Over the years I've come to realize that novice sewers are always impressed with some of the materials I chose to work with. Mainly lightweight and stretchy jerseys. I think many novices are under the impression that certain fabrics are harder to work with than others. I disagree to some level.
I personally find jerseys to be the easiest type of fabric since it's so forgiving. If I accidentally sew into a seam 1/8" more than I should you wont notice much on a knit fabric but if you're working with a woven fabric you've just made your overall garment at least a 1/4" smaller.
The difference is that I use the right tools! And this is what makes working with these fabrics so easy.
It's amazing to me how much of a difference it makes to use the right needle. My first experience with silk was a nightmare because I forgot to replace the ball point needle I'd used on a previous project.
For sewing jerseys I use three machines - and all of my machines are home sewing machines. I don't like industrial machines because they're really loud. I enjoy listening to music while I sew. I own a vintage singer zig-zag industrial sewing machine and I've probably used it less than ten times in the four years I've owned it.
I use a 4 thread serger, a vintage zig-zag machine and a Bernina Coverstitch Machine. I bought the bernina over a 5 thread serger with a cover-stitch option because I realized I sew so much it would be a pain to have to convert my machine everytime I did a coverstitch.
I hadn't had any problems until recently when I ran out of needles and couldn't find a replacement. I never realized how important cover-stitch needles were. I always figured if I couldn't find my regular needles I would just use ball point needles. But when I tried this I realized my machine kept skipping stitches. I tried about 10 different bands/types of needles before I finally found my regular ones.
I got my order this morning, I've been sewing jerseys all day and I haven't had a single skipped stitch!
These needles are pretty expensive in the world of sewing machine needles (about $15 per pack) but they're worth every penny.
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