Now that the main construction on the Rowan tee and bodysuit has been covered, let’s go over some fun techniques and hacks that you can use to really personalize your Rowan. First up today is more of a sewing technique rather than hack – I’m going to show you how to sew a lettuce hem with your serger!
Lettuce hems are a decorative edge finish where the fabric is deliberately stretched out to give a rippled, ruffled look. It only works on knit fabrics, not wovens, and works best on lighter-weight knits with plenty of stretch and good recovery. I did mine on a sheer stretch mesh, but you can test it out on other knits!
I’ll first show you how to set up and adjust your serger settings, and then how to achieve the lettuce hem. Remember – there are many different brand sergers out there. I’m working on a Brother Serger 1034D, but your serger set up and settings may be slightly different. Use this as a starting guide and play around with your settings to get your perfect results.
Also, please ignore how dusty my machine is, haha. I didn’t realize how bad it was until looking at the photos. It has been cleaned since. Remember to regularly clean your machines, friends!
Ok, let’s get started.
Remove the stitch finger. On my machine, I just presser a littler lever and it releases. Check your manual to see how you remove your stitch finger.
Also remove the left needle and thread. This will be done with a 3 thread overlock stitch. Remember – the stitching will be visible along the edge of the fabric, so make sure the remaining three threads either match your fabric or are contrasting color you want shown!
Set the Stitch Length setting to ‘R’ for rolled hem.
Set your Stitch Width setting to “R” as well. That’s the one all the way to the right for me.
Lower the differential feed all the way down, to help stretch the fabric.
I also released the knife (that bottom switch on my machine).
Now to adjust the thread tension.
I raised my lower looper up to about 7 (blue).
I also raised my right needle tension (pink here) up a bit. Mine was originally set at 3, so I raised it to 4. Yours might need to be more at a 5.
Again, every machines settings are going to be slightly different. You can also check your manual for recommended settings (for rolled hems).
Take a sample scrap piece of fabric. As you sew through the serger, pull on the fabric from both the front and back. The more you stretch the fabric as you sew, the more the edge will curl.
Test out many samples on scrap fabric, adjusting the settings to get your perfect curled edge.
For my sheer stretch mesh Rowan tee, I constructed the the entire tee as usual, except for the bottom hem and sleeve hems. Those are left raw here.
Once I found my perfect machine settings on my scraps, I sewed lettuce hems along the bottom edge and sleeve edges. And this is my result!
LOOKING FOR MORE ROWAN POSTS?
- Sewalong : Crew Neck Band and Turtleneck
- Sewalong : V-neck Band
- Sewalong : Sleeves and Side Seams
- Sewalong : Bodysuit Leg Openings
- Sewalong : Hem
- Sewing Technique : Lettuce Hem (this post!)
- Sewing Technique : Shell Tuck Stitch / Scallop Edge
- Hack : Sleeveless with Sleeve Bands
- Hack : Fully Enclosed Sleeveless
- Hack: Sleeve Ties
- Hack : Square Neckline
- Hack : Cinched Side Seams
- Hack : Ruffle Shoulders
- Hack : Maxi Dress
- Hack : Scoop Neckline
- Hack : Bodycon Dress
- Hack : Tiered Dress
- Tutorial : Lengthen or Shorten
- Tutorial : 3 Ways To Sew a Ringer Tee
- Rowan Inspiration and Ideas
- Rowan Tester Round Up
- Rowan Curve Tester Round Up
- Rowan Curve Maker Round Up
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
