If it were up to me, I’d make all my clothes out of felt, because it’s so easy to sew with but maybe not so breathable. There is another type of fabric that’s definitely more ideal for garments and that fabric is knit. Now knit is a type of fabric that has a lot of variety with different looks and different degrees of stretchiness. Each type of knit has its strengths and its weaknesses but that’s what allows you to use one type of knit to create something like a t-shirt or use another type of knit to make a leotard.
If sewing with knit fabric is still intimidating and a mystery for you, then you’ll want to check out this tutorial called Knit 101. This video is ideal for knit newbies (and not so newbies) because we cover a great deal about what knit is and what makes it so great to work with. We use some real pattern examples from McCall’s to demonstrate different types of knit and which ones work best with which pattern.
We also cover some basic tips that will make cutting and sewing with knit a lot easier. Once you jump in and try knit, you’ll see it’s really not that bad to work with. Then, like me, you can leave the felt behind and enter the wonderful world of knit sewing.
Looking for full pattern tutorials that use knit fabric, check them out HERE
Like the fabric or patterns used in this tutorial, you can find them below. Patterns provided by McCalls. Fabric provided by Mood Fabrics
You can definitely use that feature on your machine. Not all machines have this so you’re lucky. You’ll see at the very top of our site, there’s a search bar. Also, if you click the “Video” tab at the top, once it’s on that page you’ll see a “Sort” button above the videos and you can sort by categories so it’ll make it easier. Thanks!
My machine has the stretch stitch and I was surprised you didn’t show it. Do you not recommend it? I LOVE your videos but wish there was a search function and/or we could choose to see the whole list on fewer pages pages.
Thank you, so much!! You’re amazing. I have just began learning to sew and I have learned so much from your web site. Your videos are so easy to follow and full of great information.
I understand your frustration as I’ve been there myself. If you need to, because your table isn’t big enough, work on the floor. This will prevent it from stretching as you’re trying to cut it out. Use ball point pins for pinning, if you’re not going to use a rotary cutter for cutting it out. If you find that it’s just stretching and rolling way too much, pin the fabric to tissue paper first. This will give it some stabilization. You can also sew with the tissue paper still on the fabric and it’ll help with feed it through the machine easier. Afterwards, you can just tear the tissue paper off. Also, I find that I do have to decrease my foot tension (if your machine allows this adjustment). Normally, I have mine on a 4 but I lower it to a 3 for knits. You may also have to practice your thread tension on a scrap of your knit until it seems right. You can do it! 🙂
I bought a knit fabric that I thought would make a great sun dress, however, it is so stretchy I can not even seem to lay it out right. What am I doing wrong?
I see the whole video, its about 7 min 26 seconds.
This is the link that it lives at. Let me know if you still cant see it for some reason.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb7ea1TjiHA&list=PL42D84C87FB8FC78C
Was the video “working with knits” only 52 seconds? That’s what I got.
Really liked this video, and would like to find more aboout working with knits: