melissam707

Thank you so much for this! I've never made clothes myself, only quilting. I just wondered why some people love sergers and the zigzag stitch so much or what the difference actually was. I've read many differing opinions, so was just curious.

melissam707

Thank you for this information!

melissam707

Thank you for this! It definitely opens up a larger world with straight stitching for me.

melissam707

Thank you so much for this information, it's definitely encouraging!

Heresolong

Might want to watch some Bernadette Banner videos. She makes clothes with a straight atitch machine only but also she uses a hand crank and a treadle only.

1.41

She makes exquisite clothing using antique straight stitch machines.

Also, people made clothing for decades using straight stitch machines that didn't even have a reverse. There are techniques to lock the ends of seams without a reverse. My mother made all her dresses using a straight stitch machine. She also did commercial sewing as a seamstress using industrial straight stitch machines only.

SueZQ from MN

Being a baby boomer, either my mother or I made all my clothing, including winter coats, with a straight stitch machine. People seem to forget that it isn't the machine that you use, it is the skill of the seamstress that determines the outcome when sewing clothing or quilts. When you look at vintage quilts made by machine or by hand, the damage on them isn't usually because the seams gave way, it is because the fabric disintegrated!!!

Mkotch

We made heavy use of our pinking shears, Singer Featherweights, stay stitching, and more. Glad those days are over!

ptquilts

You might want to sit down for this news, but for centuries, people sewed clothing by hand.

WMUTeach

Women and some men often tailors, have made clothing on straight stitch machines since machines were created. Easing in a seam, creating ruffles or pleats, adding button loops or a zipper are easily done with a straight stitch machine. My first machine, a 1950's Singer had perhaps a dozen fancy stitches and I never used them because I was making clothing. Even now, I will only use a zig zag stitch on a limited basis.

Look for a clothing construction videos on YouTube and you will discover that most garment makers use straight stitching. The one exception can be working with knits particularly t-shirt type knits.

There are some really good examples of how garment making can be different from quilting a flat item like a quilt already posted in this thread. Good question and now you have some more information to your query.