My dressmaking skills fall firmly within the 'enthusiastic beginner' category, and I have been wanting to learn to sew with knit fabrics for a while, but have been a little apprehensive. Luckily one of my favourite sewing bloggers Tilly Walnes has created an online class precisely for beginner dressmakers who want to use jersey fabrics on a regular sewing machine. Included in the package is a pdf pattern along with a series of how to videos and helpsheets....basically the most hand holding you can possibly have from home! So I signed up, collected my materials, and started my adventures in knit fabrics.
Lesson sections:
- Introduction
- Choosing Jersey Fabric
- Find your size and cut your fabric
- Intro to sewing jersey tops
- Steps for sewing jersey tops
- Conclusion
Introduction
This section is all the basic admin to help you in your pre-sewing preparations - welcome, supplies and FAQs. Along with the workshop you are able to download and print a
pattern for the Agnes top, which is the feature of the tutorial. Up to date I
have not been keen on using pdf patterns – mainly because I thought it must
take a long time to put them all together, and I wasn’t very confident in my
skills in printing and collating with accuracy. If you really want a paper
pattern you can purchase one at a reduced cost and have it delivered. Given
that I already had the pdf version included I decided to give it a go first and
see how I got on with that before investing in another paper pattern that I
might not need.
The instructions for printing the pdf pattern were very
clear. I first printed page one on its own, and used the measuring square to
check the settings were correct. They weren’t, but the instructions helped me
quickly sort this out and my second print matched exactly. In the end there
were fewer pages than I anticipated, and the order in which to join them was
clearly signposted. Honestly I wasn’t keen on cutting and sticking 24 pieces of paper (carefully too). It took about 15 minutes in
the end to create one large piece of paper with all the pieces on it. In my
opinion 15 minutes is not a long time when you weigh potential cost savings
(pdf patterns are cheaper anyway, let alone including postage costs). Also I
decided not to trace my pattern (which usually takes a while too) and instead
cut the paper down to my size. Normally I wouldn’t take this bold step but
seeing as I had a pdf pattern I knew I could print this out again if I needed
another size. This is another definite advantage to pdf patterns that I was
pleased to discover through taking this workshop.
Choosing Jersey Fabric
The second section is all about what jersey fabric is and how to source it. There is a short video which explains how to determine the stretch of fabrics which is useful for working confidently on future projects too. After completing this section I felt that I understood the language around knit fabrics a lot more and could more easily navigate the online fabric stores. There are links to these included, but it is worthwhile also having a look on the Tilly and the Buttons blog as that's where you can find discount codes for these sites.
I bought my fabric and thread from Backstitch, who I love because they suggest matching thread and really fast delivery. I had a free delivery code (tilly) that I pulled off the blog.
Find your size and cut your fabric
This section is perfectly pitched for beginners and is packed with handy tips - including how to lay out your fabric and pattern pieces for maximum value. There is a lot of help for people who may want to alter the pattern (for example making it longer). I am lucky in that I didn't need any of these adjustments in the end, but I am shorter than average so you may want to hold up the pattern pieces and have a play around before cutting your fabric. I tend to use scissors for cutting but was glad I had seen Tilly using a rotary cutter in the video as once I used this I realised I never would have got the correct cut using scissors. Knit fabrics move around way too much otherwise, and my cutter and mat cost me about £20 altogether on amazon. As you can see I haven't invested in official pattern weights, making use of handy candle holders instead.
Intro to sewing jersey fabric
This was by far one of the most useful videos in the whole workshop. I had read about stitches and needles that you might have to use but to be honest hadn't really made sense of it. The clear and carefully paced explanations and visuals helped me to establish exactly what to do to join knit fabrics, and why. I had to do quite a bit of testing with my machine and scraps I had saved (from earlier advice) in order to find a stitch that wouldn't leave gaps at the seams.
*In fact - my original machine was a basic model that had been kindly donated by my husband's cousin. It had done well up to now but there was no facility to adjust stitch width or length. I ended up with a new sewing machine of my very own, as a result of trying to work with knit fabrics. And I love it. *
Steps for sewing jersey tops
The workshop also comes with a pdf leaflet of instructions
that I printed to follow along with the videos. Though the videos are so in
depth you don’t need the instructions in order to complete the pattern, this is
handy just for double checking whilst sewing without rewinding the video. The session videos themselves contain a mixture of
explanation along with instruction, and move at a comfortable pace. Each step
is broken down into its own session so you don’t lose your place and you can clearly see Tilly's sewing too - not just a during or after photo. The Agnes
pattern comes with a variety of customisable options including ruched sleeves
and necklines. All these options are clearly covered in their own workshop steps so you can pick whichever matches your design without having to watch all the videos.
The making of the top itself is relatively quick and simple - attaching shoulders, neckband, sleeves and side seams. I struggled with pinning the neckband in place as it is designed to be smaller than the bodice (so the top doesn't gape horribly). There are two methods outlined for doing this successfully, and I found the 'quartering' method to be most accurate. I was also glad that the pattern itself was designed so that there wasn't a lot of easing required to attach the pieces together - I have tried some patterns with much larger sleeve than armholes and almost been a nervous wreck by the end of them. Definitely a good one to try if you are just starting out in knit fabrics and keen to quickly gain confidence.
Conclusion
Learn to sew jersey tops online workshop - quick review
Here's my second go!!!
I got my fabric from Maud's Fabric Finds. It's and Art Gallery Fabric jersey, and it's about £15pm. It wears much better than my first attempt, and I had a go at ruching the front. I recommend having a couple of practice goes first at it takes a bit of getting used to.
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