Stretch Jersey Fabric for Beginners

[Lulu]

Is this a total no-go for beginners? I'm wanting to make clothes for my baby (no previous sewing machine experience!), but watching that episode of the GBSB with the baby grows has put me off a little!

[sewingj]

I don`t want to put you off but when I tried to make a babygro I failed miserably trying to put the snaps on.  I would recommend that you experiment with this before putting a lot of energy into making an outfit and then finding you can`t do it up!

[Gemma]

You can totally do it! A couple of tips:
1) you need to either use a stretch stitch (a basic zigzag will do if your machine doesn't have a specific stretch stitch), or use a stretch thread like eloflex.
2) choose your fabric carefully - for a first try you want something not too thin, reasonably stretchy and with good recovery (after stretching it goes back to where it was). My first couple of attempts with jersey didn't turn out well and it was due to bad fabric.

[Lollipop]

Why not start with some simple leggings and possibly a hoodie, they are quite simple. I wouldn't tackle a babygrow for a first attempt or even a second, third, fourth .....!!

[Lachica]

If you really want to make babygros, go for it! As previous poster says, use a medium weight cotton jersey, a stretch stitch and get some KAM snaps (or non-branded ones) from eBay, with the pliers to attach them. HOWEVER...... babygrows are quite cheap to buy, often available nearly-new cheaper still, and a right fiddle as seen on the Sewing Bee. Maybe think about making items like joggers, hoodies, dresses, dungarees instead? I make for my granddaughter but focus on traditional dresses and tops with Peter Pan collars, pinafores and dungarees. I embroider or appliqué to make them unique. My daughter has a taste for Boden baby dresses, but not for their price tags.

[Marniesews]

I didn't sew knits for many decades but it's my most favourite thing now. As a result I recall my first experienced very well & I'd say 3 things made a huge difference for me:

1) Being really careful not to stretch the fabric, when machining or while pinning for cutting out or pinning together when sewing.
2) Using stretch needles (130/705H-S) not ballpoints (130/705SUK) or universals (130/705H).
3) Last but definitely not least, always always leave the stretch utility stitches until after trying on because they are the very devil to unpick and you may spoil your fabric in the process.

Instead use a wobble stitch (short very narrow zigzag) until you know it won't need unpicking & then you can safely use the lightning or triple straight stitch.

[Greybird]

Babygros were new on the market when my son was born (1968) and were very expensive. I was a novice sewer at the time but needed more clothes for him than we could afford. I used old men's shirts that people gave me and cut them up to make what used to be called romper suits - an all-in-one garment without legs (it was this time of year coming up to summer) with elastic round the tops of the legs and poppers underneath. I used the button bands down the front and made T-shirt sleeves. I had only an old Singer hand crank machine.

I learned a lot from this process and it cost next to nothing. Might be a way to ease yourself into it?

[Marniesews]

I used old men's shirts that people gave me and cut them up to make what used to be called romper suits

That's not a bad idea. When my grandchildren were born I'd been too put off by knits to attempt them. I thought of romper suits too but they weren't the fashion. It's different now so that's a practical alternative although ironically now I'd choose the knit myself every time! 

[Lulu]

Hey everyone, thank you for all of your replies and tips, I've made lots of little notes for myself!

Ha, noo I'm not quite brave enough to attempt a baby grow just yet (although I do fancy making a  fleece onesie at some point, which I bet has a lot of the same fiddliness). It was more the fabric I was worried about, as the sewers on GBSB have quite a bit more experience than me, and they were struggling!

Project wise, I was going to start with bandana bibs, before moving to romper style dungarees? However like @Greybird  I have also inherited (ok, I claimed) a bunch of my OH's old t-shirts, so I'm thinking that I will have a good bash at these first, while I don't have a clue what I'm doing lol. I do love those legless rompers for the summer Greybird, so that's not a bad idea!

@Lachica , I'm also interested in using the machine to learn to do some applique touches - is it very difficult to learn? Not trying to run before I can walk, just very interested!

[Renegade Sewist]

You might enjoy making a baby sack or sleep sack also. Found an online tutorial with free pattern that looked pretty easy in fleece. Fleece is a very easy sew.

Don't let jersey scare you. Baby items are a good start as at that age they aren't too critical of the result. That comes about age 11. Remember the GBSB folk are up against tight deadlines and have a camera crew there. Not to mention the millions of people watching.

You can so do this. 

[BrendaP]

Something like this maybe.  Start with the hat to get the feel for sewing the fleece.

Slightly more ambitious is something like this.

Sewing fleece is easy because it doesn't fray and you can get away with not finishing the seam allowances a lot of the time, but with an overlocker it's a doddle.

[Lulu]

Thank you @Renegade Sewist (love that name by the way) and @BrendaP  Always pleased to get something for free, and that Jaycotts bundle of patterns is really good value for what you get with it.

The fleecy toddler's sleeper is exactly what I was thinking of..but I'm just not sure if I'm brave enough to tackle it just yet. Great to have a link saved though for when I am. Thanks also for the tip about the fleece. It might be Spring, but my little one could use some more warm tops!

[Fabric Lover]

@Lachica , I'm also interested in using the machine to learn to do some applique touches - is it very difficult to learn? Not trying to run before I can walk, just very interested!

To reply on behalf of Lachica, no it isn’t difficult to learn to appliqué. What you should start with is a fabric adhesive to hold whatever you’re putting on in place then carefully stitch round the edge preferably with an appliqué stitch if your machine has one, or a very short zigzag stitch. Try it out on something you don’t care about too much as a practice.

[Lachica]

Thanks @Fabric Lover, @Lulu I hadn't seen your question, sorry for my tardy reply. Simple shapes are easy to appliqué, just take it steady and use a stitch length 1.5 or 2, stitch width 2 or 3. Fabric adhesive is a great invention, I only recently discovered it. Double sided iron on tape (eg Bondaweb) works well but watch your fingers when ironing. Felt doesn't fray, comes in a good colour range and is cheap so I'd suggest playing with that. It's not ideal for appliqué on baby clothes that will be washed frequently though would be good for a toy sack or a toddler tipi.