

Most of the time the sleeve opening is pretty small so I find that it is easier the place the presser foot of my serger (or sewing machine) inside the sleeve as opposed to stitching on the outside. This is especially important when you make Baby Bear Joggers or and kids shirts with cuffs, like the Jolly Roger Raglan or the Yo Ho Henley.

*Do not topstitch.

As opposed to necklines, I find that cuffs and waistbands look a lot better if you do not topstitch them down. I do encourage you to press your garments when you finish sewing it, including the cuffs.

There you have it! 7 easy tips to follow when adding cuffs to your favorite P4P knit patterns. My boys are both rocking the JRR with add on cowl neck from the pack and faux layered sleeves from the blog.

Which one will you be making first? Make sure you post your creations in the P4P group and let me know if adding cuffs is now an easier “task”. 🙂

 

When It Goes Against the Grain

Woven Fabrics

We make woven fabrics on a loom. The weaver strings the lengthwise threads first, and we call them the “warp”. Then threads are woven through them creating the fabric. We call these horizontal threads  the “weft” or the “woof”. We’ve named the edges of the fabric the “selvages” or “selvedges”, and we weave them more tightly to prevent fraying.

The warp creates the “straight grain” of the fabric, and the weft creates the “cross grain”.

Pattern pieces have grainlines printed on them.  They are either arrows or fold lines.

Grainline

 

When we cut a pattern out, the best way is to fold the fabric carefully on the straight grain of the fabric, lining up the selvages .  If you need to straighten the ends of your fabric, take a snip through the selvage near one end. Then pull a horizontal thread. The missing thread will create a straight line for you to cut along.

Fold Placement

Then place the pattern pieces down carefully with the grain lines on the pattern piece lined up with the straight grain of the fabric.

Finding the Straight Grain

An easy way to check if your pattern piece is “on-grain” is to measure from the line on the pattern piece to the selvages in a couple of places. The distance should be the same.

It’s important for long pattern pieces, especially something like a pant leg, to be grain perfect. If it’s not, the garment will twist, and once you cut it, there’s nothing you can do to fix it. You’ll also never be able to match stripes or plaids if you cut off-grain.

Smaller pieces like pockets, collars, cuffs, and yokes can be cut on the straight grain, the cross grain, or the bias no matter what the lines on the pattern say. The “bias” is the direction that’s 45 degrees from the straight grain. It has more drape than either the straight grain or the cross, and edges cut on the bias don’t fray.

When you cut major pieces on the bias, it’s important to cut them in opposite directions or your whole garment will twist. But it’s not important for small pieces like pockets.

How to Position Bias Cut Pieces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can mark the bias on your pattern piece with a protractor or a quilting ruler.

Marking the Grainlines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over time fabrics cut on the cross grain will droop more than then fabric cut on the straight. It’s not a problem for something like a skirt or pants made from a border print. The droop won’t be noticeable in the normal lifetime of the garment. You might see it in heavy curtains, though.

Knit Fabrics

Technically, knit fabrics don’t have a grain, but the direction you cut your pieces out matters just as much. Big machines make knit fabric, but they work the same way we knit with yarn and needles. Some machines knit back and forth and some  knit in the round. One results in a fabric with selvage-like edges and other in a tube of fabric.

Close up of a Knit Fabric

 

 

No matter what yarn is used to create the knit fabric, the single knit process will result in a horizontal stretch in the fabric we call the “mechanical stretch”.  Fabrics that only have horizontal stretch are usually called “two-way stretch”.  The addition of elastane (Spandex, Lycra, etc.) to the yarns can create a fabric with both horizontal and vertical stretch, and it is usually described as “four-way stretch”. Whether the fabric is two-way or four-way,  the horizontal stretch should be the circumference of your garment.

Horizontal Stretch Line

While the amount of elastane in the yarns might make the fabric stretchy enough for the garment to fit you cut with the vertical stretch used as the circumference, you shouldn’t cut it that way. If the mechanical stretch in the fabric hangs vertically, you’ll get elephant knees, saggy elbows, and baggy crotches. You can use the same method for making sure your pattern is lined up so the grainlines on your pattern are parallel to the edges of your fabric that we use for wovens. Knit patterns often have the horizontal stretch line marked, too.

There’s a saying in sewing- The fabric always wins. There is probably nowhere in sewing where fighting the fabric is more futile than not paying attention to the grain.

Roberta

5 tips for adding neckbands

So you spent an hour picking the perfect fabric, perfect coordinates and matching thread. You’ve sewn your favorite P4P shirt and you only have one step left…the dreaded neckband. That’s when you start panicking and getting nervous about attaching the neckband and finishing your outfit. Fear no more!

Today on the blog I will give you 5 tips that will help you achieve that perfect neckband you are striving for all the time.

1. Choose the right fabric for your neckband!

Neckbands will be stretched when you attach them, they will be stretched when you put on or take off the shirt, so it is very important that fabric you use for the neckband has great stretch and great recovery. My favorite type of materials for neckbands are cotton spandex, rayon spandex, ribbing and rib knit. You can get away with using some brushed poly as long as the recovery is good. Avoid, scuba, french terry and 2 way poly blends.

 

2. Always cut the neckband cross-grain!

Never cut your neckbands along the grain. Even if your fabric has 4 way stretch (which it should) the vertical stretch is not going to be as much as the horizontal one. If you don’t have enough of the main fabric to cut the neckband is best to use a coordinating fabric than cutting the neckband along the grain.

 

3. Mark the quarters of your neckband and neck opening!

It’s very important that you find and pin (or clip) the quarter points of the neckband and neck opening. After you have sewn the neckband RTS at the ends so you have a loop, fold it length wise and mark where the seam is. This will be the back of your neck band.  The center front of the neckband will be on the opposite side. Now fold it in half bringing the center front and back markings together. The fold will mark your two quarters.

To find the front and back  neck opening centers, bring the shoulder seams wrong side together. Where centers will be where the folds are. Mark them with a pin, a clip or a small snip. With the fabric still laying flat, bring the center front and back together. Your quarter marks will be at the folds. Mark them as well. You will see that the side neck opening quarter marks are NOT at the shoulder seam. The front opening is larger than the back opening.

For all you visual learners, here is a video of the process.

 

 

4. Use the right stitches!

Avoid using a straight stitch when attaching the neckband. As I mentioned earlier, the neckband will be stretched and pulled so you want to make sure the stitches are up to the job. If you are using only your sewing machine, attach the neckband with either a stretch stitch or a narrow zig zag stitch. I prefer to use my serger for this step but it is not mandatory. Once you attached the neckband, press the seam allowance towards the shirt. You will now be top stitching it down with your coverstitch machine or your sewing machine. You can top stitch with a wide zig zag stitch, a stretch stitch or twin needles. Be sure to check out our Twin Needles tips and tricks blog too.

You can see how I attached the neckbands here:

 

5. Press, press, and steam some more!

If you’ve followed the tips I gave you and notice a slight waviness, don’t panic. It’s normal when sewing knits especially if they are on the bias (as is part of the neck opening). Go back to your ironing board and give the neckline a good hefty steam press. Most of the times my neckbands are cotton spandex based and I crank up my ironing machine all the way to the “linen” setting. Make sure you test the heat of your iron on a scrap fabric first. If your shirt is poly based you will need a lower ironing temperature, you do not want to melt your fabric 🙂

There you have it! 5 easy to follow steps to achieve a perfect neckband all the time!

Happy sewing, pirates!

P4P University :: Twin Needle Tips

Hello Pirates!  Today I’ll be walking through some tips on using a twin needle for topstitching as an alternative to a coverstitch machine.  The end goal (of either twin needles or a coverstitch) is two lines of parallel stitching on the right side of the fabric, with the ability to stretch and not break threads when pulled.  This is usually used when hemming, but these tricks will especially come in handy when topstitching binding on our new cami pattern!

 

1. Stretch Needles

The most important point is to make sure you buy stretch needles.  Schmetz is the most common brand that people tend to use, they are available on Amazon.  I prefer the wider 4.0 width the best because it works better for me; it also comes in a 2.5 width.  These are both 75/11 needle size.

 

2. Threading

When threading, it helps to thread as shown in the below picture.  This helps stop the threads from twisting when sewing.  Also, make sure your threads are not caught on anything (or each other) at the top of your machine.

 

5. Stitch Type

Use a regular straight stitch for this; no need to use a triple stretch stitch (|||) or any other stretch stitch like that.

 

4. Tension

Tunneling is what happens when there is a large bump in between your two rows of stitching.  To avoid this, I’ve found it helps to increase your top thread tension.  Your machine may vary, but I usually set my tension to 3.  If possible, you should also decrease your bobbin tension as well.

 

5. Stitch Length

Increasing stitching length usually also helps with tunneling, especially on trickier, slipperier fabrics.  Your machine may also vary on this too, but I set mine between 3.0 – 4.0, depending on fabric.  The lower number will help things stretch more though, so you may need to find a happy medium.

 

6. Go Slowly!

This is a huge one.  It’s so tempting to go full steam ahead, especially if you using a twin needle to hem.  You’re almost done with your project, but don’t ruin it with a sloppy hemming job!  Going slowly can make all the difference between a wavy hem and a perfectly flat one.  If you encounter any thicker areas of fabric, it may also be a good idea to use the hand crank on your machine, turning it slowly to ensure no mistakes as you pass over the thicker area.

 

7. Don’t Stretch as You Sew

This applies to all knit fabric projects, but especially when using a twin needle.  Don’t pull or stretch the fabric as you feed it into the needle area.  I’ve found that even creating a little extra negative tension as you guide the fabric can help to avoid any pulling as you sew.

 

8. Top vs. Bottom

When everything is done correctly, you should have two parallel lines on the top of your fabric, and a perfect zigzag on the back.  The zigzag is what allows your fabric to stretch after it’s sewn, so if you have super tight or non-existent zigzags, then you likely need to adjust (likely increase – confusing, I know) your top thread tension.  Here’s how it should look, the underside of the fabric is at the top of the picture and the right side is on the bottom.  Note the zigzags!

 

I hope these tips help you as you prepare to topstitch lots of fun binding or finish up a fancy new garment with a twin needle hem!  Let us know in our Facebook group or here in the comments if you have any questions about twin needles!

Elisabeth

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