Burda Style For people who sew

The twin needles create 2 parallel lines of topstitching and a zigzag stitch on the underside. The zigzag stitch helps maintain the stretchability in a knit hem. All the examples of twin needle stitching I could find showed a zigzag underside stitch where 2 different threads were visible. If your stitching looks like the above picture, you shouldn't need to adjust the tension.

If you notice sporadic bubbling in your topstitching, it probably isn't a tension problem (that would give you consistent bubbling). If you look at the zigzag underside of the fabric, you should see that your stitching is way past the raw edge of the hem in the areas of the bubbling. You just want the top row of stitches to catch as close as possible to the raw edge without going past it.

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11 Comments Sign in to add a post

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  Feb 1, 2010, 07.33 AMby rizen

  I got my machine and it had a twin needle in it.. Don’t ask th enumbers i have no idea. Now i know what to do with it….

  Will come in handy in a few projects..

  Thank You Rizen
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  Jan 10, 2010, 06.31 AMby meewee23

  Fantastic tutorial!
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  Jan 7, 2010, 01.40 PMby gerganas

  Thank you for sharing with us! Really great tutorial! I have one dress at home which is waiting exactly for this. I almost can’t wait for the weekend to finish it!
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  Dec 29, 2009, 09.24 PMby annalane

  Wow you make it look so easy…I’m definatly going to try this. Thanks, Anna
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  Dec 24, 2009, 04.48 PMby scheryka

  ALLLL of my twin needle relationships were blunders. I am going to follow this tutorial and hope that it turn out better with the next knit and twin needle project. Thanks a whole bunch of eliminated frustration. ;)
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  Dec 22, 2009, 09.13 PMby scormeny

  Thanks so much — I’ve used the twin needle before and had good results, but your pictures and tips about the zigzag setting gave me some new information that I’ll look forward to using!
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  Dec 22, 2009, 06.43 PMby kathiewillis

  I also use this technique when I attach the bias binding on necklines on childrens’ clothing, folding the bias towards the front and top stitching into place. Varying the colors of cotton make this particularly attractive. The stretch is great here.
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  Dec 20, 2009, 09.12 PMby flosiepoos

  Thanks! I’ve been wanting to give this a try, this tutorial has answered some of the questions which kept me from giving it a go. Hope you’ll do a follow-up on this, I’d love to find out how to make a corner for example!
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  Dec 19, 2009, 01.04 AMby rubicat

  Thanks so much for a clear & concise tute. I purchased twin needles in a couple of widths and sizes but haven’t had the courage to try them out yet. Now I have the confidence I need to open up a whole new world!

  1 Reply

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    Jun 13, 2010, 06.11 AMby madeinwood

    Me too! Thank you.

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  Dec 13, 2009, 08.44 PMby redrose

  Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  Dec 10, 2009, 11.31 PMby seemane

  Great tutorial – thank you. I’ve just purchased some twin needles in different sizes & hope to use them for the first time soon – this information you’ve kindly provided will come in very handy :)