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Among the knits making news today are sweater knits. These knits are made of high bulk and look much like hand-knit fabrics. Sweater knits vary in several ways: in fiber content, type of knit, amount of stretch, and weight of fabric. Sweater knits also vary in the way the fabric is sold. They can be flat, tubular, or sweater bodies with ribbing as part of the fabric.

PICK PATTERNS AND MATERIALS CAREFULLY Select a designed for fabric with the amount of stretch your fabric has. Most pattern com­ panies now print stretch gauges on the pattern en­ velope. Stretch the fabric gently when using the stretch gauge to be sure your fabric and pattern go together.

SWEATER KNITS

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1. gently.

Select a pattern with simple lines and few seams. If your knit is very stretchy, select a pattern desig­ nated "for sweater kn its only" or "stretch kn its only." These patterns have no darts and little . If your knit is moderately stretchy, select a pattern designated "for knits only." If it is stable, use it for patterns marked "suitable for knits." If your pattern requires , use feather­ weight, all-bias, nonwoven interfacing. If your pattern needs a , select a very flex­ ible one. Those with a soft knit tape and a very fine coil blend in with knits well. Be sure to choose polyester or polyester core so the seams will stretch with the knit.

BEFORE YOU Alter your pattern if necessary. The pattern will have less than the usual amount of ease, so be sure to compare your measurements with the body measurements on the pattern envelope to deter­ mine needed alterations. If your knit is washable, preshrink it by the method you will use to care for it later. If the knit can only be drycleaned, have it steamed at the dry­ cleaner or run it through a coin-operated dryclean­ ing machine. Preshrink the zipper also. - Use a roller or walking to help feed the fabric evenly through the machine. - Make the tension looser on both the and upper threads to avoid puckering. If your fabric has long floats of yarns on the back, you may need to put tissue paper over the to avoid catching yarns on the presser foot.

SEAMS TO CHOOSE If your knit is tubular, cut along the lengthwise rib nearest the fold so you will be able to handle the fabric flat. Try pressing out the remaining fold. If it won't come out, arrange your pattern pieces to avoid the fold.

\ 4. Double with while stretching 1 fabric slightly; to ¼ inch. 5. Double stitch with ; trim to ¼ inch.

Eliminate unnecessary seams and openings. Re­ member that the garment you are making will be like a sweater. For example, the center back seam­ line can sometimes be placed on a fold. You can use an exposed zipper application, which doesn't require a regular .

CUTTING AND MARKING Be careful not to stretch the fabric in handling it as you cut out the pattern. Keep all fabric on a table top to avoid stretching it. Cut with sharp shears. Mark with 's tacks or . Tracing wheels push stretchy fabric and distort the marked lines.

TIPS ON SEAMS Use polyester or polyester core thread so the seam will stretch with the stretch of the knit. Use 10-12 stitches per inch on the seams. Make test seams before you start making the garment. Some adjustments you may need to make include: - Lighten the pressure on the presser foot so the top layer of fabric is not pushed ahead of the bottom layer. 11

11. Sew in sleeve, stretching the to just match the sleeve size. Sew with the bodice on top. Stitch again ¼ inch from seamline and trim close to second row of stitching after checking for correct fit. 12. Turn armscye seam toward sleeve. Sew underarm seam of garment and sleeve using one of the above methods.

7. Press seam flat, easing or shrinking seam to its original length. 8. Then open garment and press seam to one side. 9. Stabilize seams. Sew seam tape or into For machinemade buttonholes, use lightweight straight seams (shoulder, waistline) and stretched interfacing in the area or put a cord _in the into curved seams (armscye) if needed to buttonhole to stabilize it. Make buttonholes in the keep garment from stretching out of shape. If direction of the knit rib. Be careful not to stretch there is a sharp curve, fold the tape. the knit as you make the buttonhole. SLEEVE SEWING TIPS It's a good idea to make test buttonholes ~o see if your machine makes better buttonholes using a Use the shirt method as described below. regular zigzag stitch or a buttonhole attachment. If 10. sleeve to armscye before sewing underarm you use the attachment, cover the fabric with a small seam. Place pins on bodice side. square of clear plastic before sliding it under the attachment and before removing the fabric once the buttonhole is completed to keep the fabric from snag­ ging or catching. 13. A cord can be stitched into the buttonhole by placing it so the zigzag stitch forms over it. Pull cord through to the wrong side of the gar­ ment and knot it. Traditional methods of putting in zippers are often unsatisfactory in sweater knits because the bulk of the knit causes the zipper lap to stand open. Using an exposed zipper or an invisible zipper may be best. Here are the directions for putting in an ex­ posed zipper.

14. This is the finished exposed zipper. No center back seam is necessary. If neck edge will be trimmed with ribbing, apply ribbing before in­ serting zipper. 15. Staystitch around the zipper opening using short stitches. The opening shou Id be centered on the centerback line and be the width of the zipper teeth (1/4 inch to 3/8 inch). At the bottom end of the opening, use 15 stitches per inch. Change to zipper foot.

18. From the garment side, pin zipper in place, up top of zipper with the neck edges and making sure zipper tapes are parallel with the cut edges. Stitch from bottom of zipper to the top, keeping the garment on top so you can use staystitching as a guide. Turn down excess zipper tape at neck edge and finish by hand.

RIBBING OR Commercial ribbing and binding are available to match or contrast with your sweater knit. These are available in different forms, as pictured.

19. Tubular rib knit.

16. Place zipper upside down on right side of garment so the bottom stop of the zipper is just below the bottom of the stitching. Stitch across the zipper just below the zipper stop, just the width of the zipper teeth. Stitch back and forth several times using small stitches. 17. Cut from the to½ inch from the bottom of the zipper opening. At the bottom, cut diag- onally to the corners. 20. Ribbing prefinished on one or both edges. 24. With ribbing on top, stitch seam, stretching rib­ bing to the size of the garment. Use same seaming technique as for the rest of the garment. Press seam toward body of garment.

A strip of self fabric can also be used as ribbing trim if it is quite stretchy. Here are the directions for attaching self fabric or tubular rib knit.

21. Cut ribbing as indicated on pattern. If the size is not specified, use these guidelines: Width should be twice the finished width plus two seam allow­ ances. The length usually should be shorter than the edge it will be attached to. See that it is com­ fortable and long enough to get on and off the body. Stitch the two short edges together to form a ring. Finger press the seam open. 22. Fold ribbing in half and pin with wrong sides to­ gether. Divide garment edge in quarters. To apply ribbing that has been prefinished on one or both edges, follow the directions below.

25. Stitch short ends together to form a ring using the same seaming technique as before. Divide ribbing into quarters. Pin ribbing to garment with right sides together, matching markings. j J 26. Stitch seam, stretching the ribbing to the size of 23. Pin both layers of ribbing to right side of garment. the garment. Use same seaming technique as be­ Match markings. fore. Press seam toward body of garment. 11!1il!i1lr~li~il1ill1lli1!ifil11 3 1951 001 927 326 F

HEMS require special treatment because of the stretch in sweater knits and because of the weight of the fabric. a sweater knit garment by hand or machine. The machine method usually provides a more durable hem. 30. Press hem from wrong side, pressing on the bot­ tom of the hem but never on the top edge. II \ t \l\\.\ !

27. Hand Method: Stitch ¼ inch from edge with either a straight or zigzag stitch if necessary to prevent edge from· rolling or fraying. Fold up hem and pin.

31. Machine Method: Fold up hem.

32. With wrong side of garment up, turn back hem, leaving ¼ inch of top edge of hem showing below garment fold.

28. Use a loose between body of garment and the turned over hem. If fabric is heavy, use two rows of hand stitching, one halfway up the hem allowance and one at the upper edge. // /

29. Stretch as you hem by pulling the fabric about 33. Use a blind hemmer or the automatic blind hem­ every 4 inches. This loosens stitches. Fasten ming stitch. Sew in the ¼ inch hem extension thread, then continue stitching. and barely catch a thread in the garment fold.

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