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Bumping up this thread…
What’s been mostly working well fir me over the last year of sewing lots of knit clothes is this:
1. Woolly Nylon in the bobbin
2. Having a second bobbin casing with tension backed way off so the bobbin thread really does zig zag fully
3. Using the walking foot to get over side seam bumps

None of that means I don’t want…[Read more]

Boy I can relate to this. When I was sewing for my kids I made what I enjoyed and they would wear. There was never an issue of them having too many clothes, not until the one and only daughter became a teenager and then I just let her make her wardrobe decisions. She loved hunting down fashions at yard sales, thrift shops and wardrobe closets (she…[Read more]

I am always very grateful for pretty hand-me-downs 😉

I typed a great long post and the internet ate it but, in a nutshell, if you are worried about too many posh dresses, sew the school shirts.
Use beautiful fine cotton, Liberty facings and pearl buttons.
I enjoy sewing Hugo’s work clothes almost as much as Trixies pretty frocks as I use lovely…[Read more]

I suspect if you made them yourself they may stand up to the wear and tear better!

I have a coverstitch machine and love it. I’m still struggling a little to always get a super stretchy hem, but I always do a test run on the fabric scraps. I try and use a hump jumper and this decreases the skipped stitches over thick seams.
I use it for so much more than just stretchy hems! I hem wovens, use it for perfectly parallel top…[Read more]

I have a coverstitch machine and love it. I’m still struggling a little to always get a super stretchy hem, but I always do a test run on the fabric scraps. I try and use a hump jumper and this decreases the skipped stitches over thick seams.
I use it for so much more than just stretchy hems! I hem wovens, use it for perfectly parallel top…[Read more]

I have a coverstitch machine and love it. I’m still struggling a little to always get a super stretchy hem, but I always do a test run on the fabric scraps. I try and use a hump jumper and this decreases the skipped stitches over thick seams.
I use it for so much more than just stretchy hems! I hem wovens, use it for perfectly parallel top…[Read more]

If you have a large enough swatch left, you could try washing and machine drying a sample (mark a 10cm or 4″ square with permanent marker first). Then you’ll be able to see how much shrinkage you’ll get.

So cute! Well done 🙂

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. I’m still struggling to come to terms with it, but spending time in Australia will help I’m sure.

RTWG – Coverstitch machines definitely do a more durable hem, and that’s what you would get on a bought pair. I have the Janome Coverpro (currently in storage in Australia), but I have barely used it as I don’t…[Read more]

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. I’m still struggling to come to terms with it, but spending time in Australia will help I’m sure.

RTWG – Coverstitch machines definitely do a more durable hem, and that’s what you would get on a bought pair. I have the Janome Coverpro (currently in storage in Australia), but I have barely used it as I don’t…[Read more]

Great thoughts, ladies. You make some really important points — it will not necessarily always be the case that she wants to wear what I make. Now will I be able to sew from such small quantities of fabric for that much longer, for that matter. Maybe it’s best to just enjoy it while we’re both happy with it.

There’s also the good point about…[Read more]

I wanted to start a new topic for this question, however, the forums are not allowing me to do that.

As my tall skinny girl grows even taller and skinnier, buying RTW pants and leggings has become entirely impossible. The poor child loves leggings and I sew them for her. But. I have a serger and a sewing machine and I have not been able to…[Read more]

I wanted to start a new topic for this question, however, the forums are not allowing me to do that.

As my tall skinny girl grows even taller and skinnier, buying RTW pants and leggings has become entirely impossible. The poor child loves leggings and I sew them for her. But. I have a serger and a sewing machine and I have not been able to…[Read more]

I don’t sew as much for the kids as I used to but that is because things were not being appreciated/worn. So I cut back. But if they wore everything I made them I would probably sew more for them. And actually, as a result of my cutting back, they do seem to really appreciate when I make something. I just made each girl a spring/summer dress…[Read more]