When choosing a fabric for making something beautiful, knit fabrics can be more intimidating. They're stretchy, which does make them harder to “tame,” it's true, but it's not that difficult. You only need to follow the easy tips Laura explains in the new tutorial for sewing knit fabric and stop being afraid of it.
If you take a look at the gorgeous organic knit fabrics we have in the shop, surely they'll give you the push you need to give it a try. Original, colorful, very soft and pleasant to the touch, comfortable, cool, eco-friendly… We love them.
You don't need to work with a serger; with your sewing machine, even a basic one, you can manage perfectly well. With just a straight stitch and a zigzag, you have everything you need, and you can do that with any machine.
Pay attention, because if you still don't know how to sew knit fabric, these tips will be very, very useful.
Choosing the needle:
You can use a regular needle, but ideally, you should get a ballpoint needle to make sure you don't damage the fabric. This type of needle doesn't pierce the fabric, helping guarantee the best possible result when working with knit fabric. For finishing, our recommendation is that you use a twin needle.
One of the advantages of knit fabric is that the edge doesn't open or fray, so depending on the type of project you're working on, you may even be able to skip the hem. Once you've sewn the seam you need, you don't have to worry about anything else.
If you don't have this type of needle, don't worry. We've already ordered them and they'll soon be available for sale in the online shop.
Choosing the presser foot:
When sewing stretchy fabrics such as knit, the problem we may run into is that the fabric stretches and leaves us with an uneven stitch that ruins the garment. That's why it's very important for the fabric to glide properly. We have several options.
With a walking foot, we'll be able to feed the fabric through better, helping it glide smoothly without stretching. This type of foot is used for very thick or very thin fabrics. It's very important not to stretch the fabric while holding it, or its elasticity will cause problems. You need to guide it, but very carefully, almost without touching it.
You can also use a plastic foot or try a little trick.
On the web, we've seen a couple of interesting tricks so you can use the regular foot without having problems with the stitch. You can place tissue paper over the knit fabric and then pull it off once you're finished, although you'll have to spend a little time removing the bits of paper “fuzz” trapped under the thread with tweezers. Another trick is to stick a little masking tape onto the foot: that way, the fabric will glide without any problems.
Choosing the stitch:
If you sew knit fabric with a regular stitch, it will most likely break when the garment is subjected to a little tension. Use a regular stitch and reinforce it with another zigzag stitch right next to it. You can do this with any type of machine.
It's also a good idea to check your sewing machine's instruction manual to see whether it includes a specific stitch for stretchy fabrics like the one shown in the video. It may even have several programmed stitches. These types of stitches hold up and accommodate the fabric's stretch no matter how much you stretch it.
You don't need to use these special stitches throughout the garment, only on seams that run in the same direction as the stretch (the horizontal direction, as Laura shows in the tutorial).
Well, it doesn't seem so difficult, does it? You only need to keep these small guidelines in mind, and you'll see how you get excellent results. In fact, the truly difficult part will be choosing just one of the organic knit fabrics we've brought in. They're all so cute!
So… You have no excuse now.
Let's get to work!