Serging on knits

[SmilieFace]

It's time for my first knit project on a knit. I'm not sure what to do, but here's what I think:

--put ballpoint needles in the serger
--set the serger to gather slightly
--serge!

Am I missing anything? Does anyone have any tips for me?

[sewingmom]

I think you are not supposed to use ballpoint needles in your serger. Check your manual. I'd start with new needles but only the type recommended by the manual and be sure and practice on some knit scraps of a similar type as your project fabric. You are correct about the differential feed. You will need to play with it to get the correct settings.

[kaitlinnegan]

Hmm. I'm pretty sure I've used both ball point and stretch needles on my serger. Mine takes regular home sewing machine needles.

Sounds good to me, Smilie. Definitely a good idea to test on scraps--you may want to adjust the stitch length and differential feed to your liking. What are you making?

[LeapFrog Libby]

My serger is so old , it uses any needles..It is 22 years old next month. I found sales slip. I bought it in Oct. 1990.

[SmilieFace]

I made 6471. I made it out of a knit material (thus, my questions about knits ). The skirt went together really easily. I didn't add a zipper because it's a knit. However, after adding the knit interfacing, the waistband doesn't stretch as much any more. Is there a way for me to fix that? I don't want to add a zipper on the knit, and I want to be able to comfortably take the skirt on and off. Maybe I should add some elastic? Your suggestions are welcome!


Kaitlin -- it's nice to see a few posts from you. I hope you're getting a little bit of down time!

[MartySews2]

I would add some elastic in the waistband.
Marty

[bridesmom]

You pick out the cutest patterns Smilie! Which version did you make?

[kaitlinnegan]

Smilie, that skirt pattern looks lovely. If you can pull the skirt on easily enough, some elastic would probably work.

A zipper seems so funny with knit garments, but I am seeing it sometimes in RTW, although perhaps more often an exposed zipper as a design element.

My schedule has eased up a bit, finally. I will even have some time for a vacation this year.

[DorothyL]

Another vote for elastic

Dorothy

[LeapFrog Libby]

Smilie, I found this out the hard way. When you fuse interfacing to a knit, if you fuse it crosswise the the most stretch of the knit, it will not stretch very much after that. I fused interfacing on a top neckline of a knit and then could not get it over my head, because it had no give left. So if you are facing something close-fitting , be careful about the stretch of the interfacing. Most knits have more stretch one way than the other.Interfacing definitely has a different amount.