Sewing on cotton jersey with some lycra

For both the serger and the sewing machine I sew anything knit with Lycra with a Super Stretch needle. On the ordinary machine a walking foot may also help. You'll need the differential on the serger, and be prepared to play with stitch length and tension as much as the differential!

Thanks Kate, now to find the needles someplace. I'm more inclined to use my serger for this project. I like playing with it. Juno

You know how some days things just go right and you know your sitting in the Cat Bird Seat. Today I feel like I'm sitting there with a grin from ear to ear. Since I can't get out to the store to look for new needles until later in the day , I decided to give the Cotton Lycra Jersey a test run on the serger with the stretch needles I have. I have it threaded up for 3 threads and literally guessed at the setting for a trial run. First try and it worked like a dream. I can't believe I let that fabric intimidate me for so long. I knew I was smarter than fabric. I still have to go look for the right color thread. I only have 1 spool in the color I need. I just can't sew that hot pink fabric with white thread. I shakes my system no end. Love the feeling when things go right. Now I can make DGD's pink skirt that she's been asking for. I might even do the same color for her 2 sisters. Little girls love pink. Juno

Congratulations on winning the battle. ;-) Buy just *one* cone of serger thread, and wind two bobbins for the other two you need for the serger. I do this many times on specialty colors, and like you, I cannot bear a way-off color for thread. My sergers came with a little stopper gadget to put on the spindle to keep bobbins (and small spools) in place. I also do this for the coverstitch machine.

Beverly

Thanks for the hint Beverly. I';; have to remember that in the future.I don't mind buying pink since I use it so much but it is expensive to buy those little spools. Just wondering, can I do the same thing with woolly nylon? Juno

I've never tried winding spools of wooly nylon, but it would probably work just fine. Just be sure to anchor the end of the thread somehow. I never wind large amounts of weird colors, I don't have *that* many spare bobbins... ;-}

Beverly

Just use the matching thread in the needle and use anything that blenda well as the looper threads. It works! :D

Glad things are going so well.

Good job!!!! I knew you were smarter than the fabric too. But there are some out there that can be intimidating till you get to know them well.

Good jobber!! Do you know how to put an elastic waistband in with the serger? That's super easy too. If you don't know, I will gladly tell you how I do it. I think that would work just fine with this project.

Sharon

I bought a couple of small spools since I go through hot pink thread with ease. All my little girls always want pink something, I went to Jo Ann's for the thread and elastic and ended up buying a pink plaid to make a couple for skirts for girls. I'm going to visit them next week and they always want to know if I made anything for them, They love it when I do. The middle child is coming up to 6 years this spring. She had to draw a picture of her favorite relative a couple of weeks ago. She drew a picture and asked her big sister how to spell Gramma. There was a little discussion as to which grandmother she was talking about, Her answer, Mom's mom. She always makes us things! That made my day. Juno

Haven't done that yet. A tutorial would be very welcome. Thanks Sharon. Juno

It wpould make mine too. What lovely kids!

Hot cerise pink is one of those standard colours like navy blue, black, fawn, white, cream and scarlet: no point not having a full set of big cones! ;)

OK. Here's what I do. I use 1" wide elastic. (I don't like any wider than that; uncomfortable to me.) I cut the elastic 2" less than the waist measurement. (However, if she has no hips and is an energetic little monkey, you might want to cut that 3" less.) Then overlap the cut ends about 1" and stitch (I use 3 step zig zag top and bottom of the lapped portions) to form a circle. Now, use the lapped portion as the CB. Fold the elastic to find the CF, and both sides. Mark those with pins.

I have used 3 threads and 4 threads to do this. Either seems to work fine so however you have the serger set up will do. Disengage the blades. You don't want to cut through the elastic. Also, you don't want the serger set for a rolled edge. Turn your differential feed to the highest setting. On mine, that's "2." I tend to think of that as "most scrunched" for the bottom fabric. ;)

Turn the skirt wrong side out. Find the CF, CB, and both side seams of the skirt. Line up the matching points from the elastic and slide the elastic ring over the skirt. Pin those points. Trust me, you won't serge over them, but you will need them to keep everything aligned. Pretty important to keep the cut edge of the skirt aligned with the edge of the elastic too.

You will be serging with the right side of the fabric against the feed dogs. Start at any one of your 4 points. Pull that pin, and slide that point under the presser foot of the serger. Drop the presser foot down (this is one of the few times I actually raise the presser foot before I start.) Then set your needle(s) all the way down. Now you are going to stretch the elastic taut between where you are starting and the next pinned point. Only the elastic, not the fabric. Usually once you pull the elastic taut, it stretches out to about the same as the fabric. Then just start serging. You should be overcasting the fabric and the elastic. The differential feed will scrunch the fabric down to the size of the elastic. When you get close to the next pin, stop, pull the pin, grab the elastic at the next pin, pull taut, start serging again. Keep going till you're back where you started. ;)

Then I carry it back to my sewing machine. I fold the elastic down so it's covered by the fabric on the inside of the waist. Then holding taut at those same 4 points, and working with the right side of the fabric against the feed dogs, I carefully stitch it down.

Now, here's the super sneaky tricky part that is essential. Go steam the elastic. And I do mean STEAM. That allows the elastic to really snap back to it's original length. But don't ever use old elastic that's been sitting around a long time. It won't recover it's original length. BTDT. :(

Once you get the hang of it, and it really is easy, this will go Fast! I like this method a lot. Much faster than feeding through a casing. If any of that doesn't make sense, let me know.

Sharon

Sharon, Thanks for the help. I've printed it out and will practice today. Juno

Sharon, I've been working on your method to put elastic into a waist band. I find that by dividing the elastic and skirt in 8th it works better for me.It sure as heck beats pulling elastic through a casing. I hate doing things that way. Juno

Great! I'm glad you can make that work for you. I first read a similar method in a Loes Hinse pattern. I can't remember now what was different from what I told you to do. But I do remember tinkering a little with the method she described. That was several years ago now. There are still times when a casing is what you need to put in. But if I can at all, I do it this way. So much easier.

Glad it's working for you. I'd been thinking about you and wondering if you were cussing at me or if it worked. lol

Sharon