Sewing With Knits

Have you ever sewn with knits? I have, but just a little bit. Most of the time it has been successful. Just recently, though, i decided to make myself a nightgown of knit. I used the Gemma Tank pattern by Rae.

This is the final product. The original final product was a shirt tail hem that hit mid knee. I loved it. It was perfect. But I didn't pre-wash the fabric. I should have. The knit shrunk a good 4-5 inches in length. The width didn't shrink more than an inch, so that was fine.

 So I took the leftover fabric and washed and dried it to shrink it. I had one long piece going vertical and a bigger piece going horizontal. I pieced them together to add to the bottom of the nightgown.

I pinned them in a (fairly) straight line under the gown, just above the shirt tail hem, leaving it loose on the outside. It looks like a little flap of fabric. I haven't hemmed the bottom yet. I want to wear it a couple of times and wash it again before I do, just to be sure.

 Even after the wash and dry, the under arms were a wee bit droopy. I can live with that, but I am going to make another one and fix the problem.

 I think it stems from not doing the darts. I should have taken it in a bit more than I did. I will the next time. And I will prewash and shrink my fabric first.

The last little bit is this "label" I stitched into it. This is just to help me to easily find the back of the gown. It works great for that. So tell me, have you ever sewn with knits? Any tips?

Talk to you soon.