I have a pattern that is simple and easy, so it will be perfect for a summer dress. I have a fun knit from my stash to use too, that will make it appropriate to wear for a trip to the grocery store or for an outdoor afternoon bar-b-q. Trouble is the pattern is for wovens and I want to make it out of a knit fabric. I don’t think it’s hard. The main thing I have to remember is that knits, with their characteristics of stretch and drape, cannot always duplicate the silhouette of wovens. Let’s review my pattern and my fabric to see if they will work well together. Dress A is the look I want
Factor 1 – Structure
Guideline
First off, woven fabric is usually more firm than knits. If the pattern calls for strong structure like a jacket with lots of interfacing, underlining, or lining, you have to think about how this will translate using a knit fabric. If you want to use a pattern for an unstructured jacket, however, without underlining or lining, one that is slouchy and relaxed, then you probably have a good match.
My Pattern
Don’t try to make the knit fabric do something it was never meant to do and understand that the end garment will not look exactly like the one on the pattern envelope. It will be softer, and will probably have more drape and that may be just what you’re looking for.
This pattern calls for a lightweight fabric, such as cotton, chambray, etc., so from this perspective I think this pattern will be suitable for the switch. My fabric, which is a cotton jersey knit, is light and drapey and although it is heavier than what the pattern calls for, there are no pattern elements such as a waist that will be affected by this. (Heavy knits can pull the waist down to practically the hips.)
Factor 2 – Closure
Guideline
How does the garment close? Does it have a zipper or buttons so you can get it on and off, easily? Without interfacing, it is difficult to insert these into a knit garment. If using a standard closure on a knit garment, however, make sure to avoid as much bulk as possible and avoid as much stiffness as possible both of which come with woven or non-woven interfacing. Luckily, knit interfacing is available in most large fabric stores and it works well in these situations.
I had a button-up-the-back top in cream double knit and I loved it. For the buttonholes, the manufacturer used a knit interfacing that gave the buttonholes enough strength without adding a lot of bulk. The buttonholes just needed a quick shot of steam to straighten out because they were a little wavy after washing. (I am going to try to make a copy of this shirt because it went so well with everything and the self-covered buttons up-scaled it from a t-shirt)
My Pattern
The pattern calls for a 20” zipper, but because it also has a U-neck line, I can slip it on over my head and easily eliminate the zipper. Also given the 1-way horizontal stretch, the garment will stretch at my personal “expansion joints” making it easy to put on and take off.
Factor 3 – Weight
Guideline
Try to make the weight of the knit the same as called for in the woven pattern. If the pattern calls for a lightweight woven, try a rayon or linen knit. These are both very lightweight and soft with lots of drape.
On the other hand if the pattern calls for a shirt weight cotton woven, try cotton knit. It’s possible to use a heavier knit fabric like ponte to replace stiff wool.
Make sure the fabric has the appropriate weight and construction for the garment because if it is too heavy it will pull at the arms, the neck, the shoulders and the waist. If it is too light, however, it will not have the amount of structure needed and consequently end up looking slouchy.
I made a lovely knit wrap dress from a peach double knit. Although it was a pattern made for knits, the fabric was too heavy and the waist ended up around my hips due to the weight of the skirt. Too bad, too, I really liked that dress
My Pattern
Weight is not a problem with this dress. The fabric is a lightweight cotton jersey knit and because there are no structural elements like a waist in the pattern, any weight in the fabric greater than the called for cotton woven, will hang from the shoulders, which I will reinforce with stay tape.
Factor 4 – Seams
Guideline
In a knit, the fewer the seams the better. If the pattern calls for a lot of seaming, try to combine the seams by cutting pieces on the fold. This is especially helpful if the pattern calls for a center front or back seam
My Pattern
By looking at the pattern pieces, I can tell my pattern has 3 seams: 2 side seams and one center back. Since I will not be using a zipper, I can combine the center back seam by cutting it on the fold, just like the front piece. Then the pattern will only have the 2 side seams
Factor 5 – Fit
Guideline
What elements of the pattern make the garment fit? Are there princess seams, darts, pleats, or gathers? It’s possible to fold out darts and remove them from the pattern, depending on their placement. If they are not in a good place, manipulate the darts and move them, then try folding them out.
You can easily accommodate pleats and gathers, but if the seam stretches, such as a waist seam on a skirt, rethink the amount of stretch of the knit fabric. Compare the width of the pattern to the stretch of the fabric to make this element work. (If the woven pattern has included five extra inches to the waistline for gathers. pleats or elastic, this amount of gathering ease you may not need it. This will depend on how much stretch the knit fabric has.
The most important part of fit, of course, is the amount of ease. With wovens, patternmakers always add an extra inch or two to the original sloper for what’s called “wearing ease”. It allows movement. This is not as necessary in knits, however, so this can either be eliminated or use a smaller size pattern. Keep in mind how you like your clothes to fit. Do you prefer your garments to be clingy or drapey? (See more below)
My Pattern
Looking at the pattern back for my size14, I see that the finished measurement for the bust in my size is 44. Since my bust, measurement is 36” that is an additional 8 inches circumference. This size dress will hang/bag on me, so I have to look at the other sizes. For a 36” bust, I think an additional 1/2″ should give me the comfort and style I like, so that would be 2” (all sides of the 2 pieces) or a finished seam of 38. That means I need to go down at least a size and the smallest they have is a 10. This is a guess though, so I think I will check out one of my t-shirts to see how much ease I like in them
The other thing I need to consider is the bust darts. Fortunately, I can take those out of the pattern, by folding and pinning them closed before I cut out the pattern. Again, it’s best to try this out first. I am going back to my t-shirt.
Factor 6 – Finishing
Guideline
How is the garment to be finished? Using a coverstitch machine makes this a no brainer, if you have one. (As soon as I stop- buying fabric and save the money I can buy a coverstitch machine.)
A serger is good for finishing off the interior raw edges and sewing the seams. But how are details like hems, sleeves and collar bands to be finished? Notice I did not list facings because you do not need facings in knit garments; you can use a neck binding instead.
Try a double needle in the sewing machine. It gives the outside appearance of a coverstitch but there are a couple things to watch when using a double needle
My Pattern
a) Since I plan to use a double needle for finishing hems and sleeve binding, I will get the best finish if I use wooly nylon thread in the bobbin. This gives the thread a little stretch allowing the use of a straight stitch. It also helps avoid the wavy hemline that can come from using regular thread.
b.) Check the tension. Before I sew my garment, I am going to experiment on some scraps to make sure the bobbin is not pulling the thread to tight between the two needles, making it bunch.
In addition, you may want to experiment with the foot tension. My machine has this adjustment and I have heard it makes a difference. I will try different adjustments to see what works best.
It’s easy to see wavy finishes on knits and these can ruin an otherwise perfect garment. If I have waves, (Grrr) I found that a couple shots of steam can help.
I have a wrap shirt I made when I first started sewing with knits and the hem seams are wavy. A little steam, however, settles them down so they are not so noticeable.
The other situation created when using a double needle is the 3-dimensional or bunched fabric between the stitching lines. Ever notice, when using a double needle, how the hemline is bulky? This is going to happen when you use a double needle, but you can minimize its visibility by using fabric scraps to experiment with the tension adjustments.
c.) I have to eliminate the neck facings and replace them with a neck binding. Usually you can cut this to 1”+/- shorter than the circumference of the neck or ¾’s of the neck measurement, whichever you prefer for knit garments.
Factor 7 – Ease
Guideline
As we discussed above, woven patterns include enough ease so you can move in the garment, plus whatever the patternmaker puts in for design. Knit fabrics do not usually need this wearing ease, however, so eliminate it if not needed. In some cases, I may even want negative ease if I want the garment to hug my curves like in a bathing suit or pencil skirt.
My Pattern
I like my clothes loose. I have never liked them hugging my body because I always feel fat, even when I wasn’t. So, I like a little extra wearing ease in my patterns. In most cases if you use the pattern ease included in the smaller size, you should be OK. But again, test with a muslin
Finally, like all pattern experiments, you need to make a muslin! Try finding some knit fabric that is similar to the planned knit or make one out of the fashion fabric as a trial run.
Matching knit properties is hard to do which is why I will be using a t-shirt for this dress as my muslin and then experimenting with my scraps of fabric. I am using a t-shirt because it is similar to my jersey knit fashion fabric.
If you are using a different kind of knit, like a ponte, a t-shirt will not help you because it is a different weight, drape and feel.
Don’t forget to try the remnants section at your fabric store for a less expensive knit to match yours. It doesn’t have to be beautiful and if it’s a little color blocked from using different colored remnants pieced together, who cares
Although there are many patterns available for knit fabrics, and more appear in the catalogs every day, you can’t always find what you want. Sometimes though, you do find the perfect pattern, but whoops, the pattern is for woven fabric. Learn to translate one to the other easily with a little practice. (Unfortunately, it is not as easy to translate a knit into a woven due to ease, darts and fitting issues.)
In an upcoming post, I will show you how my experiment worked out.
Many thanks for extremely helpful advice from:
SEAMWORK, February 2016, “From Wovens to Knits”
And to
MELLYSEWS.COM, May, 2016 “Fabric-substitutions-can-sew-pattern-knit-woven-fabric”
Cheers
P.S. If you have experience using a woven pattern with a knit fabric, let us know how it worked. Do you have additional tips for us because I want all the help I can get. Leave comments in the “Contact Us” section
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