Need a good serger book for making knit garments, esp with Cover Stitch

I recently upgraded my Bernina 1100DA serger to the new Bernina 1300MDC
serger to get a cover stitch. I want to be able to make simple knit
items, especially tops, that I have trouble getting a good fit in
ready-to-wear (sleeves and body are always several inches too short!).
I have found excellent stylish knit fabrics online at places like
www.emmaonesock.com and I have several good serger reference books.
However, I'd like to find a book that deals mainly with using the
serger to make garments, especially knit ones, and that goes into the
cover stitch more in depth -- like which cover stitch to use with
different fabrics, what order to do the sewing steps, how to get the
most professional results, etc. My dealer is great for quilting and
embroidery stuff, but they don't have much to offer as far as garment
sewing and even less with the serger (classes were AWFUL!!). Can
anyone recommend a good book or magazine article I should hunt up?
I've bought all this gorgeous fabric but I feel like I need to do a
little more research before I start cutting! I don't have ANY
experience sewing clothing (just window treatments and quilting) so I
need a little hand-holding -- the pattern instructions assume that the
sewer knows a bit more than I do! Thank you!

wrote:

I recently upgraded my Bernina 1100DA serger to the new Bernina 1300MDC
serger to get a cover stitch. I want to be able to make simple knit
items, especially tops, that I have trouble getting a good fit in
ready-to-wear (sleeves and body are always several inches too short!).
I have found excellent stylish knit fabrics online at places like
www.emmaonesock.com and I have several good serger reference books.
However, I'd like to find a book that deals mainly with using the
serger to make garments, especially knit ones, and that goes into the
cover stitch more in depth -- like which cover stitch to use with
different fabrics, what order to do the sewing steps, how to get the
most professional results, etc. My dealer is great for quilting and
embroidery stuff, but they don't have much to offer as far as garment
sewing and even less with the serger (classes were AWFUL!!). Can
anyone recommend a good book or magazine article I should hunt up?
I've bought all this gorgeous fabric but I feel like I need to do a
little more research before I start cutting! I don't have ANY
experience sewing clothing (just window treatments and quilting) so I
need a little hand-holding -- the pattern instructions assume that the
sewer knows a bit more than I do! Thank you!

I know it's not quite what you want just yet, but because stretch
fabrics have their own peculiar handling and fitting characteristcs, if
you are not a garment sewer yet, it might be a good idea to start with
some basic garment sewing first. The tecniques you want for sewing
stretch knits are more advanced, and almost all books dealing with them
will assume basic garment construction methods and sequences are already
known.

That said, one good book that deals with basic sewing of stretch
garments is the The Stretch & Sew Guide To Sewing On Knits by Anne
Person. ISBN 0-8019-8593-5 (Chiltern Book Company 1994) $19.95 I don't
think it deals with cover stitch, but your manual should tell you how,
and the cover stitch can then be applied to hems in place of the hem
dealt with in the book.

One technique book I find invaluable is The Complete Serger Handbook, by
Chris James ((New York, Sterling Publishing Company) ISBN 0-8069-9807-5
$17.95

Another good one is Serger Secrets, ed Susan Huxley ((Rodale 1998) ISBN
1-57954-464-9 $19.95

Both of these last two cover a lot more than serging knits. They
DON'T cover garment construction methods, but will give you lots of
ideas about where and how to apply the different things your new machine
can do.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!