When a friend of mine called me last week to ask how in the world she was supposed to get minky to behave in the serger, she reminded the Cuddle Minky has a different set of rules in the serger then in the sewing machine. I like to think of minky as having the properties of knits with a little added slipperiness of satin.
For the purpose of this tutorial I focused on Dimple Dot Cuddle Minky since it is the most often used. For regular Cuddle Minky the same techniques can be applied although sometimes it has slightly less stretch. If you would like to use Rose Swirl Minky I would recommend either trimming the nap where you are serging or loosening the presser foot a bit more.
- Minky has LESS stretch on the grainline, or the direction of the Selvage (the self finished edge of the fabric running down two sides).
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Minky has MORE stretch going cross ways or perpendicular to the grainline. Also known as cross stretch.
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Minky is a knit and will require a higher Differential Feed (DF) when sewing on a serger. I use either 1.5 for sewing along the selvage and 2 for sewing on the cross stretch.
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Since Minky is a thicker fabric, loosening the Presser Foot a bit will allow the minky to stretch less as it is feed through the machine.s
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Use a longer stitch length. Set on 3 for one layer or two layers with the nap on the inside and 4 for two or more or with the nap facing the outside.
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Start with your knit settings and adjust from there. I use my regular knit settings for sewing minky the selvage direction.
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When sewing with cotton and minky place the minky fabric on the bottom layer allowing te feed dogs to "grab" the minky fabric to prevent excess stretching.
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To sew cotton and minky together you will need a slightly smaller size piece for minky then cotton because of the fabric stretching.
Below: Single Layer Dimple Dot Cuddle Minkyon Selvage Direction at Regular Knit Settings
Tension: 3.5 - 3 - 2 -2
DF 1.5 Stitch Length 3
- Single Layer Dimple Dot Cuddle Minky on Cross Stretch at Regular Knit Settings
Tension: 3.5 - 3 - 2 -2
DF 1.5 Stitch Length 3
- Single Layer Dimple Dot Cuddle Minky on Cross Stretch with increased needle and looper tensions
Tension: 3.5 - 4 - 3 -2.5
DF 1.5 Stitch Length 3
- Double Layer Dimple Dot Cuddle Minky on Cross Stretch with nap facing together.
Tension: 3.5 - 4 - 3 - 2.5
DF 1.5 Stitch Length 3
- Single Layer Dimple Dot Cuddle Minky on Cross Stretch with nap facing outward
Tension: 3.5 - 4 - 3 -2.5
DF 1.5 Stitch Length 4
The picture below shows the difference between the cotton and the minky being on the bottom layer next to the feed dogs. By placing the minky next to the feed dogs, it "grabs" more of the fabric, which allows it to stretch less. When the minky is placed on top it is allowed to stretch more creating a curved "wonky" look.
The next picture shows how a lower differential feed setting can make the cotton pucker when sewn with minky. A higher DF setting can fix this. Also you can see in this picture how the minky has stretched and pulls on the left and how on the right it is not pulling.
For all pictures below except the bottom right. I cut the minky an inch shorter then the cotton fabric. You can see on the bottom right how it still stretched when cut the same length.
Here's a great image for you to save on Pinterest 🙂 Now go sew some minky!
