Such Treasures

Feel free to skip the details because I included my whole procedure on making Jeff’s first wool base layer shirt. But be sure to read the last full paragraph!

My wool interlock samples from Covered Caboose arrived on Saturday. It was so exciting to open the package. We all opened it together since the whole family has been involved in wondering what it would be like and what we can do with it. As I said before, my goal has been to make base-layers that would be warm but also very soft since they’d be next to skin.

Jeanne, the thoughtful lady behind Covered Caboose, included felted samples of other cloths. I am so glad she did because they showed me that the wool, when felted, is incredibly stretchy. So I tossed my wool in the wash, twice, and felted it. My hope now is that I have washable wool. I need to verify that. I also need to verify that my front-loading washing machine’s “wool” cycle offers sufficient agitation to truly felt the wool.

On Sunday, Jeff and I prayed over the project. We prayed that both in the result and in the process, God would be glorified. I had been practicing for this project — making him a wool base layer shirt — for a year, in different respects. I have practiced on cotton knit, fine tuning a pattern and my technique. I recently acquired Organ light ball point needles for both the serger and coverstitch machine, which wouldn’t cut the wool but slip through without piercing the yarns. (Those needles do a beautiful job.) I purchased stretchy thread — Superior Threads Polyarn. All the pieces were in place.

I cut out the shirt. Before sewing it, though, I spent more than an hour running samples through my serger and coverstitch machine.

For my serger, I settled on a 3-thread overlock. The wool is so stretchy that I felt the stretchier 3-thread seam would work better than the less stretchy but more durable 4-thread seam. I put Superior Threads Polyarn in both the upper and lower loopers, leaving an all-purpose thread in the left needle.

For my coverstitch machine, I settled on a wide, two needle coverstitch. I put Superior Threads Polyarn in both needles and in the looper. I would need this machine to attach the neckline binding and also because I intended to coverstitch each seam for a faux flatlock. The faux flatlock would make all the seam allowances lay flat for greater comfort, and also add additional durability to the seams.

I was having a problem with the coverstitch machine that I have had for the last year (as long as I’ve owned it) — not being able to get the tension loose enough. Even with the dials turned down to zero, using stretchy thread, and adjusting the stitch length, differential feed and presser foot pressure, the seams continued to come out extremely tight from the needles and the looper, as well as extremely erratic from the looper. Not pretty.

I bowed my head and asked the Lord to show me the problem. I looked up and saw the thread nets around the spools of thread — I have been using them since getting the machine a year ago because they’re supposed to aid in consistent tension! Well, the Lord drew my attention to them. I instantly recognized that the fuzzy Polyarn was getting caught on the nets and feeding tightly as a result. That was the whole problem! I took off the nets and got the beautiful, loose stitching I have been desiring. Thank you, Lord! Now I can safely attempt to put the looper stitches on the right side of my garments without worrying about the stitches looking funky and erratic.

I could finally sew the shirt. The wool sewed like a dream! I serged all seams and then faux flatlocked them by running the seams through my coverstitch machine. For this garment, I left the coverstitch machine’s looper stitching on the underside. The wool is so stretchy that I had to reduce the chest girth of the shirt by 6 inches overall and each arm by 3 inches overall. I didn’t faux flatlock the side seams or arm seams.

Here is a front view of Jeff in his shirt.

Here is a back view.

Both of them show the arm hems not having been sewn yet. For the hems, I did a wide 3-thread hem on the serger. No turning under the fabric. It is less bulky that way. With the Polyarn fluffing up and filling in the gaps between threads, the hems look very, very nice.

The shoulder point is low. That is a result of having had to take in the side seams so much. The chest and arms fit now but the shoulder points stayed put. On the master pattern, I went back and raised the shoulder points a little. But not much, because shoulder points do look more manly a little off the shoulder, rather than higher up as women prefer.

The wool is like nothing else I’ve ever sewn. The shirt fits him really well and it feels good to him. The true test will be when he gets home tonight — will he be dying to take it off because of a slight itch or will he still be comfortable? Will he have been too warm or not warm enough?

In addition to this 12-ounce 100% merino wool, I received 2 yards of a beige washable wool that is very light-weight. I am not sure what I’ll do with it. I think I should make a long sleeve base layer out of it, too. That way Jeff will be able to compare the lighter and heavier weights as base layers.

You see the wool is natural in color. At some point, I’ll have to learn how to dye it. I got a book from the library on natural dyeing methods, using plants. I am interested in black, brown, green and blue dyes for these base layer garments.

One of the felted samples I received from Jeanne at Covered Caboose was a 97% merino wool/3% lycra blend. I like it better than the 100% merino. It snaps back better when stretched. That will be more durable in the long run. In addition, it feels a little softer than the 100% merino. If Jeff is comfortable today, it is likely we will buy a whole roll of the blend and outfit the whole family.

I do want to address the issue of cost. This fabric cost $13 per yard; it is over 50 inches wide. I’ve never spent that much on fabric before. I used about 1-1/2 yards on this shirt. The shirt is extra long as Jeff prefers, so it stays put when tucked in. So the cost is about $20, not including thread and needles (or my machines). To buy an equivalent shirt from Ibex would be at least $70. We just saved $50! Besides the benefits of having fun with the project and Jeff keeping warm out in the field, is an important treasure for me — God showed me He cares about me by solving my coverstitch machine tension issue. I went to bed last night praising Him.

And now I’ll end this lengthy report. Thanks for seeing me through it.