Sewing Knits on old Singer 201s & 221s
rtjnr8r
| Posted in Fabric and Trim on
Hi, I have decades of experience with sewing woven fabrics, and only a little with sewing knits. The only machines that I have are Singer 201s and a Singer 221. I have a beautiful piece of 4 way stretch knit (polyester) that I would love to transform into a winter dress. It is possible to get decent results on a basic machine, say by stretching the fabric while I sew? I know that I need to use a ball point needle, but that’s about it. Thanks, in advance, J :^)
Replies
I'm not familiar with your machine, does it do a zig zag?
The short answer to your question is Yes, you can sew knits on a regular straight stitch machine,
If you can zig zag, set it for a narrow , sort zig zag and sew with that, if you can only do a straight stitch, try winding wooly nylon on a bobbin (by hand - the machine puts it under too much tension) and sew with that. You will have to do some test runs to find the right tension. Also, either way, sew with a 1/4 inch to a 3/8 inch sem allowance, and then add a second row of stitching about 1/8 inch into the seam allowance - you will have a double row of stitching. This keeps the seam allowance flat and helps keep the threads from breaking if stretched too much.
Good luck - do several test seams and experiment with your machine
Thanks very much for your quick & thorough answer. -- The Singer 201s & 221s sew straight stiches only. I do have a zig-zagger attachment (somewhere .. hmm), but haven't used it very much. -- Also, I have never used wooly nylon, but I'll try to find some at the local shops. -- Question: does the wooly nylon thread go on the bobbin only, or on both the bobbin & top ? Thanks, again!
put the wooly nylon in the bobbin only
This post is archived.