Sorbetto Tops Part 2 – Assembly

The cons of using a serger mid-project are that, if you don’t have the space to keep your serger out, you have to lug it out. You have to thread it if it’s not already threaded in an appropriately blending color (I often use neutrals and rarely color match thread) and you have to make sure it’s de-fuzzed and oiled and set the tension…all that jazz.

The pros – well. A zig-zag or overcast stitch on my sewing machine takes a LOT longer, do you sew it together first, then overcast it together, then press seam to one side or…I just don’t like doing it anymore. The speed of my serger and efficiency has spoiled me. It’s worth the cons for my usage level.

I’ve marked directly on my serger the 1/4, 3/8 and 5/8 inch marks from the knife of the serger. The knife cuts the fabric to the stitch as it goes through.

So…if I have a 5/8 inch seam allowance from a pattern, and I serge and cut at the same time to the 3/8 mark, that leaves me the width of the serger stitch, 1/4 inch, to finish the garment.

Knife to needle edge is 1/4 inch:

Finished stitch width:

Not only does it give me a finished edge that will be easy to press open once assembled, it gives me a guide to sew the 1/4 inch seams.

I removed any serger ‘tails’ of thread by just clipping them instead of threading them back in because it’s going to get sewn back over and encased in bias tape anyway.

I could have sewn the pieces together at the 5/8 inch mark and just done 2 steps in one, but for this light weight fabric and the assembly, I want the seams to be flat on the inside and more polished looking.

Here it is sewn together and you can see the difference between the cream thread which is my sewing machine’s overcast stitch and the gray of my serger:

And voila, the Sorbettos are now assembled.

Now, it’s time to choose the finishing bias tape colors. I went through all the solid fabrics I had that might work. I pulled in my (secretly) refined man for a second opinion.

It was a tough call, but it looks like I’ll be making light gray bias tape. I think it’s called Kona Stone.