Apparel Construction Skills

1. Apparel Construction Skills Apparel Development 2 Objective 3.02

2. Standard Sewing Machine Used For: • Regular stitching • Machine basting • Reinforcement stitching

3. Serger • A Specialized type of sewing machine that can stitch, trim, and finish all in one simple step. • Sometimes called “Overlockers”

4. Embroidery Machine Used for: • Monogramming • Personalizing • Special Designs

5. Problems and Solutions • Skipped stitches- needle comes unthreaded, be sure to take up lever is at the highest point when beginning to stitch thread knots up on the underside of fabric, hold thread ends under and to the back of the presser foot • Stitch length – When joining 2 heavy fabrics. Keeps them from joining unevenly. • Tension- Check tension of upper thread if the topstitch seams loose. • Special fabrics – Different fabrics require different types of presser foots, Thread, and a change of settings on the sewing machine.

6. Parts and their uses • Needles- Hold the upper thread on the sewing machine, comes in many types and sizes, you must always replace when it becomes dull, bent, or rough. • Presser Feet- holds fabric against the feed dogs which moves the fabric forward. • Feed regulator- Feeds fabric thru the machine while stitching. Changes direction when the reverse stitch button is pressed.

7. Stitches • Types – Three-thread serger, four- thread, two-thread, two-thread stitch, five-thread, rolled hemstitch, flatlock, and cover stitch. • Sizes and length- Basting is temporary stitching. Large stitches that can be removed. May be done by hand or with a long stitch length on sewing machine. • Reinforced stitching is typically seen in crotches of pants. Use stitch length 1 on sewing machine for reinforced stitching. • Standard stitching is used most often. Stitch length 2/3 can be used. • Tension - the heavier the thread, the looser the tension should be balance stitch, adjust the tension whenever you change fabrics

8. Special Situations • Corners - Trim edges to reduce bulk. When you push out corner it should be to a point. • Curves – Make sure seam allowance is the same even when you have a curve. Reduce bulk to make seam lie flat.

9. Dressmaker's shears • The bent handles on these shears allow fabric to lie flat on the table as you cut. • Blades are usually 7 to 8 inches in length. • Also know as Bent-handled shears.

10. Scissors • These scissors have small round handles. • Blades are 4 to 6 inches in length (the blades are different in widths). • Use the to trim seams, clip curves, and cut into corners.

11. Pinking Shears • With these shears, you can finish a seam edge or other raw edge on firmly woven fabric. • The zigzag design helps to prevent raveling.

12. Embroidery Scissors • 3 to 4 inches in length, with very pointed blades. • Use for cutting buttonholes & Trimming close to the embroidery hoop.

13. Rotary cutter • Resembles a pizza cutter. • Can make straight clean cuts through multiple layers of fabric. • Cutter must be used with a mat.

14. Seam Ripper • Can remove stitches with the blades on one end of this pen-shaped gadget. • Be careful not to cut the fabric.

15. Thread clipper • This tool ha spring-action blades for clipping thread ends or stitches.

16. Industrial Equipment

17. Electric Straight-Knife Cutting Machine • Are manipulated by hand along outlines of the pattern pieces of the marker. • They cut multiples layers of fabric.

18. Laser Cutter • A device that generates an intense, powerful beam of light. • Cut one garment a piece at a time. • They’re economical because they fast and accurate.

19. Pressing: Equipment Press Cloth- A press cloth is a layer of fabric placed between the fabric and the iron to protect the fabric from scorching or shining.

20. Tailor’s Ham- is convenient for shaping the fabric when making dressmaker suits or coat.

21. Sleeve Board-A sleeve board is a small ironing board that is narrow enough to fit into a sleeve.

22. Seam Roll-A seam roll is a two-sided cylinder, one side covered with wool and the other side covered with cotton.

23. Point Presser-section for pressing narrow, hard to reach seams of collars; belts; cuffs; corners; points, etc.

24. Pounding Block- Also known as a tailors clapper. A clapper/pounding block is used to flatten a seam, pleat, dart, lapel, buttonhole, etc.

25. Needle Board-A board that holds needles in a loom.

26. Ironing Board-A long, narrow padded board, often with collapsible supporting legs, used as a working surface for ironing.

27. Iron-A metal appliance with a handle and a weighted flat bottom, used when heated to press wrinkles from fabric. *Make sure to keep iron clean!

28. Pressing: Techniques • Specialized Fabrics- When pressing corduroy or pile fabrics, like velvet, if you don’t press on the wrong side of the fabric, the iron’s impression will be left on the fabric. • Placing these fabrics right side down on a needle board will help preserve texture. CORDUROY VELVET

29. Use of Pressing Equipment • The iron is the most important pressing tool. • Avoid pressing over pins, sippers, and other metal objects that will scratch the bottom of the iron. • Most pressing equipment, like the tailors ham, sleeve board, point presser, etc., serve a certain purpose.

30. Types of Seams • Plain seams should be serged and trimmed, or stitched with a seam allowance of 5/8 of an inch. • Perfect for beginner projects from pillows to pants.

31. Types of Seams • AFlat-felledseam is self-enclosed and requires no additional seam finishing technique. • Used where durability is needed or a tailored appearance is desired.

32. Types of Seams • Welt seams give the garment a tailored look. • They are used as a decorative accent.

33. Types of Seams • A Double-Stitched is mostly used for sheer fabrics or lightweight knits. • Used on things such as sheer fabrics and lightweight knits.

34. Types of Seams • A French seam is a durable self enclosed seam that is used to conceal seam allowances. • Used on sheer fabric to prevent raveling.

35. Types of Seams • The Lapped seam is a strong smooth seam that should lie perfectly flat. It gets its strength because its sewn with two rows of stitching. • Used on fabrics such as leather or fleece.

36. Types of Seams • A bound seam has both of the raw edges enclosed in a strip of fabric or double fold bias tape. • Used mostly on lightweight fabrics such as silk or chiffon.

37. Standards for Seams • The standard seam allowance when sewing at home is 5/8 of an inch.

38. Standards for Seams • The standard seam allowance for Industrial sewing is ¼ of an inch.

39. Sergers stitch seams, trim off seam allowances, and finish edges all in one step. Sometimes used just to finish and other times you use it as a plain finish. Serged Seam

40. A clean finish is turned under 1/8 to ¼ of the raw edge of fabric and then stitched close to the folded edge. If you want a smooth edge on the inside of the garment you would do a clean finish. Clean Finish “aka” Turned and Stitched

41. Most firmly woven fabrics can be trimmed with pinking shears. Pinking the fabric doesn’t completely prevent raveling. Pinking shears give an attractive edge. For more protection, stitch ¼ inch from each edge before pinking. Pinked Finish

42. A bound finish is used frequently on unlined coats and jackets. Also in dresses and other items that have a tendency to ravel. Appropriate fabrics are medium/medium heavy and heavyweight woven fabrics. Bound Finish

43. This finish is used on a plain seam on woven fabric. This finish is used on medium- to heavyweight fabrics. The zigzag stitch length must be adjusted to accommodate and prevent raveling. Zigzag Finish

44. Piped Finish • Piping is a narrow band of fabric stitched into the seam to accent the seam line or outer edge of a garment. • Piping can be inserted into a seam while it is stitched.

45. Thread Types • Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle or an embroidery machine.

46. Rayon Thread • A soft thread, available in great colors, and suitable for all forms of machine embroidery. • It holds up well with high-speed stitching without breaking or fraying and it also consistently performs well.

47. Pearl Crown Rayon Thread • The fibers used in this thread are continuous filament which is virtually hairless. • The fibers are twisted to add to the sheen and make the thread stronger and less prone to fraying and more durable then some other heavy rayons.

48. Metallic Thread • Used for decoration. • Adds luminous accents to machine embroidery. • Some offer nylon cores, rice paper construction, or outer coating.

49. Fusible Thread • Used for fuse basting, quilt bindings, appliqué and more. Sew into your fabric, iron, and set your hem or appliqué in place.

50. Invisible Thread • Also known as monofilament thread. • Very lightweight thread used on drapery hems on shear or light materials. • Can also be used on a serger on the looper thread.