I gave myself a challenge with this one:
- I want arm-warmers
- that are reversible
- using just one layer
- of knit fabric
Here’s why it was challenging
- Arm warmers are just sleeves that aren’t attached to anything. And sleeves are long tubes whose seam can’t be sewn around the free arm.
- Reversible garments typically call for two layers of fabric, which means sewing your seams is a lot less painful because they don’t have to be “pretty” on both sides.
- Knit fabric is a lot more difficult to control.
So accomplishing this involved a lot of experimenting on a scrap piece, switching stitches, presser feet, presser foot pressure, and so on.
I thought I would do a flat felled seam to make it pretty and as hidden as possible on both sides, but sewing a flat felled seam on a knit fabric along a tube turned out to be a not so great idea. (It didn’t help that I’d never tried one before under the most ideal of conditions.)
This is what I ended up doing:
- the fabric I used is an interlock knit so there’s no rolling of the edges. Also, knits don’t fray like wovens, so I opted to leave the edges raw (maybe I’ll go neaten them later) versus attempting any kind of binding, or hemming.
- I used a twin needle with a long basic straight stitch. Straight stitch is usually not stretchy, but when using a twin needle, it becomes stretchy because your bobbin thread does something completely different. Also, having the two parallel stitches looks more finished than any of the other stretch stitches I played with.
- I ditched any fancy ideas for the seam and simply overlapped the edges by a small amount. (I forgot I had a seam allowance so these look a little more loose than I wanted.)
- I used this Wonder Tape to secure the overlapped edges to prepare for sewing.
- I used my knit (tricot) foot, which is basically a simplified version of a walking foot (which I don’t have.)
- I gave my pressure foot pressure knob a half turn down to loosen it.
- Finally, I struggled through this “nest” technique (described in step 6 here) to do the seams. No backtacking. Extra long threads at the beginning and end. Just little bits at a time.
Image borrowed from www.sewmuchfashion.com
It was not easy, but for my first attempt, I was shocked they actually turned out usable. Once that wonder tape is washed out, I’ll have to re-evaluate the seam, but for now, I’m actually pleased. It was the reversible part that threw a wrench into this whole idea, but reversible is what I wanted. It was a learning experience for sure, and now my short-sleeved tops can be worn in winter. Huzzah!
This opens up the door for many more arm warmers in the future; which won’t be nearly as difficult if they’re not reversible.
3 years later…
Two words for how to do this properly: French seams.
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