How to sew knitwear on an overlocker

A happy day has arrived and in addition to the sewing machine, a brand new overlocker has appeared in the house. Simple overlock stitches have been mastered; a more worthy use of this machine is next – sewing knitwear. A four-thread overlocker with the possibility of differential feeding of materials is ideal for this purpose.

General rules for working with an overlocker

Working with an overlocker has its own characteristics.

Threading

Almost all overlocker models are equipped with a threading scheme; as a rule, it is “hidden” under the front cover. The same diagram is in the instructions for using the overlocker model. In order not to go through this path anew each time, it is enough to cut the threads from the old spools and tie them to new bobbins. Further, all refueling will be reduced to several actions:

• with the presser foot raised, pull through the needle thread;
• cut off the knot in front of the eye of the needle and thread the thread into the eye of the needle;
• the rest of the threads can simply be pulled through without cutting the knots; you need to pull carefully; a knot stuck in the pressure plates can break the fragile thread.

Seam selection

Most knitted items can be sewn entirely on a four-thread overlocker. The seam can be either three-thread or four-thread. The three-thread stitch is used for overcasting edges. If the material is thin, a narrow one with the left needle removed will do. For flat stitching on denser fabrics, you need to remove the right needle.

With four threads, you can sew knitwear and overcast the edges at the same time. For elastic knitwear, which, when stitched, goes in a “wave”, you can use differential feeding of materials, if such a function is available in the overlocker.

REFERENCE! To beautifully finish the edge of thin knitwear, for example, on a skirt, you can use a narrow rolled seam of three threads. To perform it, you need to pull the “tongue” in front of the foot, reduce the stitch width and adjust the thread tension. The bottom thread, which will be on the wrong side, should be tightened tighter than the rest. The differential feed can be adjusted to stretch if you want a wavy edge as a result.

When making a narrow three-thread rolled seam, you can not tighten the bottom thread, then you will get a double-sided edge seam “border”. It is good to use on parts where the wrong side is visible from the model.

The Flatlock seam is used to sew parts together with an imitation of flat stitching. It turns out when sewing two parts; the effect of a flat seam will be when unfolding and smoothing these parts.

REFERENCE! A narrow Flatlock is made using the left needle and two lower loopers; a wide Flatlock is made using the right needle and two lower loopers. There are features of thread adjustment: the needle thread must be loosened and the lower looper thread must be tensioned.

How to stitch

The overlocker is equipped with a sharp knife; it will be difficult to fix a cut part, so first you need to practice on scraps and inexpensive products to get your hands on.

The easiest work will be with straight seams. The materials to be sewn are placed under the presser foot. After lowering the presser foot, you can sew the pieces together.After finishing the stitching, you can sew a few more centimeters; the intertwined section will prevent it from unraveling between operations. If necessary, you can secure the seam by threading the remaining interlaced threads into the seam using a needle to lift the loops.

The work of stitching together curved sections may seem more difficult at first. When stitching in a circle, you need to feed the materials, bringing them in front of the presser foot to the right than straight seams. At the corners you need to stop the machine, raise the presser foot, unroll the seam and stitch further. If the corners are internal, you need to fold the seam so as not to cut the fabric.

The nuances of working with knitwear

A very useful innovation is the convenient stitch length adjustment. The stitch length should be selected depending on the materials being sewn and the threads used. Since the knitted stitch simultaneously stitches and overcasts, the threads must be strong and the stitch width small. On some knitted fabrics, it may be necessary to replace the needle with a special one with a rounded tip. This is necessary when a regular needle damages the material or a previously working machine begins to loop.

Most overlockers are equipped with special feet; they can be used to sew elastic into a seam or a special braid to protect the shoulder seams from stretching. It will be very convenient to work when using a foot for a hidden seam. With its help you can carefully hem the bottom of knitwear. Sometimes it is not possible to use differential feed, then you can secure the seam using Avalon water-soluble fabric. In general, knitwear is easier to sew than fabric, especially if you have a modern overlocker.