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Cut from same pieces as fashion fabric but small and stretches (Moderated by EleanorSews)
Posted on: 1/22/11 11:38 AM ET
I cut underlining for a dress that I'm making and have found that it is too small in places and too big in others.
I used a cotton batiste that is a cotton/poly blend. I've never sewed with anything that wasn't straight cotton, and I was surprised to find that the batiste stretches a lot and that when I cut my underlining, the pieces weren't the same size as my fashion fabric.
I basted the pieces together by machine and found that when I ironed my bodice piece, I had some wrinkles near the side seam, where the outer fabric butted up against the thread. I'm thinking of unpicking the stitches and re-sewing.
Does anyone know why this happened?
I've since read that basting by hand is superior, but even if I had, I'd still have the problem of my underlining pieces being cut at an inconsistent size.
I used a cotton batiste that is a cotton/poly blend. I've never sewed with anything that wasn't straight cotton, and I was surprised to find that the batiste stretches a lot and that when I cut my underlining, the pieces weren't the same size as my fashion fabric.
I basted the pieces together by machine and found that when I ironed my bodice piece, I had some wrinkles near the side seam, where the outer fabric butted up against the thread. I'm thinking of unpicking the stitches and re-sewing.
Does anyone know why this happened?
I've since read that basting by hand is superior, but even if I had, I'd still have the problem of my underlining pieces being cut at an inconsistent size.
Posted on: 1/22/11 12:01 PM ET
In reply to amysayssew
The benefit of hand basting is that you can adjust and deal with the slight differences in size between the underlining and fashion fabric more easily (they will never be exactly the same, although they should be very close). You can lay everything flat, smooth it out and get it matched up as best as possible, but don't have to worry about the layers shifting when you go to stitch on the machine. I am working on an underlined blouse right now... silk charmeuse underlined with crepe de chine, and one of the pieces is on the bias... very tricky and would be impossible to do properly without handbasting!
You might want to try steaming your underlining fabric to try to shape it back into it's original size. Lay it over the pattern pieces or the fashion fabric and see if you can't steam it into the right shape. Also, if you're finding that your underlining fabric behaves a little differently from your fashion fabric, you may want to hang the pieces up after you've basted (either on a dress form or just pinned to a curtain or something), let it rest for a few hours, and see if the underlining is bowing out at the bottom. If so, take out the basting stitches at the bottom, let the fabric down, and redo the basting.
Good luck!
You might want to try steaming your underlining fabric to try to shape it back into it's original size. Lay it over the pattern pieces or the fashion fabric and see if you can't steam it into the right shape. Also, if you're finding that your underlining fabric behaves a little differently from your fashion fabric, you may want to hang the pieces up after you've basted (either on a dress form or just pinned to a curtain or something), let it rest for a few hours, and see if the underlining is bowing out at the bottom. If so, take out the basting stitches at the bottom, let the fabric down, and redo the basting.
Good luck!
Posted on: 1/26/11 10:28 PM ET
Next time you may want to try this trick. Invest in some Sobo glue. Run tiny dots of it in the seam allowances on your cut out fashion fabric piece. Lay an uncut block of lining fabric on top of the cut piece. Press the lining into the glue dots and leave to dry. Once dry cut it out. I have used this Sobo trick many times. I will come out in the wash.Keep the dots tiny.,,,Bunny
-- Edited on 1/26/11 10:29 PM --
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-- Edited on 1/26/11 10:29 PM --
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http://lasewist.blogspot.com/
Posted on: 1/26/11 11:42 PM ET
If you cut your pieces properly and you used your fashion fabric for underlining, there shouldn't be that much of a difference.
What type of skirt does your dress have? The fuller the skirt, the more potential for bias pieces. If any of your cuts are on the bias and they were handled/sewn/pressed less than carefully, this could easily account for misshaped pieces. Because you say it is too large in some areas and too SMALL in others, I wonder how you've handled your fabric in between sewing sessions. Did you have it hanging over the edge of a table? Over the back of a chair or draped on an ironing board? Did you do more ironing (sliding your iron) than pressing after your pieces were cut? That can change the shape of your pieces, especially something as fine as a batiste. Which brings to mind another possible issue...fine fabrics like this can be tricky to get (and keep) on grain. They tend to shift a lot during positioning. When I lay out sheerish fabrics, I'm painstakingly slow at it, but it's critical to get your grain right - all over. If you don't, when you pick up a piece and let it hang like it would as a garment and it goes back on grain, the shape can look entirely different than on the cutting table. You might want to double check your grainlines. For future reference, I like to use spray starch to tame persnickety fabrics. Works great to keep them from shiftin.
I agree with trying to steam your fabric back into shape. When you do this, don't move your fabric until it is completely cool and dry...and then lay flat. I also hang a lot of my fuller skirts/dresses before hemming for a few days so that any bias stretching is done BEFORE I sew it.
HTH!!
Eve
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What type of skirt does your dress have? The fuller the skirt, the more potential for bias pieces. If any of your cuts are on the bias and they were handled/sewn/pressed less than carefully, this could easily account for misshaped pieces. Because you say it is too large in some areas and too SMALL in others, I wonder how you've handled your fabric in between sewing sessions. Did you have it hanging over the edge of a table? Over the back of a chair or draped on an ironing board? Did you do more ironing (sliding your iron) than pressing after your pieces were cut? That can change the shape of your pieces, especially something as fine as a batiste. Which brings to mind another possible issue...fine fabrics like this can be tricky to get (and keep) on grain. They tend to shift a lot during positioning. When I lay out sheerish fabrics, I'm painstakingly slow at it, but it's critical to get your grain right - all over. If you don't, when you pick up a piece and let it hang like it would as a garment and it goes back on grain, the shape can look entirely different than on the cutting table. You might want to double check your grainlines. For future reference, I like to use spray starch to tame persnickety fabrics. Works great to keep them from shiftin.
I agree with trying to steam your fabric back into shape. When you do this, don't move your fabric until it is completely cool and dry...and then lay flat. I also hang a lot of my fuller skirts/dresses before hemming for a few days so that any bias stretching is done BEFORE I sew it.
HTH!!
Eve
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People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it - Chinese proverb
Posted on: 1/28/11 12:39 PM ET
In reply to amysayssew
I would think that the cotton/poly would stretch less than 100% cotton. Cotton is what my wife refers to as inelastic for knitting, which means that it stretches and doesn't snap back (like a pair of jeans after you've worn them a while). Wash the cotton (or the jeans) and it shrinks back up.
I bet you made a mistake cutting either the fabric or the underlining. Any mistake is going to show up on the point directly under the armscye (or at the point at the top of the inseam in pants). I was horrified one time when I had occasion to compare a cut out piece of lining to the pattern piece. And I always have to fudge a little bit at the top of the inseam when I make pants, which is my most commonly underlined item.
To fix this during construction, it's best to lay out the fabric and underlining on a flat surface, and pin (or sobo glue, or glue stick, or hand baste) all around the underlining. Make sure to smooth both pieces out, and don't worry if the SA's don't line up perfectly. In fact, you might want to dut the underlining a little bigger (like 1/8 or 1/4 in) at that point, then trim the excess after basting, if you need to.
-- Edited on 1/28/11 12:50 PM --
I bet you made a mistake cutting either the fabric or the underlining. Any mistake is going to show up on the point directly under the armscye (or at the point at the top of the inseam in pants). I was horrified one time when I had occasion to compare a cut out piece of lining to the pattern piece. And I always have to fudge a little bit at the top of the inseam when I make pants, which is my most commonly underlined item.
To fix this during construction, it's best to lay out the fabric and underlining on a flat surface, and pin (or sobo glue, or glue stick, or hand baste) all around the underlining. Make sure to smooth both pieces out, and don't worry if the SA's don't line up perfectly. In fact, you might want to dut the underlining a little bigger (like 1/8 or 1/4 in) at that point, then trim the excess after basting, if you need to.
-- Edited on 1/28/11 12:50 PM --
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