Sewing with Jersey, help please.

Dear Happy,

Wooly Nylon is the thread. It's suitable for knit and stretchy fabrics. 

You can also use regular polyester thread, I haven't experienced any problems when using them with sergers.

For jersey fabric when using a sewing machine another option for straight stitches is to use Wooly Nylon thread for the bobbin and Silk thread for the top (since silk thread has some give).

Would it be useful to use a special type of thread with jersey material? I have used... I think it is called Wooly Cotton... it is definately wooly 'something'.. and I was told it was for use with stretchier fabrics. Is this just an option and regular thread would be ok? Curious for myself as well since I have little boys who have lots of clothing made of these types of fabrics. Thanks ;-)

~Happy

Dear Fiona,

I am happy to hear the site has been helpful.

If you are planning to wash your dress at home and your fabric is cotton, you can pre-shrink it. Other wise there is no need to worry.

Take your time and read the manual it is the best source for your particular model.

With regards to the needle – you could use a ballpoint style or a semi-ballpoint universal needle. For the delicate knits use needle size 70 (10). For medium thickness use 80 (12). Size 90 (14) needles are good fabric like polar fleece.

The tension setting depends on the fabric, its thickness and the thread being used. You could practice on a piece of your material to check what tension will work best.

When threading your serger for practice, use different colored threads like indicated on the machine. This will allow you to see if there are any threads that need their tension adjusted. This way you will learn what each thread does and can adjust the tension even when all the threads are the same color.

Yes you could use just the serger, or a combination with a domestic sewing machine. You could use the stretch stitch settings of the domestic sewing machine to sew any darts and do any hemming you need. You could also hem by hand using catch stitches or invisible catch stitches; this will give a finer appearance to your work. For the sleeve and neckline you could do piping from your material – this will make it look nice.

Before attempting to sew your dress, it is good to practice on an old tee shirt. Practice by cutting a few pieces, pinning them together, and sewing a few seams using the stretch stitch settings on your domestic machine if you have them.

Practice with your serger as well, doing seams using 3 and 4 threads, to get familiar with it. Also sew on single, double and triple layers to get the hang of it. Using 3 threads is more economical, while using 4 threads will help secure the stitches better. Serging with 2 threads is good just for seam finishing.

It’s good to cut the jersey with a bit wider seam allowances, since jersey fabric stretches while it is being cut. Before sewing with the serger, baste all the seams and do a fitting to make sure it fits well. If you sew with the serger right away, you will be left with narrow seam allowances, which are impossible to let out.

I hope you found this serging info helpful.

Well Jersey is not that tricky first it is a knit so you need to use a ball-point sewing needle size 9 or 11. Yes I would pre-wash the material. I don't have a serger I just use a stretch stitch that's built into my machine and light tension also I slightly stretch the material while I'm stitching and always a good hem is a double stitched hem easily done with a twin needle. I hoped I answered some of your questions let me know how it turns out.