Sewing Machine Selection and Stitches Used

Lingerie is generally made with stretch fabrics. These need to be treated slightly differently to woven fabric.
  • Zigzag. On almost all sewing machines, the default stitch is a straight stitch. And when people learn, they usually learn with woven fabrics, and use straight stitch. A machine straight stitch has no give. If you use this on a stretch fabric, the stitching will break whenever the fabric is stretched. Use a zigzag stitch instead for all seams on stretch fabric. Set your machine to 1 wide and 1 long. I refer to this throughout as a small zigzag (1,1). This will produce a stitch that’s reasonably straight but also stretchy.

  • Overlocker. There is no need for an overlocker if you don’t have one. I never use mine for bra making because I didn’t learn on one.
  • Ball Point needle. Universal needles have points which pierce the threads of your fabric. Because stretch fabric is usually made from much finer threads, this would break the threads in the fabric. Stretch needles or ball pointed needles let the fabric threads ooze to either side of the needle, and are recommended for sewing stretch fabric.
  • Three step zigzag. When you sew on lingerie elastic, it is useful to have a three step zigzag or a serpentine stitch on your machine. If you look at the way this is sewn on to an existing bra, you’ll see the stitch used. A three step zigzag looks like a zigzag, but has three stitches (or more) on each leg of the zigzag, while a serpentine stitch is almost the same stitch, with an extra stitch at each end of the leg, making it curve. OK, mine is a 4 step zigzag. But the sewing machine I learnt to make bras with has a 3 step zigzag!

Most sewing machines do all these things. You don’t need a special sewing machine for bra making.

However, I like to have some other things 
  • Needle up/down - this allows you to stop with the needle down, lift the presser foot, and pivot, which can be very useful. Many machines have this.
  • A clear sole foot - this allows me so see what my fabric is doing, and is great for sewing curved lace to tricot.

  • A zipper foot - if I’m sewing hooks on the back of my bra I need it. I occasionally use it for sewing adjustable straps if I need to sew close to the ring or the slide, but I prefer not to. You can break a needle using a zipper foot and a zigzag stitch, but if you only set the width to 1, the machines I’ve used will fit the stitch. I normally stick to straight stitch when using the zipper foot.            

  • A really wide stitch (only on more expensive machines). This allows me to use wider lingerie elastic, which I think looks better on the bottom of a bra. It certainly is not necessary, and I have not used any wide stitches on any of the bras in this blog.

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