How To Pick The Correct Cloth For Your Sewing Job
Up until fifty years ago, the overwhelming majority of women knew how to sew. All the women that I knew as a boy sewed and knitted and manufactured some of the clothes for me and my four brothers. When I was eight or nine, I and every other child in my class was taught the basics of knitting and before I went off to college, my mother taught me how to take up my jeans, sew on patches and repair my clothes.
Unfortunately, sewing, knitting and repairing clothes has largely died out in the United Kingdom. I now live in Thailand and I do not see much evidence of sewing or knitting here, so I assume that these arts are dying out all over the world among the masses, although I am sure that there are individuals everywhere who still knit and sew.
It is a real shame. If you are going to make your own clothes or furnishings like cushions, pillows or soft toys, it is quite essential that you select the right fabric for the job. Using the wrong fabric will make your task more difficult and might even render your work worthless. So here are a couple of suggestions on choosing the right cloth for the task in hand.
The first and most obvious thing to do is read the recommendations on the pattern you are using and if you are a novice take that advice until you know what you are doing. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not read the directions anymore. I can not remember the number of times I have seen someone struggling to assemble something and found the directions in the bin with the packaging.
Get to know fabrics by examining the textiles in the shop. Ask questions about textiles and look at the cloth on the bolt or roll. If the cloth does not look right on the bolt it probably will not look correct anywhere else either. When you unroll a few feet of the bolt, does it lie flat or does it roll up or crumple? Grab a handful and squeeze it. Does it crumple easily? Does it feel right?
Is the fabric fraying on the bolt? If so it will fray when you use it too. Look on the bolt for special cleaning or handling directions. Do they suit your needs?
It is quite difficult to work with satin because it slips easily. T-shirt knit is also a problem because it rolls up on itself. It is probably best to avoid these fabrics until you acquire some experience
Cotton is the best fabric for novices because it is easy to work with and everyone is very familiar with cotton products. We know how they should feel and we can tell decent, thick weighty cotton from cheap, thin cotton. We also all know that cotton shrinks. Therefore before you cut you cloth. wash it and cut the shrunken cotton fabric. In effect, you have pre-shrunk it.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with decorative sofa pillows. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.