Welcome back to the land of the living! ...Stress from rejection, sewing frustration, finding out that I have gained enough weight in the past year to make the majority of my clothes below the waist feel tight, if not completely unwearable... in all, a sad state of affairs leading to little work done and no posting! I even got up to 4 mini pepsi's each day this past weekend. Ugh!
In other news...
Major sewing needle haul at the unprecedented, 70% off notions, one day sale at JoAnn's this past Sunday. I probably would have purchased more notions had the flyer arrived before Thursday and I had more money. As it stands, there is only one item I regret not buying and when I tried to go back to the store in the afternoon for it, after a wicked thunderstorm ended, the product was out of stock. On the plus side, I did get six sets of twin needles and can finally finish three dress I have in the works.
However, twin needles on knit jersey, which are the majority of material I am working with right now, have a learning curve...and thank goodness for the internet!
The first 10 trial runs of using the twin needles yielded this:
...a knotty, tangled mess that stops my machine. Thankfully, it hasn't torn the fabric and the front/top looks fine. This with a stitch length of 3 and above, and ease on the bobbin tension.
Sadly most internet resources that talk about working with twin needles and jersey knit material do not cover more trouble shooting issues than the usual "it must be a tension or stitch length issue"! Perhaps their machines are wonderful and never give them this problem...though it is safe to say that none of those authors appeared to be using a Bernina.
Here's my Bernina 801 Sport illustrating the solution. ---------------------->
Other wonderful things I have learned upon my research and experience include:
1. Stretch taffeta, if indeed it is the correct label for the material, whilst lovely to the touch, is a huge pain in the ass to work with and very temperamental! Finding the right needle that will not entirely kill my machine or fabric is tricky and there appears to be very little online information about other people working with this fabric.
3. I also found the following to be quite pertinent to my current projects with the jersey knit material. According to the user plrlegal on "Sew What's New" message board (last comment on the first page):
...Of all the books I own on sewing, I do not know if any of them cover this. Then again, I have not read them all cover to cover. There are three dresses I am currently working on and that I need to finish by the beginning of next week, as I would like to focus on truly completing the Getting and Cleaning Data course offered by Johns Hopkins on Coursera. I have had such difficulty with this subject previously that I think I will devote most of my energy in August to this one class, enrolling in no other.
I have much to learn!
'Til next time. This has been Young Grasshopper, signing out.
In other news...
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| Wicked afternoon storm Tuesday, view south. |
Major sewing needle haul at the unprecedented, 70% off notions, one day sale at JoAnn's this past Sunday. I probably would have purchased more notions had the flyer arrived before Thursday and I had more money. As it stands, there is only one item I regret not buying and when I tried to go back to the store in the afternoon for it, after a wicked thunderstorm ended, the product was out of stock. On the plus side, I did get six sets of twin needles and can finally finish three dress I have in the works.
However, twin needles on knit jersey, which are the majority of material I am working with right now, have a learning curve...and thank goodness for the internet!
The first 10 trial runs of using the twin needles yielded this:
...a knotty, tangled mess that stops my machine. Thankfully, it hasn't torn the fabric and the front/top looks fine. This with a stitch length of 3 and above, and ease on the bobbin tension.
Sadly most internet resources that talk about working with twin needles and jersey knit material do not cover more trouble shooting issues than the usual "it must be a tension or stitch length issue"! Perhaps their machines are wonderful and never give them this problem...though it is safe to say that none of those authors appeared to be using a Bernina.
As it so happens, I learned from Bernina's official website/videos that in order for the sewing machine to use the twin needles correctly, only one thread should be in the thread guide! Granted I have a different machine than the one presented in the video but same technique applies. The Bernina 801 Sport has been in my family for 27 years now and neither my Mother, the original owner, nor myself, the current owner since she upgraded to a fancy-smanchy computerized sewing machine, have known this tiny and very significant piece of information.
Here's my Bernina 801 Sport illustrating the solution. ---------------------->
Watch the original video
1. Stretch taffeta, if indeed it is the correct label for the material, whilst lovely to the touch, is a huge pain in the ass to work with and very temperamental! Finding the right needle that will not entirely kill my machine or fabric is tricky and there appears to be very little online information about other people working with this fabric.
2. Rereading the flat bolt tag information, it would appear that the stretch taffeta I am using as lining is defined as 100% nylon with PU coating (yes, that is what it says, PU coating). Apparently the PU stands for polyurethane and helps make the fabric waterproof; uses include outdoor gear (clothing, packs, sleeping bags, etc), lingerie and even sandwich baggies. ...A quick Google search of the fabric indicates that home sewers have not utilized this fabric or if they have, the information is well hidden. Strangely Ebay had the best resource with their Guide to Sewing Water Repellent or Waterproof Fabrics. Here's what I took from it:
a. Once the material is punctured, either by pins or needle, it leaves a hole where water can get in. Pin above the seam allowance, if you must pin. Holes can be covered with sealant but who wants sealant on an every day garment.
b. Use sharp needles and change them often.
c. "Most coated fabrics will not fray and do not require serging, pinking or finishing. Lighter nylons and uncoated fabrics will however fray quite easily and should be finished." The text does not say explicitly how the fabric should be finished.
d. "Increase your stitch length (for fewer holes) and increase your tension slightly. As with any project, sew a test swatch first." Increasing the tension is not something I would have considered.
a. Once the material is punctured, either by pins or needle, it leaves a hole where water can get in. Pin above the seam allowance, if you must pin. Holes can be covered with sealant but who wants sealant on an every day garment.
b. Use sharp needles and change them often.
c. "Most coated fabrics will not fray and do not require serging, pinking or finishing. Lighter nylons and uncoated fabrics will however fray quite easily and should be finished." The text does not say explicitly how the fabric should be finished.
d. "Increase your stitch length (for fewer holes) and increase your tension slightly. As with any project, sew a test swatch first." Increasing the tension is not something I would have considered.
3. I also found the following to be quite pertinent to my current projects with the jersey knit material. According to the user plrlegal on "Sew What's New" message board (last comment on the first page):
I actually would use a 3-3.5 mm stitch (8-10 stitches per inch on my Pfaff 4.0) and a silk wrapped polyester thread. Taffeta is one of the fabrics that if you use small stitches on it, it will tend to pucker, especially with polyester thread that has been tightly wound at high speed onto a bobbin. Polyester thread is one of the threads when tightly wound a high speed onto a bobbin will stretch and then when it is sewn into a seam will shrink back to its original length, thus causing the puckering in garment seams. If it is at all possible, you should wound polyester onto a bobbin at a lower speed to prevent stretching.
...Of all the books I own on sewing, I do not know if any of them cover this. Then again, I have not read them all cover to cover. There are three dresses I am currently working on and that I need to finish by the beginning of next week, as I would like to focus on truly completing the Getting and Cleaning Data course offered by Johns Hopkins on Coursera. I have had such difficulty with this subject previously that I think I will devote most of my energy in August to this one class, enrolling in no other.
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| Tuesday's artistic sunset, view northwest. |
I have much to learn!
'Til next time. This has been Young Grasshopper, signing out.
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