Sewing Tips for Sewing with Vinyl

It’s been on my mind for a while now because my local fabric store has a selection of vinyl, ideally for the local boating industry, but there’s no reason I couldn’t use it to make some awesome bags. I’d heard that vinyl was difficult to sew with so I’ve been putting it off until I could assemble the right supplies.

Now there is a project on the work-table that I think you’ll love and the pattern for the bag you see above is coming soon. Before you jump right in, here are a few tips and tricks to make sewing with vinyl and faux leathers nice and simple.
 
Recommended supplies for working with vinyl

• Non-stick Teflon foot or roller foot
• Leather Needle
• Wonder Clips

Tips for sewing with vinyl

Needles – Firstly, vinyl is thicker than cotton so we need to be mindful of creating too much thickness and too many layers so that the sewing machine might struggle. It’s best to use a needle designed for leather or vinyl and I used these Leather Needles from Schmetz. They coped beautifully with the vinyl and went straight through with no issues or skipped stitches.

Pins – Vinyl is pierced if we use pins and there will be a permanent hole. That’s OK if you are only using pins within the seam allowances where these holes will be hidden, but I used Wonder Clips on my vinyl. I use them a lot in bag making because they are good with thick layers too. Even if you don’t sew with vinyl, these should be an essential tool in your sewing kit.


Even if using pins within the seam allowance, its pretty thick so that can be challenging. No wonder clips? Try small binder clips or mini clothes pins too. Warning – don’t leave clips on your vinyl overnight or long term as they can leave an impression in the spongy material.

Presser feet – The most often heard problem with sewing vinyl is that it can feel ‘sticky’ when under pressure from the presser foot and doesn’t feed through your machine smoothly. You can eliminate this problem entirely by just sewing on the reverse side where it’s usually backed with a fabric and will feed through without problem, if you keep the vinyl away from the machine bed and presser foot. That won’t work for this bag coming up because we need to top stitch on the vinyl side so you’ll need to consider what presser foot to use.


I bought this Teflon coated foot and was just waiting for the right time to use it, and it was superb. Smooth as butter with no sticky feeling at all. You can also use a roller foot too, although I’ve not tried that myself.

Don’t have either and don’t feel like getting one? Then your next best option that should get you through this project is to coat the bottom of your regular presser foot with something to stop the metal coming into contact with the vinyl. Stick a couple of pieces of MATTE sticky tape or painters tape to the bottom and it should work OK – not as well as using the Teflon foot, but I think you’ll be fine.

A reader has recently suggested using teflon coated tape, which sounds like a pretty good idea. The tape looks durable and is supposed to give the same sort of non-stick properties that a teflon foot is supposed to provide. I haven’t tried it but if anyone out there can give it a try and let us know in the comments below, it would be greatly appreciated.



You can also add some strips of the tape next to the feed dogs on the metal throat plate of the machine too, and this can help the sticky fabric glide through more easily if facing vinyl side down.

credit: so-sew-easy.com

Sewing Tips | Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Cutting Fabric

 
I must admit, I am new to blogging, but I wanted to start with a topic that is near and dear to my heart.

So many people spend hundreds of dollars on a good sewing machine, use it for a few months and then they give up, and put it back in the box in the basement where it remains for years –untouched. Somewhere in their sewing journey, many aspiring sewers become afraid or demotivated because the project did not turn out the way they wanted. A big pile of unfinished garments is a dead give away! Our brain is trained to look for inconsistencies and it is how we judge beauty. Unconsciously, we know something is off and we give up before we finish.The reason for this doomed journey starts at the fabric store but is often made worse by how we end up cutting the fabric. Here are my top 5 mistakes to avoid when cutting fabric.

The reason for this doomed journey starts at the fabric store but is often made worse by how we end up cutting the fabric. Here are my top 5 mistakes to avoid when cutting fabric.
 
#1. Not washing the fabric before cutting.

Natural fibers come from vegetable material (cotton, hemp, flax etc) or animals (wool, cashmere, silk, alpaca etc). Below I have tested a 100% cotton swatch measuring 10 x 10cm, I soaked and washed the swatch and ironed it with a very hot iron. As you can see in the second photograph the swatch shrunk considerably, this is because when fabrics are being woven the fibers are being tensed.

When these fibers come in contact with water they relax, but by applying heat once again, the fibers go back to their original state. This process is similar to how a spring works. Normally it will take several washes for some fabrics to relax as it would in a spring. A good example of this is cotton and linen. Both fabrics become smooth after a few washes, but when too much heat is applied –for example when we forget the cloth in the dryer for too long– the size of the garment will shrink considerably.



#2. Not squaring and truing the fabric.

To understand squaring and truing we need to learn a couple of terms that relate to fabrics. On the picture below, the yarn being pulled is called the weft. The yarn that runs perpendicular to it is the warp. In order to true the fabric we need to make a cut on the weft, pull the thread and cut in the space that is left by the thread, as is seen on the picture.



The weft, wrap and selvage of fabric

To be able to square the fabric one most cut away the selvage which is the fuzzy edge that runs along the length of the fabric or, as is known, the warp of the fabric. Cut away the edge by making a cut and pulling the thread and cutting the same way you did with the weft or the horizontal thread.

Sometimes when you go the fabric store, the chatty woman at the counter makes a cut in the fabric and rips your piece out, this action actually distorts the shape of your fabric. In the following picture, you can see the effect of this action. I lost almost a bit more than a 1/4 of a yard getting the fabric to have a uniformed edge!



Find the true edge of the fabric to cut on grain.

To square the fabric, after you have taken the selvage out, get someone to help you pull one corner of the fabric while you pull the diagonal corner, change and do the other corners. You are trying to restore the shape of the fabric. This step is particularly important if you are using cotton/elastane combination.


stretching fabric on a the bias to regain the original shape of the fabric
 
#3. Not following pattern instructions for placement of the fabric grain.

Ending up with something so tight that it looks like Shapewear or a too-short mini skirt because you didn’t shrink your fabric before sewing is still not as bad as not using the grain of the fabric to place your pattern. To find the grain of your fabric, all you have to do is square and true the fabric, join the side where the selvage was and fold the fabric.

The fabric grain is indicated on the pattern as the long arrow that runs the length of the pattern piece it will cause the fabric to hang correctly because it will be cut at a right angle. Not only does it look bad, it’s annoying to wear because your skirt or pants will keep twisting around or clinging to you, but more importantly, the pieces of your pattern will not match. This is simply because the fabric will stretch at an angle. A perfect example of this is a skirt cut on a bias. We’ve all had t-shirts where they cut slightly off grain to save time and it twists around the torso.

Avoid this by making sure to place your pattern pieces accurately on grain when you cut out your patterns. You can achieve this by measuring the distance from the selvage to the grain arrow and making sure it is equidistance, as show on the picture below.



Placing the pattern on the grain of the fabric
 
#4 Not having enough fabric to match plaids or stripes.

This is the classic mistake easily avoided by buying more fabric and placing the pattern so it matches the prints or plaid. On your pattern, mark where the most prominent color. In my example below, I have marked the brown color in all the pattern pieces, because is the most dominant, notice how you actually will use more fabric because not only you have to use the direction of the color, but also you have to maintain the grain of the fabric. As a rule, how much fabric you will need, will always depend on your size and the width of the fabric you intend to use.


how to match plaids when cutting fabric
 
#5 Using the wrong fabric.

A thin silky fabric will not make an appealing jacket due to its lack of structure. It would however, make a very good lining. A knit fabric will perform differently from a woven fabric because of the stretchability of the knit, therefore, the pattern pieces on a knitted garment are going to be less wide than normal patterns. All Patterns will give you suggestions for what fabrics to use. It is possible to substitute the fabric according to its drapability.

Follow the instructions on the back of the envelope to the letter. It will be clearly marked what kind of fabric will be best suited for the pattern, study the drawing, see how the garment falls away or clings to the body. Look at the illustration and try to match what the designer have used.

credit: so-sew-easy.com

Tips For Sewing Denim

 

Denim is a very popular fabric these days and is synonymous with jeans. Today term “jeans” usually refers to a specific style of pants, called Blue Jeans. These“rivet-reinforced” denim pants were invented by Jacob W. Davis, along with Levi Strauss & Co., in 1871. We did a post a few months about highlighting this story of Levi Strauss, who perhaps more than any other individual or institution has done more to expand the role of denim in our society.
Origins of Denim

However, given this important American contribution to the success of denim, what most people don’t know today is that denim was actually invented in France. In fact, the word “denim” comes from the French “de” which means from and “Nîmes” which is a wonderful town in the south of France where denim was invented during the Middle Ages. So denim literally means “from Nîmes”. Originally called, “serge de Nîmes”, the name eventually shortened to denim in 1864.

Nîmes is an ancient Roman city most famous for its colosseum and aqueduct known as the Pont de Gard which stands over 160 feet high over the Gardon River and was build in the first century AD as part of a 50km system to carry water to the prosperous Roman colony of Nemausus, today know as Nîmes.

The contemporary use of the word “jeans” actually comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes) as sailors from this town were known to wear these cotton trousers. Jeans are also often referred to as dungarees which means coarse fabric and is one of the very few words from Hindi, one of the major languages from India, to make it into the English language. Cotton fabric dating back over 5,000 years has been found by archeologists in what is today West Pakistan and India.


The world’s beloved “jeans” have been around for a very long time!
Characteristics of denim

Denim is a very strong, long-lasting fabric that has been extremely popular for over 100 years. Anyone who has owned a pair of jeans knows you must not skip your pre-wash. In many cases, they will shrink a little bit but also pre-washing will soften the fabric somewhat – the more you wash the softer they will become. It’s always advisable to wash new denims alone, otherwise there’s a good chance some color will run off and transfer on to other clothes.

 
Denim is also one of the longest lasting fabrics on the market. Jean owners know their jeans have been with them for a very long time! The irony – just when you get them exactly where you want them, they start falling apart!

If you need to tailor your denim or have a tear, you must arm yourself with high quality thread and very sharp, strong needles. Average thread and needles will not work with this tough fabric. If you are sewing your own jeans from scrap, make sure you have the proper tools for the job:
Tools & Sewing Suggestions:
Use sharp tools. This includes both using sharp professional-grade sewing scissors as well as sharp rotary cutters.
Use heavy duty needles, either ones made specifically for sewing denim like these Schmetz Denim Needles, or a universal needle that is at least size 90/14. If the denim is particularly thick, make it 100/16. These needles will have a reinforced blade to minimize needle deflection and reduce the risk of broken needles or skipped stitches.
Use heavy duty Jeans Thread, particularly for the topstitching associated with flat felling or if you can’t find this, you might also try upholstery thread.


 
Denin Sewing Methods & Seams:

Again, you must have sharp tools. A very sharp pair of scissors or sharp blades in your rotary cutter will make cutting patterns much easier. Depending on the thickness of the denim, you might have to cut through the denim in layers, one layer at a time. If this is needed, make sure your flip your pattern pieces as you go along. It’s also suggested that you purchase really strong pins, average pins will more than likely bend, unable to penetrate the fabric.

Denim is not the easiest material to work with, you might want to take small pieces and practice cutting; using a seam ripper and running a stitch test to determine how it looks, if the tension is correct and the best length for the stitch. You may want to use a longer stitch than normal which should be between 3 and 4.

Pay attention to your seams, there’s a knack to creating seams which will save you a great deal of time. Have your iron nearby and press the seam as flat as possible. Try and cut back on bulk, as much as you can, by trimming the seam as you sew and miter any corners.

Take your time sewing, hold the fabric as firmly as you can while feeding through the machine, do not push or pull. If your sewing machine is having difficulties with a particularly bulky seam, you might want to use the hand wheel. It’s pretty easy to break a needle when sewing denim, so be careful.

 

Even though your standard presser foot should be just fine, you might want to consider purchasing a Jeans Presser Foot if one is available for your sewing machine like this one for a Bernina. It will make your sewing a great deal easier. Also, consider using a walking foot which should keep the fabric from shifting around. Depending on the year and make of your sewing machine, a jeans presser foot might or might not be available. The older your machine, the less likely you will be able to find one. Also consider an edge stitching foot for top stitching, it will be well worth it.

Denim is one of those materials that can easily fray which is why it’s important to have sharp tools. Note: If you go for a zig-zag stitch over the cut edge, on the interior seams, it will keep the material from fraying.

credit: so-sew-easy.com

DIY Tutorial | How To Sew An Easy Zipper Pouch

So you want to know how to add a zipper to a project? Look no further! I am going to break it down step by step so that you can see exactly what you need to do to install a zipper. We will work through a zipper pouch together so that you will feel confident adding a zipper on your own. I am always open for questions, head over to my Sewing School group on Facebook if you have questions!! Here is how to sew an easy zipper pouch. If you sew anything with zippers use the hashtag #zippersarentscary so that I can feature all of your amazing creations! Scroll to the bottom for a fat quarter bundle giveaway!



HOW TO SEW AN EASY ZIPPER POUCH

Art Gallery Fabrics (AGF) supplied the fabric for the project and the giveaway in this post. I do not receive any financial compensation from AGF and I am not an AGF affiliate. This post contains affiliate links. You never pay more but I may receive a small fee which helps with the upkeep of this site.


 
SUPPLIES:

Zipper (<—This Etsy shop has tons of zippers for a good price!)

Fat Quarters (Here Comes the Fun from Sew Caroline and Art Gallery Fabrics)


 
INSTRUCTIONS:

For each zipper pouch you will need one zipper and two pieces of fabric. I sewed the geographic print and the happy print together to make one larger piece. The fabric should measure about 1″ wider than the zipper (as pictured below.) You will also need two scrap pieces that are roughly 1″ by 2″.

 

Pin a scrap piece to each edge of the zipper (as seen below.) Then sew the scraps in place. Flip the fabric over and press and top-stitch it in place.

 

Now you will have the zipper and fabric. Place the top edge of the zipper face down on the top edge of the fabric.

 
Now we are ready to take it to the sewing machine.

 
You will need to attach your zipper foot. I always attach it as pictured below. The needle goes to the left side of the foot. Then use the far left edge of the foot as a guide. While you are sewing that far left edge should just touch the middle of the zipper. When you are attaching the zipper you will come to the zipper pull. Leave the needle in a down position and then lift the foot pull the zipper to the other side. This will keep it from making the stitch crooked.

 

This is what it will look like once that side is attached.

 
Now line the other edge of the zipper up with the top edge of the other piece of fabric. Use the same method to sew it in place.

 

Top-stitch the fabric in place on both sides of the zipper. This keeps it from getting caught when you actually go to use the zipper.

 

Cut any excess fabric off of the scrap pieces on the sides.

 

Now place the fabric right sides together. Be sure that the zipper is open because that is how we will turn the pouch out. Sew around all three sides and turn the pouch out.

.

Quick Tips For Sewing Difficult Fabrics

 

Knowing good basic sewing skills always comes in handy. But sometimes, challenging fabrics can still be too much to handle. Indeed, what may seem like simple tasks of folding and cutting a fabric can become frustrating –not to mention the difficulties that will be encountered when we start running our sewing machines through these uncooperative fabrics.

Generally, when dealing with challenging fabrics, there are some things we can do to immediately improve the situation. Adjusting your machine’s thread tension up and down until you identify the best setting for the particular fabric can do wonders. Speeding up as well as slowing down the sewing may make your sewing machine run smoothly over the fabric. You may just have to experiment a little. Simply making sure that the fabric is free of dust or any adhesive residue may also make it cooperate better with your sewing.

However, if these quick tips don’t work, then you can read on and take note of some of these helpful hacks and tips for sewing difficult fabrics.

Fragile and Thick Fabrics

 

Sometimes we work with fabrics that are so fragile that there is a possibility that they tear up when we try to cut them. Soaking these delicate fabrics in lukewarm water can give us better results.

Long bladed scissors are also helpful in cutting these fabrics aided by a heavy ruler along the edge so that there is less stress exerted on the fabric. You might also try a rotary cutter.


Use strips of starched fabric under the seams that will provide extra resilience to your delicate fabric when you start sewing. Simply pick the starched fabric off after you finish. And make sure that you are using fine sharp needles.

Another great tip is to let the hems take on a rounded shape as opposed to pressing your hem flat. And as much as possible, try using the least number of pins on your fragile fabric.

 

If you cut through a thick fabric and it seems like cutting through leather, then it is time to use a craft knife. Place your fabric over a piece of wood or cutting mat wrong side up when you cut. In this way, you will not scratch the fabric surface if you accidentally slip with the knife.

When storing thick fabrics, it is sometimes best to roll them up like you would a poster to prevent permanent creases from forming in your fabric.

In some cases, thick fabrics don’t need edging, while other thick fabrics may need a double row of close stitches without a fold to make a hem.

Leather-grade heavy needles are best suited for thick fabrics to prevent your needle from breaking. It is also important to use strong thread with thick fabrics and finishing is often best done by hand.

Slippery and Furry Fabrics

 

The problem with slippery fabrics is that they usually don’t stay in place while you are sewing on them. Putting your slippery fabric between two layers of tissue paper should prevent them from slipping away from you and your sewing machine. This can also help you avoid snags that could destroy the smooth surface of the fabric.

Always press from the wrong side of shiny fabrics. You should always use a pressing cloth if you ever need to press the right side. You may also want to put paper under your seams when you press them open to avoid making creases on the right side of the fabric.

When preparing hems and seams of shiny fabrics, tacking by hand or hand basting is a good idea before you use your sewing machine. This will help prevent distortion in the final product.

Lastly, try using some regular spray starch –the kind you’d use for ironing a shirt– and applying a light spray across the fabric. This will stiffen it up the fabric making it much easier to handle while you’re cutting.

 

Furry fabrics, on the other hand, can prove to be the most difficult to sew especially when the long fur fibers get entangled with your stitches.

Before you start sewing, brush your furry fabric using a soft hairbrush and make sure all the fibers are lying in one direction. When sewing and make sure the fibers are flat and in the same direction, arranged parallel to your stitches.

Remember that furry fabrics tend to have fragile bases so use double rows of stitches for your seams. A coarse thread and long stitches will also help in securely gripping your furry fabric. For more tips on sewing with fur, please review the linked article.
 
Final Thoughts on Sewing Difficult Fabrics

There is no doubt that working with fragile, thick, slippery and furry fabrics can sometimes become a troublesome task. Each of these fabrics have special characteristics that can make cutting and sewing them a challenging job. Some of these difficult fabrics have the tendency to move during the cutting stage so that having neat edges could prove to be elusive. Others can prove to be a handful when you try to feed them through your sewing machine. Deciding what stitch to use on these fabrics to produce the best result can already be intimidating to many.

DIY Tutorial | Upcycle Old Jeans Into A Beautiful Zippered Bag

You already know our answer to what you should do with your old jeans. Therefore, here is another DIY suggestion: the jeans bag. This bag can be used when going to the gym or for your city escape weekends.

Check out the images below to find the steps on how to create the beautiful bag. There are also some directions for making it, but in Russian (–>Instructions).

Note: Pay attention to reinforce the bottom of the bag and the handles. The only difficult part may be the sewing of the zipper. So, keep in mind: if it is not perfect at your first try, do not give up! Have fun!

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