Sewing With Knits...The Hoodie

In the post on Sewing With Knits: 5 Wardrobe Essentials, I stated that I was going to make the hoodie from the class. I did find the french terry in the stash.   I finished it!  Here are the front and back views:

Folks this is right off the machines.  I'm rather pleased with this.  It will be perfect as the weather starts to cool (it was 85F today).  If I make another one, I will make a small style change.  I'll remove a bit of the excess around the hips.

The big thing I did with this was I cover stitched the hems.  I was so excited about this.  I have played with the machine but other than using the chainstitch haven't really used it to create anything.  Here's the cover stitch on the hood:

Not bad for the very first attempt.  It remains to be seen whether or not the hems that I did in the round will stay put.  I did attempt to follow the directions for locking the stitching but you never know. 

The next item item in the Sewing With Knits: 5 Wardrobe Essentials is the Scoop Neck T-Shirt.  I need to print the pattern and tape it together.  Please note that if you use this link and purchase anything, I do get a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Here's something to make you smile:

This is my 4 1/2 month old kitten, Rocket.  The only reason I was able to finish the hoodie is because this is how he spent the afternoon.  Otherwise, I would have had too much help. 

Happy Stitching!

Just the Beginning With the Juki MCS-1500...

This week I've watched all of the youtube videos for the Juki MCS-1500.  It was as interesting to see the various videos.  Then, I did something novel.  I actually read the instruction book.  Okay, I do realize that is the very first thing I should have done.  I'll admit that generally  I flip through and that's it.  I did find an interesting bit on page 20.  It was the explanation of how to get the needle threads to release.  This is something that I hear a lot of people discussing how to do.  Do all manuals have this information in them?

I'll re-watch the Practical Sewing Chainstitch video on youtube.  I have an upcoming project that will work well with the chainstitch.  So, this project will give me a good practice of using the chainstitch.  I'll share my experiences along with the project.   I'm hoping that there will not be any issues with the machine.

Do you have this machine?  Have you had good luck with it?  I would love to hear your experiences.

Happy Stitching!

Getting to Know the Juki MCS-1500...

I have started on my journey of getting to the Juki MCS-1500.  The manual for the machine can be found at the bottom of the product page here.

Next with the help of a internet friend, I found this grouping of youtube videos for the Juki MCS-1500 - youtube.  There are also a couple of groups on Facebook that are helpful - Coverstitch Sewing Discussion Group and Juki Serger, Coverstitch, & Sewing Group.

So far, I have threaded my machine so many times that I feel like a pro with the threading.  I'm hoping that I soon feel like a pro with using the machine.

Do you know of any other resources for using a coverstitch machine?

Happy Stitching!
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Juki MCS-1500...

There has been a lot of excitement here this week because I have wanted a cover and chain stitch machine for years and finally got one. When I purchased the Juki MO-1000, it was with the intention of getting a cover stitch machine sometime in the future.  Here's the blog pose when I got the serger (link).  Here's my box with the cover stitch machine:

I waited three long weeks for the Juki MCS-1500 to arrive as it was on back-order.  It felt like forever.  I felt like a little kid at Christmas. Here's my new baby out of the box:

Isn't it a pretty little machine?  You know the first thing I did was find fabric and pull threads through to get the how the 3-thread cover stitch worked.  It looked pretty but I'm not certain that it is perfect.  Here's one of my first tries:

To my eye there is a tension issue with the right needle.  Sigh!  I knew it might not be easy but I was hoping it would look beautiful right out of the box.

Here's pictures of front and back.  The one with the gray is all Maxi-Lock thread being used.  The one with the red is Maxi-Lock and another brand of the thread.   I changed to the all Maxi-Lock thread just in case there was a difference in the weight of thread.  It didn't seem to be the case.

Join me on my new adventure as I figure out how to use this machine and possibly attachments.

Happy Stitching!
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