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P4P University :: Twin Needle Tips

March 16, 2017

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

How to lower or raise a neckline

January 6, 2017

We have seen a lot questions about raising or lowering the neckline of various P4P shirts or dresses. On the blog today I show you how easy it is to alter the neckline to achieve the look you want. For this tutorial I will use the Sweet Tee pattern in a beautiful viscose rayon (dress option lengthen 3.5″) but you can apply this technique to either one of the shirt patterns.

Start by printing and cutting your pattern in the size needed. The only piece we will be altering will be the front of the shirt (or bodice).

For lowering the neckline you will need to mark on the center fold where you would like the new neckline to be. I usually lower my Sweet Tee neckline 1.5 inches. Using a French Curve (or going slowly) draw a curve similar to the original one from your mark to the inner shoulder point.

Cut your fabric using the new front pattern piece. The rest of the pattern pieces will remain the same. The only other change you will need to make is the length of the neckband or binding.

To raise the neckline you will need to grab your front bodice piece and a blank piece of paper. Align the center fold of the front pattern piece with the side of your paper and glue them together.

Mark a point 1-2 inches above the original top center depending on how high you’d like the neckline. Using the French Curve draw a curve from the center point to the inner shoulder point. Cut the new front using this modified pattern piece and the rest of the pieces as in the original pattern.

The only additional modification you will need to make is to adjust the neckband or binding length. You will need to make it longer or shorter depending on the new neckline. I like to calculate the new neckband length after I sew the front and back pieces together at the shoulder. To find out the new neckline circumference lay the neck opening along a ruler and multiple it by 2.

Your new neckband length will be 85% of this circumference plus 1 inch to accommodate the seam allowance. (C * 0.85 +1 ). Cut the new neckband/binding using the new length but keeping the width suggests in the pattern. All you have left to do now is sew the shirt or dress according to the tutorial and you have just made yourself a custom outfit. Easy peasy…right? 🙂

I can’t wait to see your creations in the Pattern for Pirates group.

Happy sewing, pirates!

Tips for working with sweater knits

November 25, 2016

Have you seen the sneak peek Judy posted on Instagram? Check it out if you haven’t already. If you did you might have noticed that soon you will be sewing those pretty sweater knits you’ve been saving. In the blog today I will give you some of my tips and tricks to work with this kind of fabric.

1.Grab the lint roller! No, I have not lost my mind…believe me, you will want the lint roller close by when you cut sweater knit. Whether it’s a open weave or a dense one, sweater knits tend to leave a lot of residue when being cut.

TIP: Use the lint roller to not only clean your cutting mat but also the edges of the fabric pieces you just cut. That will help keep your sewing machine cleaner.

2. If cutting with a rotary cutter, use a new or very sharp blade. I find sweater knits to be more prone to getting a run in the fabric if the cutter or scissors is not very sharp.

3. Water soluble stabilizer is not just for embroidery! When working with sweater knits on your sewing machine I highly recommend placing a piece of WSS under your fabric. This will not only make sewing it easier but it will also prevent puckering and even more important it will stop your machine from “eating” your fabric. Sweater knits, especially open weave ones have a lot of “holes” so your machine is basically sewing through air.

Tear away the excess, the remaining water soluble stabilizer will disappear when you first wash the garment. I prefer transparent WSS but opaque ones work just as well.

4. You can sew sweater knit entirely with your sewing machine however a serger will make the process faster and easier. You might need to adjust your settings a bit to accommodate this type of fabric. My favorite serger stitch when sewing sweater knits is the FLATLOCK stitch. Check your serger user manual to make the proper settings for a flatlock stitch, they will vary from model to model. Here is an example of how a white thread flatlock stitch looks like on a black piece of fabric.

A narrower flat lock stitch

A wider flat lock stitch

I use this type of serger stitch when I make sweater knit bands and hems. Use a matching thread so the stitch will blend in with the fabric.

5. Just as with all knits, always use a ball point needle in your sewing machine and serger. You’ll also need to lower the pressure foot tension of your sewing machine.

6. The markings on open weave sweater knits will need to be added with chalk/ a tailor pen or by adding tailor tacks. Notches are impossible to see on sweater knits.

I hope you find these tips helpful when you will be sewing the new Cocoon pattern releases soon. I will leave you with another sneak peek of this amazing cardigan. Now get the sweater knits stash out and as always post your creations in the group so we can all ohh and ahhh over them.

Alex

First Time User Tips

October 23, 2015

Are you using a P4P pattern for the very first time? I’m so excited for you to try out one of my pdf sewing patterns! Here are a few tips if you are brand new to sewing a P4P pattern, or to sewing from a pattern in general.

*Buying from the site- you will receive an email with a download link after payment is processed (check JUNK mail) and you can also log back into the site to download any purchased patterns anytime!

#1: Read the tutorial thoroughly before beginning. Before you start envisioning fabric selection and thinking about what size, you need to sit and read! There is A LOT of info in the first few pages of a P4P pattern. Here are some highlights in those first few pages:

*Printing instructions- You MUST open and print from ADOBE PDF viewer, not the app, not another PDF program! This will ensure the correct scaling! I advise only printing the pattern pieces (these are listed on the first page in the tutorial) to save paper and ink-you can read the tutorial instructions on a computer, laptop, tablet, smart phone-whatever you have available! You will want to print with scaling set to “none” or custom “100%”. Carefully measure the 1×1 inch square to ensure that the pattern is printed in the correct scale (I always advise to only print the first page with the measuring inch first to test, then when you are sure it’s correct print the other pages.)

Here is a shot of what your adobe printing settings should look like before you print: Custom scale: 100% and about the preview it should say 100%

Here is a shot of the printed page with a correct 1×1 inch square:

One of the most common printing mistakes is to have the “fit to page” option clicked. Here is a shot of “fit to page” INCORRECT printing. This will result in a pattern that is much smaller then intended!

If you look, you will see a outline around the entire page about 1/8″ that should not be there. The 1×1 inch square will also measure slightly smaller.

*Piecing the pattern pieces together- I have a quick video putting the “no trim pages” together here: (you must be a member of the P4P FB group to view) Video Link

*Choosing your size- I have a size chart both in the listing pictures and in the first few pages of the tutorial. Carefully measurement yourself and find the size that your measurements correlate to. Chest-fullest part around your bust, Waist-where you naturally bend to the side, High Hip-around your hip bones, Hip-around the fullest part of bottom/booty. I only add the measurements that are important for that particular pattern.

Here is a blog post about measuring yourself.

If your measurements put you in several sizes then you can mash/blend sizes between your measurements to create the perfect fit (this is why sewing is so great! Custom fit and size for your particular body type.)
Using the “Finished Measurements”- You can flat measure other garments that are well fitting and compare, or compare to your measurements. You should be able to know exactly how much you need to add or take off for the perfect length before sewing up!
I also include the height my patterns are drafted for above the size chart (5’5″). If you are shorter or taller you will need to adjust for your height. I include a link right below the size chart to this post explaining how I prefer to add/take length for petite and tall adjustments: Petite and Tall Adjustment Blog Post
Do not choose your size based on what you buy in ready to wear/store bought clothing. Store sizing varies extremely from store to store. Just choose based on your current measurements!
Read the description of fit carefully (located under the line drawing in the tutorial).
Look through the pattern album in the group! Yes, I have an album for almost every single pattern filled with A TON of pictures of every size and option for everyone to look through to see the intended fit of the pattern. You can see where it is fitted, loose, and how it looks on a variety of sizes and body types. Most pictures are also labeled with their size and their fabric choose to help even more! You can view the albums both mobile and on a desktop! Just go to the P4P FB Group and click “view group info”. From there you can click “pictures” and go to “albums”. Scroll through for the particular patterns you’re looking for! 🙂
Mobile View:

Desktop View:

*Choosing fabric- One of the most IMPORTANT parts of following a pattern is to use fabric that is suggested by the designer. If you don’t you will not have the intended look that is shown on the cover and listing pictures. The wrong fabric can mean a loose fit turns snug, a flowy fit turns tent-like, and so on.

Knit fabrics- I often give the percent of stretch knit fabrics should have for fitted patterns. Here is a quick link to my sister’s blog with a video on how to find the percentage of stretch: Megan’s Blog Post
Different fabric = Different look and fit— if you do not follow the suggested types of fabric you have to be prepared for the garment to not look and fit how it is intended and showed in the pattern listing pictures. I make sure that all my testers follow those suggestions, so all the tester pictures are going to show the intended fit and look.
Buying online- I love to buy online. In fact, I pretty much get fabric from an online source or scramble to “borrow” some from my Mama’s large stash ;). I hardly ever make it to a brick and mortar store! BUT, there seems to be an endless amount of fabric types to learn as a beginner seamstress and online shopping can be very difficult to navigate. I always suggest buying from a smaller shop that you can message questions to! Being able to ask how thick/thin, percentage of stretch and even if it would be good for a certain type of garment is such a nice bonus to supporting a smaller shop!
- Here are just a few smaller shops I know of: Purpleseamstress on FB, NR fabrics on FB, Girl Charlee (little bigger, but still very helpful customer service and cheaper price for beginners to learn on), there is an abundance of custom knit designers and producers on FB that are smaller businesses (but be weary-sadly there are many that have been scammed by these groups, so look for well established custom groups). I love destash fb pages where you can buy from other seamstresses, but often you’re buying from someone who doesn’t know the full description of the fabric, so I don’t recommend this for beginners.
- Stick to searching the exact recommended fabrics until you are confident with all the different kinds of fabrics out there
Fabric Requirements- I list fabric requirements on the last listing picture under the size chart as well as the first few pages of the tutorial. I often break up the fabric requirements into different options and different parts of the garment. Example: women’s raglan I list main body 7/8yd and long sleeves 7/8 yd, this means you will need 7/8 for the main body and an ADDITIONAL 7/8 for the sleeves.
- As described in the tutorial, the fabric requirements do not include extra for fabric being cut off grain, shrinkage after prewashing (I ALWAYS recommend pre-washing fabric before cutting!), or to match any kind of patterned fabric/directional fabrics.
- I recommend buying a little more to account for these things 🙂

*Looking for more inspiration- If you have looked through the listing pictures, album pictures in the FB group and still want to see more you can use the search with our hashtags to help! I try to tag most pictures I see with hastag/pattern name… here are a few for examples: #peglegs #womensraglan #womenshenley #carefreecardigan #cptmackcardigan… using the hashtag will help pull up pictures and not posts about the pattern 🙂

Now we’re finally ready to begin!

*Cutting fabric- It is important to cut your pieces along the grainline of the fabric. Grainline is easily found parallel along the selvage of the fabric (the sides that are not cut by the store). You want to match your selvage/grainline to the grainline arrow on the pattern piece. Making sure this is straight is important! If it is cut off grain/not straight it will hang not straight! Have you ever had a pant leg/sleeve/shirt always twisting while you wear it? That is because it was cut off grain! It’s really annoying! So take your time matching the grainline on both woven and knit fabrics.

*Cut chart- I include a cut chart for any rectangle pieces. The measurements for the cut chart are located in the first few pages of the tutorial and on the pattern pieces. This way you can cut your rectangle pieces without having to look up the tutorial :).

I prefer to use my cutting mat, quilters ruler and rotary cutter for cutting rectangle pieces. If it has a longer measurement I prefer to fold in half and cut on the fold for ease as well. Again, make sure you are keeping your grainline straight.

*Direction of Stretch- I also include a direction of stretch arrow on all pattern pieces for knit garments. It is always perpendicular to the grainline. Even with 4 way stretch fabric the greatest amount of stretch will run horizontally on your fabric. If it is on the fold, fold your fabric selvage (the part not cut by the store) towards the opposite selvage as wide as your piece and place on fold.

*Using a Stretch Stitch for Knit Garments- Since most of my patterns are for knit/stretch fabric I thought I would add available stretch stitches you can use. I use a serger in the tutorial, this is a great machine stitch for stretch fabrics if you own one. Basic sewing machine stitches that also work are a) triple stitch, b) lightening stitch c)honeycomb stitch d) overlock stitch e) stretch overlock stitch-this is my personal favorite usually- f) double overlock stitch –if you read your manual they will list the stretch stitches your machine have. If you don’t have or can’t find your manual you can always google for your manual! It is very valuable to have! 🙂

I hope these tips are helpful for first time users! You can always post other questions to the P4P FB group and don’t forget to share your final garment!

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