Sewing With Double Brushed Poly Knit

Sewing with new-to-me fabrics is one of my favorite things and I've been spending the past couple weeks trying out an incredible versatile fabric: Double Brushed Poly Knit Fabric.  Besides always wanting to give it a whirl, my other reason is that I've just added this fabric type to my shop and I needed to test drive them to see just how well they'd sew in a number of different projects.  

There wasn't a ton of info out there about sewing with this fabric, so I'm sharing a few simple DBP knit sewing tips I've learned to make it easy to get great results and have maximum project possibilities with this wonderful type of fabric.  

Dream Big DBP Knit

What is Double Brushed Polyester Knit? 

A medium weight stretch knit fabric that:

- is 95% polyester, 5% spandex

- brushed on both sides to give it an ultra soft feel

-  has 4 way, 50% stretch 

- has good recovery to give it the perfect drape and shape

It also 

- does not shrink or fray

- is 56 inches wide for lots of project possibilities

Love Never Fails DBP Knit

What can you make with Double Brushed Poly Knit?  

SO many wonderful and wearable things.  Leggings, dresses, tops, scarves, headbands, loungewear, pajamas, underwear, plus blankets, soft toys, pillows....sky's the limit!   

I've been sewing up a storm with them and have LOVED the results.  I made myself this maxi dress...

which is SO comfy to wear thanks to the buttery soft finish:

And a sweet tween dress for my 11yr old to wear to church:

With a matching headband with the scraps leftover since the fabric is so nice & wide:

I also made some relaxing lounge pants that are the perfect weight for summer:

How do you sew with it?  

You can use a regular sewing machine, overlock or serger.  

Here are the best ways to sew with it on a basic sewing machine for perfect assembly & finish.

Needles

Start with the right needles for knits.  

Those designated as stretch or ball point will easily go through this knit without pulling.  

I also recommend using a stretch twin needle for a professional finish on hems & necklines and to have that all important stretch too.

The result is two perfectly even rows of stitches:  

Stitches

It's key to use a stitch that will stretch.  Basic narrow zig-zag, triple stitch, triple zig-zag, overcasting/knit stitch (this being my favorite one) all work great, as do a few others.  Consult your machine manual for all possible options.  Unlike normal straight stitches, these provide give and strength which are needed when sewing with knit fabric.  Sewing straight stitches means the fabric can't stretch without breaking the thread - you definitely don't want that!

Walking Foot  

Not required, but this specialty presser foot grips fabric from the top (instead of just the feed dogs underneath), so the even hold keeps layers from creeping or stretching while you sew.  Most machines do not come with one, but it makes a big difference when sewing knits, so it's worth getting one and they are not very expensive.  Added bonus: it's great for quilting & woven sewing!

Paper-backed Fusible Tape

This item is also optional, but makes hemming Double Brushed Poly Knit very easy.  Simply iron onto the wrong side along the fabric edge and then peel away the paper, fold closed and press into place to fuse the hem, then sew.  It stabilizes the fabric so it won't pull or stretch while sewing and no pinning will be needed, which saves time too. It also means you'll measure a perfect hem every time!

With these few tips in mind you'll be ready to sew all sorts of soft & beautiful things with Double Brushed Poly Knits!  If you like these prints, you can find them, and more lovely DBP knit fabric designs, HERE.

Summer Sewing Starts Now! FREE Shorts Pattern Find

Summer is nearly here and it's so good to be sewing for it!  A couple of weeks ago I shared my latest fabric buy - some cool Solar Color Changing Jersey knit.  I had to put working with it on pause while tending to a sick baby, but now that things are back to normal on the home front, I got a chance to get rolling on some projects.    

The real question was what to make??  I wanted to do some shorts for my daughter with this color changing flowers print that turns from this black & white design....

To this colorful print in the sunshine:

I poured through my pattern collection to see what I could find. I had used this free Ginger Shorties pattern by Sew Like My Mom for the first time a few years ago, back when my daughter was 6.  It covered sizes 12 months-8yrs and was free so it was a great find.

It was such a great and quick sew I made several pairs as the bottoms of some shortie pajamas too, which she really loved.

I wanted to use it again, but with my daughter being nearly 10 I was afraid the largest size would be too small and I'd have to scale it up myself.  So imagine my delight when I saw that Sew Like My Mom upgraded it to go through size 16!!  And it's still FREE!  You can get it HERE.

It was just as easy to make as before.  It's literally just 3 pieces to cut (two legs and a waistband) and three seams to sew.  SO quick to put together.  By using a nice rib knit I didn't even need to add any elastic to the waistband.  

Of course the sun refused to cooperate when I was taking photos and hid behind a cloud while she was wearing them, but a little later I was able to get an in-the-sun photo for the full color change magic effect:

I also made another pair with some stretchy stripe terry knit I had in my stash (yay stash-busting!!).  

Sew Like My Mom has several other free shorts patterns there and some cute patterns you can purchase too.  I'm definitely going to make some more and since the sizing covers so many ages, I can make stuff for my 1 yr old up to my 13 yr old.  With fabrics from my stash + the free patterns clothing 3 out of 4 kids for free is a win for sure! 

Sewing for Baby with Euro Knit Fabric

Maybe I'm alone thinking this, but I'm beyond bored with all the blah hipster looking baby/kids clothes most US retail stores are all showing these days.  They all look drab and same-y and are crazy high priced for what you get.  Why would I want my 6 month old to dress the same as a 28yr old barista from Portland?!?  A baby should look like a baby! Clothes for littles should be cute & fun!  Apart from shopping exclusively at Carter's or going broke at Boden or Hanna Andersson (who is drabbing out too IMO), the only other option is to find better fabrics and make my own stuff, so here I am.  

I bought this fabric as a special order last fall from Frollein S and whipped up some comfy fun separates for my little guy.  It's a euro knit from Mamaliebchen called Mia & Max.  I just loved the mama & baby squirrel cameo on it.  It was bit too big to use when he was a newborn, but now it's ideally sized. Even when it comes to fabric options, there are SO many more cute prints available from European fabric manufacturers!  

I bought a panel & a fat half of the coordinating stripe in both the mint & rose color ways. Euro knits tends to be really wide so small cuts go a long way, which makes them more economical (as full yards can get pricey!).  The panel was 18 inches high by 60 inches wide, so the fat half of the stripe coordinate was a generous 30 inches wide by 36 inches high. Enough for several items for a baby and at least a nice long sleeved top for a big kid.

The best bit was this wasn't just a panel with one big design - it had cute branches & squirrels running the full width:

I'd been hoarding them for just the right projects and since we're in fall right now, I figured I'd better get on it or have to wait another year to use 'em.  I still have to do a top with the rose for my daughter, but the mint has been worn several times now and we love it.  I feel like I went uber European on it since it was German fabric, German thread and used a Scandinavian pattern;)

I decided to make a sweet pull-on top & pants outfit for my little guy.  The top pattern was the Pinaatti T-shirt from the 1/2010 issue of Ottobre Design.  I did the 74cm size for my 6 month old.  It's a roomy fit shirt with fold over cuffs, so it'll last for a good while.

The shirt has a fun back side as well:

Since the branches ran the width of the panel cut, it gave more visual interest than the usual back of a shirt:

I love the cute extra details like this little ladybug:

The harem pants are a pattern I made from studying a pair of baby pants I'd bought before my little guy was born.  I've used this pattern many times already and it's a super quick sew that gives lots of room so it fits for ages.  A few slightly smaller pairs I've already made have lasted from birth to now as far as fit.  I might make it into a pdf pattern and offer it in my shop since it's beginner friendly and doesn't require a serger.  Using rib knit for the fold-over waistband and cuffs gives an easy pull-on style that also grows with baby.  I'll just unfold the waist and cuffs as he sprouts more inches.  I slightly enlarged my original design, so these should fit for another 6 months+.  

Babies grow so fast and free time is so scarce for me these days that I feel that any baby clothes I make have to be able to get more than a measly 2-3 months wear.  This little outfit should last for at least double that, so I'm thrilled.   I'm definitely going to use both patterns again to make more fashion goodies.   And since the fabric cuts were so nice & wide, I've still got plenty of the mint fabric left over for another little top or a few accessories like hat & bib or burp cloth.  



I'll have to do a bit of blocking to make a matching rose top for my 9yr old with the same amount of fabric (since an 18in high panel is a little short for her) but I'm confident it'll work out well....once I get some extra time that is!

City Knits Multi-Yard Fabric Giveaway!

Fabric Lovers, it's time for another fabulous fabric giveaway!  How about some mega yardage of brand new knit fabrics?  As in 2 yard cuts of BOTH of these awesome knit fabrics?!?

These gorgeous fabrics are part of the new City Knits collection from Timeless Treasures. They're medium weight 95% cotton + 5% spandex with a 50%, 4 way stretch and a fantastic 58 inch width.  

The project possibilities with 2 yard long cuts are endless and these prints are great for all ages and genders for maximum project options.  Tops, leggings, pajamas, dresses, pillowcases, baby clothes, headbands and blankets, just to name a few.  I made some styling pajamas for my little guy using the Galaxy knit:

To make the tank I used the Tommy pattern from Ottobre Design (issue 6/2013):

I used some black rib knit to do the binding:

I machine embroidered the pocked with a digital-look font to do the "Spaced Out" lettering.  It teams with the fabric theme for the perfect detail accent:

For the bottoms I used the Rudolf pj pants pattern, also from Ottobre Design (issue 6/2009).

I love how the galaxy print works for anyone and any season.  He's been wearing these jammies all summer long and loving them:

And like the new cotton spandex knits from their sister company, Dear Stella, the City Knits sew up beautifully too:

Which means they'd work great with my recent knit dress tutorials like the Any Size Knit Play Dress :

and my Easy Make Any Size Knit Maxi Dress.

I'm celebrating my love of knits by giving away a set of 2 yard cuts of both the Galaxy and Tie Dye knit prints, courtesy of Timeless Treasures.

And if you're new to knits, or don't have a serger, don't worry!  Check out my entire Sewing with Knits series to learn all the best tips & techniques, shopping tricks and project ideas for knits. 

Now, time for you to enter for a chance to win this fabulous multi-yard knit fabric duo:

a Rafflecopter giveaway