Buttonholes and Sweater Knits

Why yes, I did decide to make an automatic buttonhole on sweater knit fabric using a home sewing machine. There's no separate button band in this example, but each side is stabilized as in this post.

We have different sewing machines with different degrees of "automatic" buttonholing, some offering several styles of buttonholes. I can't give a step-by-step, but here are some general tips:

• Practice on your scraps!!
• Stabilize the edge with whatever suits the design -- facing and/or interfacing, or grosgrain ribbon (I'm using grosgrain with this fabric.) 
• Keep the sweater knit side on top as you make the buttonhole.
• If the buttonholer on your machine won't move smoothly over the sweater knit, add temporary stabilization. My old favorite, Sulky Super Solvy water soluble stabilizer [affiliate link] worked wonderfully. No need to make a solution and paint it on as for an unstable cut edge. Just cut an appropriate sized piece and pin it in position over the place where your buttonhole will be. I cut the stabilizer wide enough so that the placement of the pin didn't interfere with the buttonhole attachment/presser foot. The Solvy stabilizer is wrapped around the edge of the fabric. This way the fabric doesn't directly come in contact with the buttonhole attachment on top or the feed dog on the bottom. The pin secures the Super Solvy layers to the fabric in the middle.

• I marked the place to begin the button hole with an air erasable marker [affiliate link]. Though you can't quite see the mark through the Super Solvy in the photo above, it was quite visible through the stabilizer as I lowered my needle into the fabric.

Here's an extreme close up of a buttonhole sewn through the stabilizer. The Super Solvy melts away in the water.

Learn more about working with sweater knits in my online workshop.

O!

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Last edit 04Nov2020

Stabilization and Buttons on Sweater Knits

 Buttons by Moving Mud, fabric by O! Jolly!

I've got a few sweaters planned (as usual) and I thought it would be a good idea to practice my button and buttonhole skills on a sweater knit fabric. Back when all my sweaters were fully fashioned, I knitted in buttonholes as I was going along. I didn't always add stabilization. I should have. Stabilization for buttons and buttonholes is a very good thing. Stabilization adds support to this stretchy fabric, which will get lots of pull from buttoning, unbuttoning, and the weight of the button.

Using the cut and sew method there is no excuse for not stabilizing. If I were planning a structured jacket like the Zipper Ripple Jacket, I'd probably just use interfacing and facing as for a jacket of woven fabric. To keep the "sweatery" look, I'm using what hand knitters often use -- grosgrain ribbon.

The preparation is the same for buttons or buttonholes. I'm using a relatively thick and squishy half cardigan fabric in this example. (Hand knitter's will recognize it as a half fisherman rib or shaker rib.) I wanted to eliminate some of the bulk that might happen at the edge from the seam allowance had I sewn the ribbon on like a regular facing. Instead, since the ribbon already has a finished edge, I made a lapped seam. I placed the ribbon edge 1/4 inch over the raw edge of the sweater knit and then glue basted them together.

I used fabric glue stick this time, but washable school glue would have worked just fine.

Since one side of my presser foot was going to be on sweater knit and the other on grosgrain ribbon , I decided to use the walking foot. I used an inside edge of my walking foot as a guide and I sewed the lapped seam.

The last step was folding and pressing the ribbon to the wrong side and sewing on the button. (Yes, I pressed, not just steamed this time, but I only pressed the edge.)  The pic at the top of this page shows the result. Next I'll need to practice my machine sewn buttonholes on sweater knit! (Edit: Buttonhole post is here!)

O!

Cutting (Sweater Knits) Before Sewing - Part 2

Smooth, clean edges on the curve

In December of 2012, I wrote the post Cutting Before Sewing. I waxed poetic about my B & D cordless power scissors, now virtually unavailable. And it's true that nothing beats their ease of use for cutting a bulky sweater knit. I particularly recommend the sharp blades of fully charged power scissors to anyone who may have sore, tired, or arthritic hands -- just switch them on and gently guide those scissors. The electricity does all the work.

But when I can no longer find the power scissors locally and the online price for these things more than tripled (!!!) and replacement blades for the power scissors are impossible to find, it's time to move on. From the pic above (or if you follow me on Instagram) you know where I've moved -- to rotary cutters.

I'd always feared rotary cutters; I've heard of too many sewists who've gotten cut. But I had no choice. I do not like cutting an entire sweater with manual shears. There's great potential for jagged edges, and my hand gets tired. The fact that quilters love rotary cutters did not sway me as the fabric they use is so different. But rotary cutters came highly recommended by Pam Turbett in Revised Knit, Cut and Sew: Book 1. (As I write this, I'm shocked to see the book currently listed for $2432.64 new, $101.76 used! It was less than $7.00 used, including shipping, when I bought mine in 2012! Something else to fear -- the price of a good book that's out of print.)

Getting back to the rotary cutter, it did require a little practice, but the smooth, clean edge it makes on sweater knit fabrics is as nice as the one made with power scissors. I bought the 45mm Olfa rotary cutter, which I was able to find at my LYFS (local yarn and fabric store). I've been extremely happy with it.  I understand that there are other highly recommended brands. I also bought the small 12" x 18" self healing cutting mat and the larger 24" x 36" version. A self-healing cutting mat is essential. I'm able to cut one side of a sweater with the larger mat. I only lay out one piece at a time so there's no problem cutting either the front or back of a sweater. There may be a problem with the length of the mat, if I ever want to cut out a sweater dress...

Practice straight lines

While power scissors required about a minute's worth of "practice" before I became comfortable, I slowly became at ease with the rotary cutter by first cutting straight lines (bands and binding) using my metal edged ruler as a guide. I used a suction cup ruler handle and made sure fingers and thumbs were out of the way. I'm careful to always roll away from my body. Progressing to the curves of necklines and armholes took a little more practice. I moved slowly and was very pleased with the results. What surprised me was that the blade was so maneuverable! Also I needed a lot less pressure than I had originally imagined.

Interestingly, I took a Sew a Leather Tote class at Brooklyn Craft Co, last Sunday. I learned that our teacher used a rotary cutter to cut leather. I'm now confident enough that I'd probably go ahead and use a rotary cutter for cutting out a garment of woven fabric too. Why have I feared this versatile tool for so long?

The best thing is that I think rotary cutters, replacement blades, and mats will be around for a long time. And there are enough competing brands so that the prices will remain reasonable, I hope.

So what are your favorite tools and tips for cutting?

O!
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Related sewing book and supplies (affiliate ad links)
Revised Knit, Cut and Sew: Bk. 1 by Pam Turbett
Self Healing Cutting Mat
OLFA 45mm Deluxe Handle Rotary Cutter
Suction Cup Ruler Handle
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For Fabricoholics Only

It's a textiles post today. None of these fabrics are currently available in the shop. If you see something you like, they're available by special order. :)

Though I generally spend my knit textile design time playing with wild textures, this group happens be more subtle. I've still got the texture making bug, but I just can't show what I'm working on at the moment. If you're a machine knitter, I'll be sharing some of the technical details of these fabrics on Knitting in the Fastlane soon.

So this is knit, and there's always going to be some texture. The top and middle photos are both birdseye knit and the fabrics are heavy enough for a jacket or coat. I love that it's double knit, so there are no floats. 

I'm kind of on a black and white kick again; for the top fabric it's black and vanilla. I love the big, crisp contrast. I also thought it would be fun to group columns of squares with columns of a (pixelated) tapestry. 

I posted the fabric below on IG and FB a little while ago. It's softer than the black and vanilla fabric in a couple of ways. The greys make this tapestry-like knit have a softer look. And if you could feel this fabric, you'd be surprised at how soft it feels. 

I'm not sure you can see this in the pic above, but the deeper grey yarn has a heathered look. That's because the yarn is actually a blend of tussah silk and merino wool. Since the fibers accept dye differently, it gives any fabric made with this yarn a wonderful richness. And believe me, a silk/ merino blend definitely feels rich!

The next fabric has lots more drape. I keep seeing it as a pencil skirt, but it would make a nice tunic length sweater. 

The thing is I also like the reverse, so I think I'd have to choose something where both sides would show. 

I'm sure by now you know I love textiles. I'm fortunate in that I can make my own sweater knits, but there are so many other fabrics I love -- brocades, devoré, lace, all sorts of embroidered and embellished fabrics, and more. I do think of each as a finished object., but I also love imagining and seeing what they can be become. What are your favorite fabrics?

O!