Below are some tools and techniques I’ve used over the years for getting more professional results or just making things easier on myself when sewing with knits.
Design Plus Stabilizer Tapes
These are some of my most-used notions for knits.
I hate using clear elastic. I am not sure if it is my machine or just me, but seems like it always wants to wander off in one direction, with the fabric wanting to go in the other. There’s also the fact that I’ve had issues with the longevity (I have had it fall apart when stretched after a few years in my stash.) The superfine straight tape is 3/8” wide and great for stabilizing shoulder seams. It is very very lightweight and thin, with a bit of give to it. Since it is fused to the fabric before sewing it gives you so much more control. There’s also a superfine bias version, but I find the straight is just more useful.
The Ultra Soft double sided tape is also 3/8” wide and awesome for holding seam allowances in place. You first fuse it with the paper against the iron and fusible against the fabric, then carefully peel off the paper, stick the fabric to it with your fingers, and then fuse it again with your iron. The paper makes a great guide when folding over 3/8” hems, like for the Jalie swim shorts. I’ve also used it for folding over and holding the edges of wrap dress skirts in place before stitching. It works well on both natural and synthetic fabrics and is so lightweight won’t affect the stretch much.
Elmer’s Washable School Glue
When I need to hold something in place without using pins, like a pocket flap or patch pocket, I sometimes use tiny bit of Elmer’s Washable School Glue on the seam allowance. It is cheap, easy to find, and will wash out when you launder your garment. Just make sure to be careful to use a tiny amount because otherwise it will soak through the fabric and make a mess. Sometimes using a paint brush can help control the application.
I’ve also used glue sticks. I find they don’t give quite the precision of the tip of a bottle of glue, but they dry a lot faster.
Press Hem Allowances Before Sewing Seams
Pattern instructions will tell you to press hem allowances in place after sewing the seam. I often press them in place before. I don’t actually stitch the hem yet, I just press up the hem allowance and then proceed with sewing the seam. After sew the seam I will sometimes give a little touch up again to the folded edge with the iron before hemming. I like doing this because it’s often easier and faster to work with a flat piece of fabric instead of turning up, measuring, and pressing it in the round after it’s sewn. Spraying Best Press while turning up and pressing the hem often helps the fold stay crisp.
Hem From the Inside
You do not need a machine with a free arm if you’re hemming small openings, like those on leggings and children’s shirts. I just turn the garment inside out and then work from the inside.
For very tiny openings like the sleeves on baby clothes, turn up the allowance and hem it before stitching the seam. Then take it to your regular sewing machine and tack the seam allowance in place with a straight stitch for about half an inch. They do this all the time with RTW – just check out a bound neckline edge around the shoulder seam sometime.
Taming Knit Edges that Like to Roll
When working with cotton/lycra jerseys and other knits that like to roll, I often use Best Press. Just lightly mist and then apply dry heat with your iron. In addition to helping the edges stay flat it also has the advantage of making sure any pressed edges stay crisp, and also gives a little body for extra stability during cover stitching.
Use a Regular Sewing Machine for Tricky Parts Before Serging
I do this a lot for things that require a lot of precision, like attaching the band to a V neckline at the center front, or making sure the edges stay lined up when sewing a seam that has been hemmed first. I don’t do the entire seam, just the first inch or so of those very specific sections. You can see below how I stitched an inch or so with darker thread outside of the V on my latest Jalie Tina before using the serger. If I had just done it with the serger it would have almost certainly shifted and I wouldn’t have gotten a nicely centered and crisp V shape. I just use a regular length stitch and not a long basting stitch because sometimes (like below) I don’t quite hit the seam allowance accurately during serging.
Awls
Awls are great to have in the sewing room. I use mine all the time for feeding a strip of binding into a binding attachment, pulling the threads to the front before cutting when ending a coverstitch in the round, or manipulating fabric under a serger presser foot. I also find them useful for things like lining up the center front seam of a V neckline band with the center front of the shirt because they’re sturdier and easier to hold than a pin, but will still poke through the fabric enough so you can see what you’re doing.
Compensating Feet
I find I get a much better finish when I sew down neckline bands with a 1/8” compensating foot on my Juki than I do with a guide foot on my regular machine. Compensating feet have a spring and one section of the foot higher than the other, so I find it stays in place better than a guide foot.
The only downside is that I’m not sure compensating feet are available for domestic machines.
Clear Feet and the Adjustable Seam Guide
I’ve been significantly happier with the results from my Janome Coverpro 2000CPX since switching from the standard metal to clear foot with guide and using the adjustable seam guide. If I remember correctly the clear foot with the guide was about the same price as the regular clear foot without the guide. The guide is removable so there’s really no advantage to the regular clear foot. Just leave off the guide during ordinary hemming and put it back on when you want the guide for something like topstitching a sweatshirt neck band in place.
Clothing Engineer 