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Wednesday 16 July 2014

Lady Skater fail (and an overlocker betrayal)

OK, I'm not going to whinge too much in this post as I think I'm getting a reputation for being a bit of a...whingy whinger, but honestly if you'd just had the overlocker dramas I had making a toile of the Lady Skater bodice then you'd whinge too!


First things first...from the measurements of the Lady Skater it should've fit me by a country mile. From the high bust measurement I should've made a size 6, but for old time sake I went for the largest size (as I just cannot help myself) and it was TOO SNUG! WHAT???

The stunt-ponti I used didn't have much stretch to it so I think if I went with something more drapey and with more stretch I may have better luck. I'm considering if I should give this another whirl in a different fabric...I'll get back to you on this one!


I actually think my overlocker does not like this thick type of Ponti as it battled me at every turn! Have a look at this...


and this...

 

After an hour of threading and re-threading the overlocker the red looper kept unthreading...arrrgggh! I finally rang Bernina who said to make sure that I was threading the overlocker in the correct order (loopers then needles)! Rookie mistake (that I'll never make again).

So that is problem number 1 solved but then the overlocker wouldn't stitch properly....it missed a lot of stitches meaning the garment wasn't securely sewn. I went over each row of stitching twice just to be "safe".


I actually think a lot of these issues were to do with the fabric as I've since sewn a dress in a different, thinner fabric with NO problems at all (same needle and not rethreading the machine). Talk about temperamental.

5 comments:

  1. I think you're right - it's the fabric. I also made a Lady Skater from a particularly non stretchy stretch fabric and to be honest every time I put it on it's like wearing a girdle, but it does easy in with body heat. Do try the skater again with a stretchier fabric - it's such a brilliant every day pattern!

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  2. Catherine Alekna16 July 2014 at 19:11

    Hmm this is why I don't have an over locker or sew with stretchy fabric! But even with regular, lets say less then 20% stretch fabric I use a regular straight stitch and a stretch needle. I guess that's an obvious question then - we're you using the right needle? Can you change needles on an overlocker? What if you try over-casting on your normal machine and then sewing the pieces together with straight stitch? Could be a good work around. And good ponte shouldn't fray anyway, so you could skip the whole over casting/locking anyway

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  3. I'm chiming in to also say that it's probably your fabric! Not in terms of your overlocker nightmare - I don't have one - but your fit issues with the LS dress. Try a more stretchy jersey and you'll hopefully have a better fit. I only know this as I used a polyester ponti for my Coco and it's truly hideous, then I used a more drapey cotton jersey and it's fine. Good luck!

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  4. You earnt that reputation with all the stress of learning to sew (the rest of us set up the blog after we'd had a go!) Good luck fixing it and a great cautionary tale as my overlocker (with it's own DVD) is coming soon! I have a class booked too and I'll ask about this. The Lady Skater is high on my list!

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  5. I agree it is the fabric . I made a dress last year out of ponte and my machine did exactly that, it was skipping stitches like a mo-fo!! Drove me insane! I changed needles so many times and in the end just dealt with the fact that some stitches were missing. I hardly wear the dress now BTW. Some ponte can be very fickle I find.

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