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Messages - Vivianne

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Technical Help / Re: How to hem a circle skirt (stretch fabric)
« on: December 19, 2017, 16:17:52 PM »
I always run a line of gathering stitches ( hand or machine) about  5/6mm from the finished edge and then draw this up gently to absorb the excess fabric into the hem. This method ensures that there aren't any unsightly pleats/lumps etc.

I responded to your comment but doesn’t look like it posted! I’m not sure how to get this working. Do you add the gathering stitch before folding the fabric to make the hem? Do you have an example so I can figure out the steps?

If your machine is stretching the fabric out it may be that the presser foot tension needs to be reduced.

The Knit 'n' Stable tape helps; just iron it on all around the edge of the fabric.

Depending on what stitches you have on your machine, overcast or zig-zag over the Knit 'n' Stable tape, close to the edge and trim neatly if necessary (this is where an overlocker makes it a doddle!) and turn the hem.  Then depending on personal preference and the fabric  being used either use a twin needle to sew a double row of topstitching or fold the hem back do that you can use the blind stitch option with  the 3 or 4 stitches going into the overcast or zig-zag and the stitch which swings to the left just going into the main fabric.



The machine doesn’t stretch the fabric when adding regular stitches. I stretch it a little when adding the hem, otherwise it ‘catches’ more fabric than needed and that results in the ruffles.

Is that tape the same idea as biasband? I have a bunch of that laying around and it kind of sounds like the same idea. I’m still figuring out how to get good zig zag stitches on the machine. If I do it close to the edge with this stretch fabric, the needles pushes the fabric away and will get knotted in itself.

Any tips?

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Technical Help / Re: How to hem a circle skirt (stretch fabric)
« on: December 19, 2017, 16:10:34 PM »
My grandma used to use a netting needle and fine cord to construct a piece of fine guage netting that fitted  from one side of the back wheel axle, over the mudguard and down to the axle on the other side of the wheel. The fine guage netting prevent long skirts from catching in the rear wheel.
They were very common years ago, indeed she used to be an outworker for a bicycle shop in Coventry.

I'd have thought that there's more problems with the skirt blowing about in the breeze and showing your ' next week's washing'  :D

Haha that is actually a pretty good idea! I’m currently at work and was thinking to just bundle up my skirt and tie it with my hair elastic

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Technical Help / Re: How to hem a circle skirt (stretch fabric)
« on: December 19, 2017, 07:38:45 AM »
Also I wasn’t sure if it’s in the right section of the forum. If Ra not please let me know!

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Technical Help / How to hem a circle skirt (stretch fabric)
« on: December 19, 2017, 07:36:46 AM »
So I’ve made multiple circle skirts by hand but now the first with my sewing machine. If you do it by hand you can cheat a little bit with the machine I just can’t get it right.

This is a full circle skirt. If I do not stretch the fabric when guiding it along the machine, it will ‘grab’ more fabric and make ruffles. If I do stretch it, it also makes ruffles. I used a regular running stitch, maybe that is the issue?

Attached a few photos to show the issue. The beginning went great as i just stitched straight, no ruffles. But at some point there is fabric left ‘over’. The hem is around 1 cm high.

Any tips how to get this right? Much appreciated!

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Hi, I'm new... / Re: New student arrived :D
« on: December 13, 2017, 14:48:32 PM »
Thank you everyone!  <3 Such a warm welcome  :)

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Hi, I'm new... / Re: New student arrived :D
« on: December 12, 2017, 15:35:13 PM »
Glad we finally got you here Vivianne, Welcome and join in the fun!!!

Yayy! Hope I didn’t cause too much trouble for you  :angel:

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Hi, I'm new... / Re: New student arrived :D
« on: December 12, 2017, 15:34:06 PM »
Welcome to The Sewing Place.

If you are making a curved hem on non-stretch fabric the secret is to keep that hem as narrow as you can.  Also don't forget to hang the garment overnight before you sew the hem.  The places where the fabric is hanging in the bias/diagonal direction will drop but the parts on the straight grain and cross grain won't drop.  That means that you will have to measure and trim off the excess where it does drop before you can sew it.

Thank you! Oh that makes perfect sense, should have thought of that! I tried making a wide hem, thought it would look nice haha. I will definitely hang the garment next time before hemming. I did trim off extra fabric before hemming, but that was right after hanging it. Thank you so much for the advice!

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Hi, I'm new... / New student arrived :D
« on: December 12, 2017, 09:22:38 AM »
Hi there!

After some back and forth with the registration, I finally have a profile on the forum  :D

I'm Vivianne, 23 years old and live in The Netherlands. I've started sewing this summer, but really small and basic. I started with handsewing and learing about fabric, thread, stitches etc. My grandmother gave me a sewing machine (Brother CS10, picked by me) and now I'm learning how to do some sewing on a machine.

So far I've been practising with skirts (circle skirt, pen skirt). I've made a circle skirt with viscose on the sewing machine but still having trouble hemming something round with not stretchy fabric. The second project I'm working on is a shirt, based on an existing shirt I have, without sleeves. This one is from tricot so I can stretch a bit with finishing the seams in the armpit, but still trying to find the best tactic. I already have a small stock of fabric that is ready to be made in something awesome  :angel:

A lot of times I feel like I need 2 extra hands haha  0_0

Well, thank you for having me here and I'll probably be asking a bunch of questions. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to help other people too.

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