I’m very excited today – I’ve ordered my overlocker! I have some days off work next week and hopefully the overlocker will arrive on Monday. I just need to learn how to use it now… I hope it will help me produce garments with neater seam finishes, plus I’d like to try sewing with jersey at some point.
However, I do wonder why I am learning to sew sometimes – it’s just so darned difficult. I’ve run into problems with the Crescent skirt. I attached the waistband, following the sewalong instructions. The next step was to insert the zip using a method I haven’t tried before – you attach the zip to the facing and then sew the facing + zip to the waistband and skirt.
I got a bit stuck as the sewalong seems to skip a step. In the post on attaching the waistband, the skirt is not seamed up at the back. The next time we see the skirt, the back seam has been sewn together. I had to go back, read all the posts and check I hadn’t missed a step. Have I?
I’m not criticising Tasia at all – the sewalong is a wonderful resource which she has provided for free and it must be horribly time consuming to put together. However, when you’re a sewing newbie it really does help to have every little step laid out for you because you don’t have the background knowledge to fill in the gaps.
In the end, I sewed up the back using a french seam, as I had done with the side seams. I wasn’t sure what I was meant to do about the seam allowance to which the zip is sewn but I snipped across the fabric where the french seam ended, allowing it to lie flat enough for the zip to be attached. No idea if that was the right thing to do.
I tried to follow the instructions (here and here) for attaching the zip, but I couldn’t get them to work. The back of the skirt was starting to look a bit tatty where I had ripped out the zip a couple of times. At this point, I was thoroughly miserable as I had been doing so well with the skirt which was looking neat inside and out.
I decided to abandon the sewalong zip instructions and to use an invisible zip instead. I’m going to use the instructions for inserting the zip and attaching the facing from the Colette Ginger skirt. I’ve ordered some invisible zips online, so I’m just waiting for them to arrive. Does anyone else find it weird to order something that’s described as ‘invisible’?!
Image credit: Brother.
6 comments
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June 8, 2012 at 3:12 pm
gingermakes
Yay, new serger! I hope you love it! That zipper insertion technique is a little different– I’ve never tried it before. It looks like it will have nice results, but an invisible zip will be nice, too. Sorry that sewing has been so difficult lately!
June 11, 2012 at 10:16 am
agirlinwinter
Thank you! Thanks for your recommendation for the Brother 1034D. I might be pestering you with questions on how to use it!
June 9, 2012 at 1:28 am
Brooke
I’m so glad you are getting a serger! Now you can serge the cut edges of your yardage for pre-washing before cutting – it will keep your fabric from becoming a huge knotted mess in the wash and you won’t lose an of it to fraying before you make something. =)
I’ve finished a zipper like that but she did it a little backwards by starting with the lining/facing – not sure if it is harder or easier that way, but it is definitely more confusing when you are trying to follow the instructions. *shrug* Whatever works for you – there are no set in stone rules. And the way you did your zipper by snipping the seam allowance is one way to do it. =)
Professionals usually do all closures as one of the last steps since it allows for a little last minute fitting and tweaking. (I really wish someone had told me when I was a kid that zippers don’t need to be put in near the beginning of a build like so many instructions show!) I once had the “fun” job of replacing 100 lapped zippers in some cheerleading skirts – I got really fast by the end of the day and could put one in all in one big step with very few pins! As with all things, the more you do, the easier it becomes.
June 11, 2012 at 10:17 am
agirlinwinter
One of the things I am learning with sewing is that there are many ways to do the same thing! Oh my gosh, 100 zips! That’s my idea of hell. You’re right, I’ve got to keep practising and it will get easier each time
June 10, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Sophie (monbouton)
I hope you’re not going to stop because of a zipper! You will have a lot of pleasure using your serger, even if it does take some time to learn. I recently bought the cheapest from pfaff and I still need some time to master the different options, thread tension etc. (especially as I have discovered some mistakes in the paper instructions compared to the threading dvd: not the same colours).
I don’t know if you feel the same way, but my impression is that sewing has a much steeper learning curve thant knitting – maybe because everything goes faster.
June 11, 2012 at 10:20 am
agirlinwinter
No, I’m going to be brave and carry on
I’m going to take some time to learn about my overlocker, they do have a reputation of being complicated. I learned to knit when I was very young, and I don’t remember the process of learning – it’s something I’ve ‘always’ known how to do. I’m finding sewing very difficult to learn, but it’s good for me to have a challenge!