Outfit of the Week

Are you avoiding elastic waistbands because they are too bulky? Mastering the technique of stitching an elastic waistband instead of using a casing will greatly reduce the bulk, a LOT. You will need to do a couple of test waistbands to determine the exact length to cut your elastic, but once you have it figure out, it will always be the same. That being said, you should always stick to the same type of elastic, i.e. pajama elastic is NOT the same as polybraid elastic (the generic kind found at all fabric stores). Here are the basic instructions, so give yourself a treat and spend an hour or so mastering this technique and you will be happy you did!

Cut elastic about 3” shorter than finished waist measurement. Overlap ends about 3/4” and stitch together. Divide elastic into 8 even sections, using straight pins to mark divisions. Divide skirt into 8 sections as well. Match the pins that you used for marking the divisions and pin the skirt to the elastic with raw edge of skirt even with edge of elastic and the right of the fabric out (back side against elastic). Zig-zag stitch (default width and length) the skirt to elastic along raw edge, pulling just until the fabric matches the elastic in length. Fold elastic and fabric down and pin about every 2”. Zig-zag along lower edge (over previous stitching) to finish attaching elastic.

Like most things, practice makes perfect. Also - the amount of thread stitched into the elastic is a factor in the finished measurement (and therefore comfort) of the waistband. Why not plan on a few testruns - after 2-3 times you will be a master at the technique and will have also figured out the perfect length to cut your elastic so you like the finished product. Always purchase the same kind of elastic, though - different types will stitch out differently. Also. . . different widths of elastic will finish out differently, i.e. 1/2" elastic cut at 25" will not finish out the same length as 1" elastic cut at 25". This is because of the ratio of thread that you are putting into the elastic -- the more thread, the bigger the finished elastic. Make careful notes if you use different widths of elastic.

I'm working on a new pattern (the Wisteria Pullover) which has some edges that would be just perfect for decorative rolled edges done on a serger. I'm fortunate to have 2 sergers and have been planning on taking time to set one of them up as a rolled edge machine so I wouldn't have to fiddle with the tensions everytime I wanted to do an edge (let alone moving the needles, etc.) Today was finally the day and after getting the machine all set up, I dug through my collection of threads and starting running some tests with the various threads to see how they would look when used for the rolled edge. I should note that I am using a 3-thread method (1 needle thread and 2 looper threads).

I wanted to see which thread would provide the best fill rate, but I also wanted to see what regular threads would look like, since they are easily available in a wider color range and are usually on hand anyway.

The results using the various threads are at the right. On some of the pictures there is a shadow, please disregard and just look at the thread fill pattern of the thread. The images are greatly magnified, but you can click and see an even larger image :-)

After running all the various tests, I still wasn't happy with the results. I had the machine set on the very shortest stitch it would take (1) and I still was not pleased with the fill rate. Yes, the wooly nylon has a slightly better fill rate, but there are very few colors, I do not normally stock it, and I really have some doubts about the durability on an outer garment. Then I had an epiphany!! I disengaged the knife, put on much stronger glasses and very carefully ran the serged edge back through the serger for a 2nd pass. Fabulous!!! It did take me a couple of trys to get the hang of it, but I absolutely love the result. The last 2 pictures show regular cone thread (the navy blue) and polyester sewing thread (red) that have been put through the serger twice.

My final (and personal) opinion was that I liked the wool/acrylic, cone thread and the regular thread. All had about the same fill rate on a single pass through the serger, but all responded well to a 2nd pass with the knife disengaged. I obviously have a LOT of regular thread and cone thread on hand, so I expect these will become my standards. If I had to pick one single thread, it would be regular, plain 'ole sewing thread. It's handy, it's cost effective and it's durable. Works for me!

One caveat would be the extra weight created from the 2nd pass through the serger. It did not seem to make a difference at all on the lightweight shirting I was using for a test in the last couple of samples (white fabric), but if you were working with a sheer or very lightweight fabric, you would definitely want to do a test swatch.

Oh, and one final comment. If you are doing outer curves, starch the fabric a LOT, and then starch it some more! Crunchy is good. You can always wash the starch out when you have finished the garment.

Button Thread in both loopers. Regular thread in needle.
Result was coarse (as you would expect) and completely unsatisfactory, but I had to try!

A Different Way to Insert a Fly Zipper

If you hate putting in fly zippers - and wish you could find a better, faster, and easier way, give the following method a try. .
1) With front raw edges even, and right sides together, pin the Pants Fronts together at the center front. With very long stitches, baste through all layers from upper edge, down center front line and stopping at lower dot.
2) Machine stitch the fronts together from lower dot to notch in curve (not all the way to the inseam). Stitch again at 3/8” as this is a high-stress area and the extra stitching will prevent seam stress. You ‘can’ clip the curve to the stitching line - or you can plan on trimming the seam and zig-zagging edge later to finish seam - I do not clip, but prefer to trim and zig-zag later.
3) Press flys open lightly - with fingers or a light touch of the iron.
4) Lay the zipper face down with the zipper base (metal stop) even with the lower dot and the outer edge of the zipper tape along the center front seamline. Note: These instructions are for ladies’ pants - for men’s pants, lay the zipper to the right of the seam and do all instructions in reverse.
5) Pin the zipper to the fly extension only. Machine stitch the zipper tape to the fly extension about half-way between zipper teeth and edge of zipper tape.
6) Fold the zipper back, smooth out the fly extension and top-stitch through all layers close to folded edge - making sure to keep far enough away from zipper teeth so they don’t catch. Now for the tricky part . . .
7) With the wrong side of the pants up (towards you), grasp the zipper tape in your right hand and gently pull toward the right until the fly extension is smooth.
8) Baste the zipper (yes, by hand!) through all layers. Make sure your basting thread is just below the base of the zipper (this will tell you where the base is when you look at the front). I always baste ‘very’ close to the edge of the zipper tape - this tells me exactly where the edge is when I turn the zipper over to top-stitch.
9) Turn the Pants over - with the right side up. Using a straight edge (I use a clear ruler) and a removable marker, draw a line just inside your basting (on the vertical section) and just below the basting that marked the zipper base - curve over toward center seam - making sure your line clears the base of the zipper.
10) Machine stitch along your guideline. Remove basting.
Note: You can also stitch-in-the-ditch a few stitches along the center front seamline - up the opening of the zipper to add extra reinforcement during wear.
Another note: If you want the additional flap under the zipper (like men’s wear), remove the center front machine basting before Step 6, place a prepared flap under the zipper teeth and top-stitch all layers together. Then pin the zipper back together and proceed with garment assembly.