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Some new sewing things

I’ve gotten some small packages in the mail with sewing notions and tools lately, mostly in preparation for my book about coverstitching. So let’s take a look at what I’ve been unboxing:

Belt loop folder for coverstitch machines

In the garment industry, belt loops are sewn using a folding attachment and a coverstitch machine. After seeing this little tool in practice on my visit to a garment factory I decided to buy a generic one and test it on my Janome Coverpro. If it works well on a domestic machine, I will make a tutorial in the book for how to sew belt loops with an attachment too. It is cheap and can be attached with blue-tac, so it is definitely accessible for us in the home sewing community too.

 

3-fold/single fold binder attachment for coverstitch machines

Again, this is a purchase for my book. I have the original 4-fold binder attachment for the Janome CoverPro. But for my coverstitch book, I also want to feature generic binders + have a tutorial for how to do single fold binding using an attachment. In my book Sewing Activewear, I have tutorials on how to do single fold binding without an attachment, but a single fold attachment is a new territory for me. Again, these generic binders are way cheaper than the coverstitch brand ones, so worth investigating.

 

Lots of woolly nylon

I use this flossy thread a lot, both in the coverstitch and serger loopers. It has great coverage, fantastic stretch and is soft to the skin. But I’ve found that the properties vary a lot from brand to brand, so I’ve scooped up several brands to test them out and see how they differentiate. I will report back in the form of a blog post later on!

As always, new tools means a learning curve, and I’ve learned to be more patient and set aside the proper time to actually learn to use them, instead of giving up half way through!

9 Comments

  • Leila
    July 24, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    I’m interested to see the results of your experiments with wooly nylon. In my experience, when it is used on a coverstitch looper, it looks fine at first, but after washing the garment, it shrinks so much the hem or seam puckers horribly and I have to unpick it and re-do the stitching with regular thread in order to save the garment. I read other people saying how much they love wooly nylon, but I can’t get it to work for anything because of the shrinkage issue.

    Reply
    • Johanna
      July 26, 2018 at 10:41 am

      That is super interesting to hear! I use it primarily for serging in the loopers or when using reverse coverstitching and have not noticed this much. I will add that aspect to my experiment and do samples pre and after wash to see how different brands behave!

      Reply
    • Cecilia
      August 1, 2018 at 12:10 am

      Thanks for bringing this up, just got a Coverstitch machine and have started using wooly nylon, would never even have thought about this.

      Reply
      • Johanna
        August 1, 2018 at 12:48 pm

        Yes, there are really big differences, which I discovered after buying from different sources so I’m really looking forward testing them all more systematically

        Reply
  • Summerflies
    July 25, 2018 at 3:00 am

    I wait with interest on all these things but don’t believe for a second you give up halfway through. 🙂

    Reply
    • Johanna
      July 26, 2018 at 10:42 am

      Thank you! I will have have your encouragement in mind when I run into some roadblocks along the way 🙂

      Reply
  • Sue
    July 25, 2018 at 9:05 am

    I’m very interested in the results of your various experiments, particularly the wooly nylon.

    Reply
    • Johanna
      July 26, 2018 at 10:42 am

      Will report back for sure!

      Reply
  • Karen
    October 13, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    All of your experiments will be a big help for people like me who are just starting to sew activewear. Thank you!

    Reply

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