Almost a year ago I bought an Overlocker after trying one out at a friend’s house.   Since then I have been collecting jumpers from charity shops, friends and relatives which I can cut up and upcycle into something new.

Arm wearers from upcycled jumper cuffs!

It’s great fun using an overlocker as:

1 it sews extremely fast (scary at first)

2 it neatly finishes the seam on ordinary garments whilst sewing the seam

3 the seams can be sewn so that they show on the right side of a woolly garment as a style feature.

These arm warmers were one of my first makes overlocking.

I have had great fun cutting up and creating new items from my jumper stash and so I was heartbroken when my lovely machine stopped working.  However, to cut a long story short, it turned out to be the old cheapo threads I had used when the original cones ran out.   I was advised that Coats Moon thread is one of the best for overlockers (and great for standard sewing machines) and so I was delighted to find a  whole range of them at Calico Laine in Neston!  They sell the small ones for 99p – £1.30 or the same colours on a cone for £3.49.  If you can’t get to the shop you can order by from the website http://www.calicolaine.co.uk

Moon Thread with matching spools

These threads are lovely and do work well in both my machines. A good tip I have found is, as soon as I open  new coloured threads I make  bobbin spools one too, and store them together in little plastic boxes. This ensures that if I want to use any threads on my ordinary Janome sewing machine  I alway have matching needle and spool threads ready to go.  Little things like this make me happy!    So get a bargain box of 20 spools for £4.99 and you’re all set up!