Wednesday, February 3, 2010

50 more, please?!

This is what greeted me Monday when I came home from work.
55 Heavy Duty fleece shirts to embroider for a local fire department (the same one that just ordered 50 hats)!  I think I should send them a thank you note...

So, I'll be working on these babies all week, while inserting a zipper and hemming Little Miss Princess's Pretty in Pink Party Dress!  And learning how to use my new-old coverstitch machine.  Hey, you "veteran coverstitchers" out there!? What's the best way to line up the hem on the wrong side for stitching, when you can't see it?  The manual recommends drawing a chalk line on the right side where the hem edge sits, but that seems... well... silly.  How do you do it?  Meanwhile, I've got a knit top halfway done (just needs sleeves and coverstitching), and I'm craving a new knit dress.  I've got both of these, and just can't decide...
Butterick 5242 (long sleeve), or...            
Butterick 5313 (bottom right corner, long sleeves)

14 comments:

JoanneM said...

Yikes. Get them done before the weekend!

amber said...

That's a lot of shirts!!

I vote the first dress, mostly because I have it in my stash and really want to see it all sewn up. :)

Marybeth said...

Love both the dresses - I like the first one best, but they will both look great on you... Have fun!

Michelle said...

Holy moly...that's a lot of shirts!!! Have fun embroidering! (And I like the first dress, I think the ruffled one has the potential to "go maternity." Or maybe that would just be what it would do on me, given that someone congratulated me today...on my pregnancy).

Anonymous said...

I love my cover stitch machine and struggled for a while to figure out the best way for me to stitch a hem. What works best for me is to hand baste about 1/8" from the turned up hem edge. I know lots of folks will think this is too much effort, but it solves both problems of keeping the hem and the garment together (so one surface isn't pushed or pulled faster or slower than the other) and it gives me a line to follow on the garment side so I know my stitching will end up where I want it. I do lots of hand basting so this is just natural for me, and it gives me the results I want.

Enjoy that new machine. ;)

Lois K

judy said...

I love my babylock coverstitch and couldn't sew without it! I am an eye it kind of person. Normally, I am doing knits so I just want one turn under no extra fold. So, I turn under about 5/8" just pinching it with my fingers as I go and line up the edge of the shirt with the edge of the presser foot which is good for 5/8" hem on my machine. Another great tool is the downfeller....this little tool does the folding of the material and lining up with the stitching for you for a nice clean finish. I use this a lot when I have a big enough hem (not good for little kids sleeves or pants legs, but good for adult size stuff). Hope that helps, have fun with your new machine! :)

Maryissewfast said...

I machine baste right close to the edge of the turned up hem in a different color (to make it easier to remove after the hem is coverstitched)and then use the basting line as a guide If I plan to trim it after I sew it, I just press, coverstitch and trim.

julia said...

You definitely have your work cut out for you!!! I vote for the top pink dress!! LOve it!

Bunny said...

That's a lot of embroidery. Let's see---at so many $$$ per shirt and there are 55 shirts, hmmmmm, I think I see another couture class coming on here.

Cissie said...

Oh my gosh! All those shirts -- and all that hooping! Good luck.

As for the coverstitch, I usually line up my hem from the right side, noting where the edge will line up when I turn it over and stitch. I then mark this line with a piece of tape or a stack of post-its. For someone who never sewed on knits until last year, and couldn't ever imagine needing/wanting a CS machine, I use it almost daily! Have fun with it. YOu'll wonder what you did without it.

Cissie

Dawn said...

I love that first dress. Can I tell you I totally wing it with the coverstitcher? I fold it over and check periodically that it's the same. Sometimes, I iron it and that makes it much easier to be precise.

Geez, that's a lot of shirts!

robin said...

I would vote for the first dress, primarily because I made the second one and it was hideous on me. I think I posted pics on my blog if you want to look for it.

meredithp said...

Re: Coverstitching: I generally have it pressed, basted, pinned, folded or whatever and just go for it. I line it up on a guideline or something on the bed of the machine. Have you looked at Debbie Cook's fabulous coverstitch FAQ? http://www.cedesign.com/familyphotos/sewing/info/cs_faq/index.html

There's also a huge group of Janome owners on PR in the message boards.

Sheri said...

When I coverstitch a hem, I always hand baste close to the raw edge with a large running stitch. Then I straddle the two needles of the coverstitch on either side of the basted stitches. It is an extra step, but it keeps my hems even and makes the sewing part very easy. It also encloses the raw edge.