Sew a Buff With a Flatlock Serger Stitch

Hey everyone, I am Johanna, the author of the book Sewing Active Wear and in today's video I will show you how to create a buff using a serger to create this beautiful flat block seam. So, without further ado, let's start with the tutorial. To sew a buff you need a soft, lightweight and stretchy knit that is kind and gentle to the skin. Cotton, wool, rayon jersey and of course soft, breathable synthetic knits are all good options. Opt for a knit that has at least 40 to 50 percent stretch across the fabric. And to test the stretch, what you do is you take a 10 centimeter or 4 inch wide piece of fabric and then you stretch it out to see how much it expands. Ideally, the fabric should not stretch as much in the opposite direction because the seam might get a bit stretched out and wobbly when you're doing this using your regular sewing machine. Here are some measurement suggestions for a long buff pattern. These are also listed in the description section and seam allowance for a two-thread flat block is also included. You can also wrap the fabric around the head and pin it where it feels good to you. Remember to use the direction with the most stretch around the head when you're testing this. Another thing to know is that the amount of stretch will affect the size of the buff pattern. What that means is that a fabric with more stretch can often be slightly smaller than when you're using a fabric that has less stretch. Now let's cut the buff. The width should be placed on the direction of the fabric that has the most stretch. I like to use a rotary cutter but you can of course use a regular pair of scissors. When you're done cutting, fold the buff wrong sides facing right side up. Yes, you heard that right. This is the way fabric should be positioned when you're sewing a serger flat block seam which means it's pretty much the opposite of what you would normally expect when you're sewing together a piece of fabric. Pin the buff together and now we're going to sew it. Set up your serger using a two-thread flat block seam. I do recommend that you check out your manual to make sure that you are setting it up properly because it can differ a bit from different sergers. Before you start sewing your flat block seam, I want to give you three tips for making this stitch truly flat when you're pulling it apart. Try either increasing the needle tension or decreasing the looper tension. This can definitely help the seam to lie more flat when it's opened. Another tip is to position the edge of the fabric slightly away from the cutting knife which is why it's also good to make sure that the fabric is cut quite clean. And my third tip is to increase the stitch length to make the seam less bulky but don't make the stitches too far apart as it might affect the durability of the seam so it's a bit of a balance to make sure that you really hit that sweet spot. And before you start serging, make sure that there is a 10 centimeter, which is four inches, long thread tail and you need that tail to secure the seam once you're done sewing. Now we're going to stitch the buff. Remember that the right side of the fabric should be facing you meaning that you're sewing the buff from the outside instead of the inside which is what you would normally do on most other stitches. Here I'm using flossy woolly nylon for better coverage and a more professional finish and if you're not familiar with this thread I do recommend to check out my video on woolly nylon. Open up the flat lock seam by pulling it apart. On the reverse side you can see these ladders so there are two different looks of this stitch depending on if you're doing it on the right side or the reverse side. Sometimes you need to go over the seam one more time pulling it apart to make sure it really lies flat. Secure the ends by threading a large needle and then you secure the seam by hand on the reverse side by inserting the thread tail into the ladders and then you finish it off with a knot or two just to make sure that it's really really secure. And of course you repeat this on both sides and when you're done just trim away all the remaining thread. And this is the finished buff! Look how neat and great it looks with no chafing seams so this scarf will be so kind and gentle to your skin. Thank you so much for watching this video and don't forget to check out my other sewing tutorials both here on YouTube and on thelaststitch.com