Do you have a fear of sewing hems on knit fabrics? Don't fret, many of us do too! In this post, I'm excited to share with you a quick and easy tip to sewing a hemline on knits with no stress at all! The secret is the use of a coffee filter as a stabilizer - seriously, it works! After trying this, I'm pretty sure you'll never go back to your old method and you will have the confidence to sew knits without fear!
This exciting sewing tip is being shared with you as an excerpt from the full Sewing With Knits MasterClass course. This is one of our most popular courses, if you haven't already checked it out I encourage you to take a peek and pick up a copy of the course today, or join the Sewing With Cinnamon community for more sewing tips, tricks, and community interaction.
Now onto the tutorial... All you need is a plain coffee filter (white or natural) and a knit fabric project to test this out. It can be any sewing project, it doesn't have to be just for dolls. Although, if it's larger than the coffee filter, you'll probably need several to get the job done!
Wasn't that amazing? Are you ready to try this out yourself?
Applying this method can help you approach sewing patterns designed for knit fabrics with confidence! Be sure to check out our Summertime Styles With Knit Fabrics to see more patterns where you can apply your new skills! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
We'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment and tell us - your favorite "Sewing With Knits tip" or share with us your biggest Sewing With Knits challenge!
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Thanks, everyone!
The Pixie Faire Team
508 Comments
My tip is to use a ball point knit needle and change out the throat plate to single needle to keep the fabric from getting sucked into the machine. I have much better looking results when I press the seams as I go along. Another tip for finishing raw edges on knits is to use 1 inch strips of tulle folded in half. Sew the raw edges of the folded tulle to the right side of the garment. Then turn the edge under and topstitch, catching the folded edge of the tulle in the seam. It makes a very neat, thin finish at a neckline or armhole edge! And tulle comes in so many colors and is cheap!
my favorite tip is coffee filter or the tissue paper it amazes I how much save tissue paper from package box it make sewing knits so much easier too and it work on those sheer fabric too for those small pieces
The coffee filter/tissue paper tip has been a game changer. It really does make sewing knits so much easier.
I love this tip! I always have trouble with getting neat stitches, but probably because I sew them from the wrong side. From the video I can see that the filter gives the stability to keep the neckline from rolling so that it can be sewn from the right side without any problem. I will give this a whirl on my next t shirt project!
I’ve tried coffee filters, but I prefer tissue paper …. I keep a ziplock bag of 1” strips in my sewing area, ready to grab when I need one. Huge help when sewing knits!