So theres this awesome machine in industrial sewing and it is called a cover stitch machine. This is what dreams are made of.. when it comes to making tshirts! I had a look around a few years ago, and found one for $300. Here it is.

When I got it, it was working ok, but was missing a few stitches and a couple of bits of it where they had improvised parts. Regardless I love it. Heres a close up.

Im not sure how old it is, but when I asked my sewing machine mechanic he just laughed… and he didnt laugh at my 25 year old industrial overlocker. He quizzed me many times whether it had been working before he got some parts for it.  Hmmm…!

It has been put onto a Singer table and motor, and so has this cool pedal.

So most people I talk to have no idea what machine this is and when I describe it, always think I am talking about an overlocker.

It is the stitching you will find on the bottom of  most stretch t-shirts. The fabric is folded up and this makes the hem. The machine doesnt cut at all, unlike the overlocker. While they have similar qualities; that they allow stretch fabric to stretch, they cant be interchanged for each other. The overlocker is for seams and the coverstitch for hems.

So now its working like a dream (admittedly the motor sounds a bit like a jet plane, in comparison to my industrial overlockers motor) and I have no time to make copious amounts of tshirts before we go away for Christmas.

If you want to step up your stretch sewing, this is the machine. I have seen a domestic cover stitch machine (with a price tag of course) that would take up less space, be more portable and not require your mechanic to go to 3 different shops before he could find the right needles.

Is there a sewing machine you are hoping is coming for Christmas?