{As a side note, I also bought a Kwik Sew men's button-up shirt pattern, and there was none of that silly handsewing and endless staystitching that also drives me crazy. I might be a convert to Kwik Sew patterns--they cost more, but they are geared more towards professional finishing.}
So sewing my t-shirt went quite well until I got to the hems. I really wanted to flatlock them. Now... my serger and I have never gotten along well during the 11 years of our relationship. It takes me hours of swatching to get a balanced tension, and it involves much shouting and flinging of fabric across the room. After about three hours, I thought I finally had a nice looking flatlock. I hemmed the whole t-shirt, only to find that something went wrong with the lower looper thread and the whole thing fell out. More adjusting, and tried to hem it two more times only to have the same result. Lots of wasted thread and with high blood pressure I finally threw in the towel for the day.
The next day, with a much more calm demeanor, I dragged out my old beat-up Brother sewing machine since my cheapie Singer doesn't have the option for double needle stitching. I fiddled with the tension and got it to work somewhat. I thought it would be ok, so I stitched the hem for the fourth time. It turned out decent, but one of the threads kept skipping stitches. Yikes. But by this time I was tired of the whole thing and just went with it. It isn't too noticeable, but the hems aren't as stretchy as I would like.
I ended up ordering a Brother 2340CV from Allbrands. I've ordered from them in the past and was pleased with the service, and I took advantage of their package deal to get all the attachments, plus thread, 100 needles, and a carrying case.
The problem ended up being a misthread for the looper, so it was easily fixed once I was able to get the fabric unstuck. Then moments later.... TA DA.
Tomorrow will be time to cut out another t-shirt!!