Episode 36: Behind the Scenes LIVE

One of my favorite items to make is a simple t-shirt.  It’s fast and easy when sewn with a serger. Then I use the Brother Coverstitch machine for hemming.  But what about embellishing the tee with coverstitching!  If you have used the Coverstitch before you will notice the back side of the coverstitch has a sporty look, similar to what we see in sportswear.  For this tutorial, I am going to show you how to utilize the 3-thread Coverstitch to create this fashionable look!  Let’s get started:

Materials:

• Angela Wolf Ruched-T Pattern  (Click ?? here to order and use coupon code BROTHER20 for a 20% discount)
• Stretch Fleece Fabric
• 4 spools of serger thread
• Tailors chalk

DESIGNING THE LOCATION FOR THE STITCHES:

Cut out the pattern. My T-shirt pattern pieces consist of 1 Front, 1 Back, 2 Sleeves, and 1 Collar. There are not princess seams, but I want to add the illusion there are princess seams.  Starting with the front pattern, on the wrong side of the fabric, draw a line from the armscye to the hem.  Use a curved ruler if you need help drawing the curve .

Fold the fabric in half and use your hand to brush the fabric.  This will trace the chalk mark to the other side of the fabric.

Open the fabric back up and you should see a faint line from the first chalk marking.  Use the chalk to trace over this line, making it darker and easier to see. Do the same thing for the BACK pattern piece.  For the collar and sleeve, draw randomly placed chalked lines.

SET UP THE COVERSTITCH MACHINE

Choose the color of thread for the decorative stitch.  Ideally the color should be in the same color family as the right side of the fabric, but enough of a contrast that you can see the stitches.

Decide which stitch looks the best on your fabric:

• Stitch a swatch of fabric with a wide coverstitch (using the left and right needle)
• Stitch a sample with the triple coverstitch.

Keep in mind you will be stitching with the wrong side of the fabric facing up.  Check the look of the stitch on both sides.

I prefer the triple coverstitch on my fabric, so I will set up the coverstitch machine with all three needles using 4 spools of thread.  It’s a little faster to stitch from piece to piece, so start stitching on a scrap of fabric and then add another piece of fabric.  This allows me to check my stitch quality and I won’t have to worry about threads falling off at the beginning or end of my garment pieces.  (All of these stitches rows will be sealed in a seam, so no worries on threads unraveling).

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Coupon Details: Coupon Details: Get 50% off the full retail price of select Craftsy classes taught by Angela Wolf. Cannot be combined with any other coupons. Expires August 15, 2017.