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My wife recently got a bathing suit knowing that the arm holes were too big. After some experimentation, we figured we could cut the straps and re-sew them to shorten the straps and tighten the arm holes. When we pinned it we agreed that it made the fit better in general.

When I went to actually do this I hit a big problem. I cannot get the sewing machine to properly sew across the strap, let alone through both to re-attach them. What I’m doing is cutting about 2″ out of the strap, then overlapping them an inch and sewing across them (I was planning to use a tight zig-zag). When ever I try to do this though (using the piece I cut out) the machine can’t move the fabric through and everything gets gummed up underneath (big thread balls). I’ve tried adjusting the pressure foot tention from 2-8 and none seem to do me any good. I’ve managed to sew across it once or twice, but never well enough to want to try it on the real thing.

The suit is some type of lycra/spandex and is quite stretchy. I have attached a small GIF illustration of what I’m trying to do. Usually the machine sews way too close together where the fabric is tripled on the edges, then too far apart where the fabric is normal (I mean stitch length). I think I learned a trick for it when I took my class, but I haven’t used the machine for something like this before. I usually sew with cotton or linen.