Turning the Corner While Overcast Stitching

Today we take a look at how to turn a corner while using an overcast stitch.

There is an easy way to turn a corner while you are sewing around the edge of a piece of fabric. Let me show you how.

Often when you are sewing you will find the need to change the direction of stitch without stopping and restarting the stitch.  Whether it's an overcast stitch like in this case or just working with material that requires such action, there is an easy way to do it.

In this example we need to turn the corner with our overcast stitch. 

When you get to the corner simply lower your needle into the fabric and raise your presser foot. Now you have a pivot point that you can easily turn your fabric on. 

Make sure that you are in the spot that you want to continue sewing from. Because we are using an overcast stitch I want to make sure that after I turn the fabric I am the correct distance from the edge for my overcast. This way when I continue the next leg of sewing I will have a nice even and straight stitch.

It's as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Lower the needle and raise the foot to make your pivot point.
2. Pivot your fabric.
3. Lower the presser foot and continue sewing.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you want to see this in action you can check out my video HERE. This particular action is at the 4 minute 13 second mark. 

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Zigzag to Overcast or Overlock

Today we take a look at what overcasting is and how to do it using a zigzag stitch.

An overcast stitch locks the edges of the fabric so it doesn't fray. You can see in the photo above what material looks like with an overcast stitch. 

The piece of fabric above has a raw edge (no overcast stitch). Raw edges have a tendency to fray.

These are the stitches that are available on my machine the Brother SE400. Numbers 7 through 16 are most commonly used for overcasting. Some of these stitches are used for thicker materials or for different types of looks. For this job I am using a simple zigzag stitch (number 7 above).

Above you can see that I have the zigzag stitch selected. You can also see that it uses the standard "J" foot as indicated in the upper left part of the screen.

When you overcast with a zigzag stitch, the needle has two downward positions, left and right. You want the right down stroke in this case to fall off of the fabric. When I start out my overcast stitch I like to put the needle in the down position. I slide the material under the raised presser foot until it barely touches the needle. This way I know where my drop off is. 

When the needle repositions to its left downstroke you want the needle to come down in the fabric.This action wraps the edge of your fabric with the top thread and the bobbin thread creating the overcast.

You can see (behind the presser foot) as I sew the zigzag stitch and keep the right downstroke just off the edge on the fabric, it creates a nice even overcast stitch. You also want to pay attention to the tension setting so the fabric does not bind up unwantedly. 

As you are sewing, fray from the material will poke out the edge of the overcast stitch. You can simply go around the edges and trim these if needed for aesthetics. Be careful not to trim too close or you could accidentally cut your overcast stitch.

If you would like to see see a video of how to use a zigzag stitch to overcast you can click HERE. 

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Walking Foot- Very Handy

Today's post is all about the walking foot. If you ever machine sew think materials. have the need to sandwich material together or do straight line quilting this addon is a must have. Let me tell you how it works. 

The walking foot attaches to the presser foot bar like most regular feet. It has a holder that hooks over the presser foot bar and is then secured by the presser foot holder screw. Additionally it has a lever with a "U" shaped notch the slides over the needle clamp screw shaft as you can see at the top of the second picture. By the lever attaching in this way, this is what makes this wonderful foot work. Let me explain how.

As the needle moves up and down so does the lever that is attached to it. Inside the body of the walking foot there are mechanisms that connect to the foots "upper feed dog". This creates a moving feed system that holds and moves fabric between the presser foot's upper feed dog and the machine's feed dogs. As the needle raises, the walking foots feed dog goes down to press the fabric against the sewing machines feed dog. The motion of the walking foots feed dog is elliptical, so as the sewing machine pushes the material back to position for the next stitch so does the walkings foot. This allows the material to move evenly as you sew.

I hope you enjoyed this post about the Walking Foot. If you would like to see it in action check out my video HERE. 

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DIY Headband- Recycling an old shirt.

DIY Headband by recycling an old shirt.

Find an old shirt.

I measured 12 inches from the bottom hem. 

Mark your cut line.

Cut along your line

Nice straight cut complete.

Now cut the "tube" of fabric to make a rectangle.

Trim the edges to square up your piece of fabric.

Fold in half the long way.

And again...

One more time.

This is about 1 3/8 (35mm) wide.

Pin for sewing.

Now we have our sewable piece.

Use a sharp needle.

If you have a walking foot it helps with thick material.

Check your stitches.

Cut the ends so you can bind them with a zigzag stitch.

Bind using a zigzag stitch. 

Fold over each side. Kind of like a knot, but so that both ends attach on the same side.

Pin at the desired length.

Use a back and forth stitch at the corners to attach on each side of the pin.

You can now decorate or embellish however you like. 

If you want to see this in video format click HERE.

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