Stretch thread and another Ottobre 06/2010-13 jumpsuit

Since the first fleece jumpsuit/PJs have been so successful, I made Myra a second one, this time out of hot pink velour.   She loves them!

This time I shortened the collar 1 inch so that it wasn't in her face and I skipped the topstitching.  I also did a plain twin needle hem on the sleeves and leg openings.  Last time I gathered them with clear elastic, which is cute, but tends to ride up when she's sleeping.  I thought about adding some rhinestones (Happy Birthday, Elvis!), but she sleeps in it.

It's really hard to accurately photograph hot pink velour...
Mom reminded me, in my post asking about serger thread, about the importance of wooly nylon thread in your upper looper for serging stretch or particularly fray-prone fabrics.  For those who may not be aware, wooly nylon is a thread composed of multiple, unplied threads of nylon.  It is very strong and stretchy.  As the name suggests, it has a wooly texture, as the unplied threads don't "stick together" the way that a plied thread does.  Since it stretches, it is great for knitted and stretch fabrics and adds additional elasticity to your serged seam.  I also love it for a twin needle hem.  Wound loosely on the bobbin (by hand or slowly on your bobbin winder) it adds a significant amount of elasticity.  It is also great for fabrics that are prone to fraying as the unplied filaments of thread sort of spread out.

You can see the difference here.  (It's easier to see if you click on it to blow it up.)  The seam to the right is the upper looper side with the stretch thread (this one is actually Maxi-Lock Stretch, stay tuned for more on that) and you can see that the coverage that the thread gives is very good.  To the left is the lower looper, which is threaded with regular Maxi-Lock.
Wooly nylon has been around a long time.  I can remember Mom talking about it when she taught me to sew, which was a few years ago.  I recently heard, on ~E Made This, about Maxi-Lock Stretch thread.  Since I like to match colors as exactly as possible, I thought I'd give it a try for this project.  Since both threads are Maxi-Lock (color Swiss Beauty if you were wondering), the color match is exact.  But is it as good as wooly nylon??   Inquiring minds want to know!
For me, one of the most important qualities of wooly nylon is the stretch, so that was what I was really interested in.  To compare, I did this very non-scientific test.  I took a 4 inch piece of Maxi-Lock stretch and one of wooly nylon, and stretched them to see which went farther.

And wow!  No contest!!  The wooly nylon (the bottom, blue thread) stretched a full inch farther!  The Maxi-Lock (on top, pink) only managed to stretch 1/8 of an inch.  So, for me I will definitely be sticking with wooly nylon for my stretch projects.  The Maxi-Lock did provide excellent coverage in the serged seam, so it is still a good option if you are working with a fraying fabric and you can get an exact color match to your Maxi-Lock, so there are some benefits.  If you are looking to purchase some wooly nylon, I have purchased mine at Thread Art.  They have the lowest price I've found ($2.99 a spool!), and fairly quick shipping.  You can also find it at Atlanta Thread and Supply and Sew True.