Techniques for Mastering Your Sewing Machine and Serger
- Gathering is one of the most commonly used advanced sewing techniques, especially when making children's clothing. For example, little girls dresses often require gathering on skirts or ruffles. Although there are many methods of gathering, the simplest way is to set your sewing machine's thread tension as low as possible, then set the stitch length as long as possible. Sew along the area that is to be gathered, then remove it from the machine. Using your hands, pull the threads tight to gather the fabric evenly.
- Learning to add button holes to garments is a must for anyone who wishes to produces quality hand-made items. Buttons are required on clothing such as dresses, shirts, pants and skirts. Most modern machines have an automatic button-hole setting to make the process a little easier. Vintage machines or those that do not have a zig-zag stitch setting require a special button-holer attachment. Most machines use the four-step button-hole system. This method requires you to attach a button-hole presser foot, set the stitch length to "Satin Stitch" or "0," then sew all four sides of the button hole. When the button hole is finished, you can use a seam ripper or embroidery scissors to cut the hole between the zig-zag stitches.
Read your owner's manual for detailed instructions on how to use this feature and practice a few times before you attempt it on something intended for use. - Use free-motion embroidery techniques to add monograms as well as other simple symbols on sewn items. To use this technique, back your fabric with stabilizer, then place it into an embroidery hoop. Drop or cover your feed dogs, attach a darning and embroidery foot, then begin stitching the embroidery. When your design is finished, remove it from the hoop and cut away the excess stabilizer. Although setting up the machine is easy, learning to move the fabric at the correct pace to get even stitches requires practice. Find online tutorials (see Resources) and practice on scrap fabric.
- A rolled hem is an ideal way to finish napkins, formal wear, curtains and some clothing. To make a rolled hem, replace the standard needle plate with a rolled hem needle plate, remove the right needle and adjust the stitch length to 1 or 2 mm. Choose a narrow stitch width, then begin feeding your fabric into the serger. The serger will cut the fabric, roll it under slightly and cover the edge with stitches. Refer to your serger manual for detailed instructions on making the necessary adjustments for this technique.
