Without fail, flawed portions of fabric manage to end up
front and center on finished garments, but are not so easy to find on yardage lengths. Why?!?
Over the years, I have found a way to avoid this
issue . . . most of the time.
Before cutting, I always press my yardage which
gives me the opportunity to look at the fibers up close and personal. Even minor snags or imperfections get "stitched" with a contrasting thread – if I can avoid those spots altogether, I will! At worst, they will work for a facing or the
underside of a collar, etc. if there is a fabric shortage. This takes
very little time (seconds, really) and makes the flaws easily visible from the right and wrong side of
the fabric.
I am embarrassed to admit that when I started garment
sewing, I used the selvedge as the center back zipper opening because I knew it
would not fray. This would often come at
a cost – most pieces are not cut with an edge exactly on grain. It seemed a piddling thing to worry about at
the time . . . but I do not do that any more!
Tightly woven selvedge edges must be clipped so that the
fabric will lay flat and on grain. Not
all selvedges will create a huge amount of distortion (laundering will often exacerbate the problem), but it is good to get in the habit
of clipping when the pattern layout gets close to a selvedge edge. Linear prints and designs make the issue quite obvious, but most woven fabrics will benefit by tending to the selvedge.
There is no earth shattering information here, but I thought
someone might find it useful!
Happy sewing, everyone!
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ReplyDeleteWe all seem to learn from doing it wrong at one time or another, don't we? Tips like these would have prevented some of my own oversights - so are always welcome! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteA handy hint ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura! Using a finished (selvedge) edge seems like a good idea--until the garment is cleaned/washed. I do like the idea of clipping it to keep it from pulling. All the best . . .
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tip! I just made a slip out of bemberg, and only noticed after sewing that some fabric flaws were definitely front and center, why didn't I notice? I totally could have flipped the lining for the outside pieces! Admittedly, my "flaws" were caused after cutting by an over-excited cat, so maybe my lesson learned is to not lay out pieces on the floor...
ReplyDeleteGreat tip about clipping the selvedge!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! I constantly learn so much about sewing from your blog.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica