Five things make a post

[jinty]

My home computer has broken down, and my phone is turning unreliable of battery too. Yikes! I do want the computer repaired or replaced, because it has so much on it - old songs and photos and scans of Jinty images (though those are mostly also on Dropbox). I use the phone ever so much more than the computer though - in fact I've hardly been

Comments

[crazycrone]

Noooo! Hope the phone/PC situation is sorted soon. I feel your pain on the living in a tip front, as well. At least you have some excuse, due to kids.

[crazycrone]

Nice garments there, BTW. I do like like the vintage/kitsch patterns; especially on the blouse.

[jinty]

Thanks! It's not really supposed to be a blouse, it's a PJ top, but you're not the first to think of it as one, so maybe I will make more and wear them as non-nightwear :-)

[land_girl]

Fantastic sewing - and admirable pattern matching!!

[jinty]

Thanks! The patterns on the goose print are all aligned upa&down, but you see all sorts of amazingness on the internet where they've got it matched so that it reads as a single image *across* the *front* which I certainly haven't managed (or tried for).

[tinyjo]

These look great! I have slightly stalled as I bought a lovely Jersey fabric which my basic machine refuses to deal with - I'm going to have another go on mum's one when I go over for half term.

[jinty]

Even a basic machine should probably be ok with jersey if you know what to do and what to avoid. Apologies if this is teaching you to suck eggs but these would be my top things to check if you haven’t already done so:
* are you using the correct needles - a jersey, stretch, or ballpoint needle?
* make sure not to start stitching too near the edge of the cloth and don’t reverse stitch at the beginning or end of the seam as this can mean your fabric can get eaten by the machine (it disappears down the needle hole).
* check what stitch you’re using. Do you have a setting for changing your stitch to a longer length? At the end of the options it might have S.S. which means stretch stitch. Choose that one if so. If you send a photo of your machine front I might be able to advise further if still confusing. Or I could come over! :-)

[tinyjo]

Yeah, the problem seemed to be a combination of needle and poor choice of thread. I did borrow Mum's machine in the end because it's got a proper SS set of stitches and also, it does blind hemming, which is pretty cool.