[Nicole]

A little tip, I made my neck band a wee bit longer to help eliminate that risk of edge poking through.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/5141383591/

[Justine J]

Yes, that’s where I went wrong – and I actually cut mine slightly longer too! Try again 🙂

[Anonymous]

Good idea, Nicole! I’ll have to try that on the next ones I make.

[Nicole]

Another little tip , I found stitching the 3 layers a bit fiddly , this takes it back to 2.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/5145232174/

[Loralee]

Nicole, I saw your finished tops on flickr and they look so lovely! Your sleeve and bottom hem seams are perfect. Did you use a serger? They look so professional. Any tips for those? 🙂

[Nicole]

Thankyou Loralee, thats seriously kind of you!

That finish is the cover stitch on my overlocker, it is a bit of a pain to set up , so I tend to do a few at a time.

[Kim]

I am about to begin some of the shirts and I would love a tip: How can I make the neck look professional without a having an overlock machine or a serger machine. I am really nervous about puckers around the neck.

[Justine J]

Hi – I am still a novice sewer and do not own an overlocker/serger – but I did make a hopscotch dress a couple of weeks ago and didnt have a problem with puckers around the neck – it was my first time sewing knit also. Maybe give it a try in some cheap-ish (yes Mel, not too cheap!!) fabric first to see how it goes with your machine?

btw – the inside does not look great though!

[JohannaO]

I don’t have a serger, and I think it worked out just fine. I have some of the cheapest knits on earth from Hobby Lobby, and it’s still looking good. I think it helps that this pattern fits pretty tightly across the chest (as compared to the Playdate or others), so if I have any imperfections, or wiggles, they are invisible when my daughter wears them, because the knit stretches as she moves. I do match up my notches, and cut my notches outwards, and everything lines up really nicely. I’ve made four so far. My only recommendation would be to make sure to use a thread color that matches your material. I ran out of matching on my first dress, and I can see the white threads on the pink background as my daughter shifts and moves. It bugs me, but no one probably notices.

[sayiamyou]

I don’t have a serger, but my machine has a ‘double variable overlock’ stitch. I use this to finish all my edges (knits and otherwise) and it looks pretty close to a serger finish, I think. I tried using it on my knit scraps (after seeing Nicole’s pictures) and I think it looks good, but I’m afraid to try it on a garment. I don’t want to deal with unpicking if the edges slide a bit. I use the knit ‘stretch stitch’ and I only see puckers around the bottom hem and I honestly think that’s because I might not let my fabric run free when I’m hemming. I’m trying to think where puckers would even be a problem around the neck…the pattern doesn’t call for topstitching and I think that’s the only way you’d run into it.

[Kim]

Thank you for all of the information, I’m a research type of person, I tend to read all the forum information on the pattern before I start sewing. I have been researching what a serger and overlock machine does and from what I read that it allows for more stretch on the finished inside seam so I was just afraid when I finished it with a regular zig zag stitch that the fabric would constrict and pucker. I was also reading about using a double needle to finish the sleeve and bottom hem on interlock fabric. I am also trying to figure out if I can use a double needle with my walking foot. I will see if my old Singer Merritt machine has a double variable overlock stitch.

[Rpankow]

I just recently made this and an Ottobre T-shirt pattern and was nervous as well. I used the same kind of stitch as Maraya for the seams, then used a double needle on the hems with an elongated stitch of 3.5 on my machine. It turned out perfect, pucker free. I even did this on “not so expensive” interlock. Some of it was a Michael Miller print and a basic solid from Hancock Fabrics. For those on the cheap, the cotton interlock from Hancock sews up beautifully and it runs $9-10/yd regular price. I want some City Weekend, but the budget, plus the ever growing stash won’t allow it right now. Good luck!

[sayiamyou]

Oooh, thanks for the ‘elongated stitch’ tip. Maybe that is the answer to my problems. Though, to be fair, after one wash the knit draws up and the puckers are gone. Still, most times she wears what I make just after it’s finished, so I see the puckers and it drives me batty.

[Lightning McStitch]

Hmmm, if only I was a research type of person and read all the information before leaping in….

My first (of three) Hopscotch tops that I’ve cut out (see the mistakes thread!) has just been completed but I found the neck band decidedly too short. I did the overlap as Nicole suggested (without having read her suggestion, sheer dumb luck on my part) but then found the neck band was at it’s stretch limit to get the yoke attached and it’s all a bit puckered and ugly.

i’ve recut the next two neck bands an inch longer and have just attached one and it’s MUCH better.

I’m off to bed, but if I can remember to I’ll make a note on the pattern for next time…..