Using my serger - tshirts and a coverlet

 I have finished a Tshirt which was in my to do pile for more than a year, and quickly added 2 more to use up the materials sitting on the shelf. The green is going to be a pj top, but the others are real ones! I took my serger out again, and was fighting with the proper setup - but finally I did it! It was significantly easier than 2 (maybe 3? - no, I have checked, it was only 2)  ago when I bought and first used it, and when I felt overwhelmed by the many bells and whistles. Now the threading is really quick and comfortable, simply choosing the correct setup took some time. But I have nailed it down, wrote on my manual, and also put it here for future reference:

Tshirt setup for singer pro 5serger:

Sewing parts together: #6 3threaded ultrastretch - G,knife, 2N, top orange, blue, bottom red thread

Coverstitch for the edges: #12 wide coverstitch- H, no knife, NN

Stitching on the binding: normal machine.

I have also stitched a cover for my kitchen  breadboard. I have several small and big silicone, but I recently I have realised I liked my gradma style old fashioned wood one best, and bought one. But it is big, and I do not like to leave it uncovered to collect dust, so I quickly made one. I used up an old herb print I bought years ago, it was perfect for this and it was finished in 10 minutes thank to my superquick serger. 

The setup was #9, wide 5 thread safety stitch A, knife, NN, all colours, orange, blue up, others down

 

Trial pieces - woman's shirt, ranglan T shirt, comfy pants

To have a new hobby brings the joy of buying materials -  a lot:)

First I started with a heavy discount chain called I love textil, where you can buy 1yard for an eur, more expensive materials even go up to 1.5eur/yard. I bought some different ones to practice with and test patterns. Somehow I am really attracted to lilac now...

Fabric bought: 6,2m

• 1.5m purple shirt poliester
• 1.5m purple dress cotton-elasthan
• 2m sand pique cotton
• 1.2m poliester velvet

Women's shirt from the lilac - it was quite a struggle, but I managed it. However since the material is poliester it is not good for daily use, and also it was a little tight I will give it to my cousin, because it suits her really well. I need some buttonsbuttonholes, and I have to finish the seams as well, and add a hemming to the bottom.  

Elastic ranglan shirt from the white one - I wrote a separate post on the t-shirt, here is the trial version - this also goes to my cousin, she is forgiving all my errors.

Last but not least I also sewed a very comfy pant to be lazy at home. This stays with me, I can hardly wait for a colder weather, I was looking for such pant for years! The start was from an overall, what I totally changed. It is pants, not overall, I did not add the pockets, made it significantly slimmer - I realised Burda patterns are not for me. I cannot decide on the size, and regardless that the numbers are fitting, clothes are 2 size bigger than me, and I can hardly find any pattern I like. So I will not look for them at all.

I see I really have to improve my clothes photoing technique, they look quite awful here, trust me in real life I am extremely proud all of them.

I also sewed up a dress, it is a very simple one, but I learned the hidden zipper, what I have actually ripped off at the end. The material is somewhat stretchy, so there is no need for zippers...I learned interfacing, setting in darts, hemming the dress.

New hobby: sewing clothes - Ranglan T-Shirt

I am always looking for good quality t shirts what I can use for work with my summer suits, and it is extremely difficult to find one what I like. Despite the fact that I am continuously looking the last one I bought 3 years ago, and even that one was not perfect. However, I have a favourite what I have found several years ago and still love - and now I am able to replicate it!

Ranglan t shirts - pattern copied by me from my existing one. Front, back, 2 sleeves, neckline. xx cm of xxx

The trial version is on the right, I bought some cheap stretch material in the discount chain "I love fabric" - it was a perfect base to start with. I have learned to cut stretch ( pin pattern to fabric, cut around ), and also to use sergers to finish seams on stretch. I also tried double needles, because in the class there is no coverstitch machine. I still have to master finishing the neckline, because something still amiss...

I was also hunting for good quality fabric, because most of the fabric is extremely lightweight. But I managed to get some real good ones in a little fabric store on Vaci street next to Nyugati, and quickly bought 3 meters to be on the safe side :). (white, 70% cotton 30% elastan, 3000ft)

The learning curve of my serger use is steep and still ongoing:  how to change between lock and coverstitch, how to use differential feet for stretchy materials. I am still looking for good balanced coverstitch, it is too tight I think. But at least I learned to thread the machine - I have rethreaded and least 10 times...

Update: I went to the shop to see what to turn where, and the secret is the differential feet - it should be 2, and the stitch length should be 3 or 4. I will try this setting, I hope it helps!

Whipping up extras

Apart from my original goals I had some things on my mind. 

I was going through my stash and I was decluttering all awful synthetic bits and pieces I received since I started sewing. The family knows I need practice materials so they are sending all kind of stuff - but some of them are too bad even to practice anything on them...I also rearranged my boxes separating quilting and non-quilting quality fabric, keeping only 1 box of synthetics including princess/santa materials. You know, the shiny ones all 5 years old princesses aiming for. And I finished 2 brideskirts for my nieces as well, and for thir little brother a double sided prince doublet - it took some 40 minutes to finish all! The prince material was bought some 30 years ago and I used it to cover the guest bedroom mattress when I tried my first sewing in secondary school.

During the selection phase I also took my charmpack sized whites and beiges do sew the half triangle armchair cover I was longing for. We have an awfully old, but extremely comfortable recliner, whose arms are getting into a horrenduous phase. I decided to cover it myself, and now I took the time to start it. The design and the blocks are ready, and moreover, now I can easily close the light brown/beige box, because I put together a backing from some bigger pieces as well.