Stitch and bitch thread #3 Sewing is harder than it seams

[NutellaEllaElla]

And i'm very glad to have you clever sewists to selvedge what's left of my dignity .

Another thing to look at is your thread. I wanted to topstitch the hems on one of the tops I've made with cotton, as it has a nice sheen to it, but my machine wasn't having any of it so I had to drop back to polyester, as it's more supple. Skipped stitches are usually caused by something throwing the timing out.

As a belt and braces thing, take the needle plate off and make sure you haven't got a fluff mine in there.

Ok I'll try a jersey needle, off to Hobbycraft now.

I'm using a Gutterman thread but not sure of the material.

If it's a creamy white reel, it's probably the standard polyester. Recycled polyester has a green base while finer thread is green all the way through. Cotton thread has a sandy coloured bobbin.

So Hobbycraft only had jersey/ballpoint needles and I already had ballpoint needles at home so I came back and put a ballpoint 90 needle in. I cleaned out the (not really any) fluff under the needle plate and checked the thread - it's polyester. Re-threaded both the upper thread and the bobbin. It's still skipping stitches. I've no idea why. I might take it into the shop tomorrow.

I have some lycra in my stash that always makes my zigzag skip, its like it's trying to send morse code. There's an optimum speed where it mostly behaves... vary from that and its more straights than zags.

How does it behave with a finer needle, @nutellaellaElla? Or even a universal needle. Might be that the ponte is a little resistant.

Awful with a 70 and 80 universal

Not so awful with the 90 ballpoint needle but still not right.

Mine skipped a few stitches on my tops when using a twin needle but not enough to make me redo it. You can buy wash-out stabilising tape which you stitch through, it really helps when sewing jersey.

Turns out it was the walking foot. Nothing wrong with it and it worked fine on a previous fabric but apparently this is a more stable knit fabric and....I dunno, but machine no likely this foot and this fabric. Normal foot is fine.

likey

That’s good to hear. This sewing lark is complicated 😂

I'm still scared of sewing machines - they're so damn finicky! But i'm learning!

I mildly miffed that there was such a limited choice of machines in stock when I was looking to replace my cheapo brother machine, last year because look... www.sewessential.co.uk/pfaff-ambition-1-sewing-machine

Bloody hell that does look like a good deal.

It's a big machine, too. Lots of harp space.

Though where I struggle for space with mine is around the needle. I have a lot of weakness in my hands and often struggle to hold everything together with my hands flat enough. There's so much in the way like the buttonhole lever and the stupid threader which makes threading ten times harder and doesn't even work on tiny needles!

Fresh new jammies. Ds1 will probably harrumph, given the company he keeps on t'Internet.

I've made a christmas/winter top to go with the same bottoms, too. Just need to tidy that up.

Wow those look great!

I even used the overlocker for the leg cuffs after chickening out for the sleeve cuffs of the winter top. Tbh, I think my regular machine does a neater and more secure job.

Lovely jammies! That's something I've never made; I have enough sets at the moment although I might make a summery set next year.

My Sapporo coat pattern has just been dispatched - very exciting. Just need to trawl the chazzers for practice fabric before I commit to spending £££ on coat fabric.

To be fair, it's patterns I've had my money's worth out of. The bottoms are my 8th pair of TATB Stella Joggers and the top my 5th variation on the Frankie top! I've tweaked the grading and fit as I've needed to re-trace the patterns. The bottoms are a 5 with a bit of a middle aged gut adjustment and the top it a 5 bust and waist graded down to a 4hip and with the curved hem removed!

Next project is a sew house seven Tabor Tee or two. I have some cheap Jersey from fabworks to get the hang of that v-neck with because I can't make head nor tail of the instructions without doing it, then some nicer stuff that I picked up at Sew Fabrics.

That's a lovely combination of colours there @PickAChew.

I've made a pair of Stella joggers but with a few adjustments so that they were slouchier. For some reason I used fancy cuffing for the waistband and they barely stay up so I am intending to redo them with a proper elastic at the back at least. They are in a really nice woollen fabric so dead cosy.

I'm still trying to get over Covid so living in PJs these days. Enjoying vicariously sewing through all your projects though!

Thanks for that pic @PickAChew. I’ve been pondering a raglan pattern for some striped jersey and I’m going to go ahead. I like raglans as I tend to get a better fit round my humungous shoulders.

Today’s the day! I’ve just been given my new sewing machine so I’m finishing my coffee before getting the box open

Very excited for you @jins! Is it your birthday too then 🎉🥳🎂