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Member since 3/13/06
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Posted on: 2/6/19 3:07 PM ET
I pin pattern to fabric and cut with shears, but I'm open to something different and better!
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Re: What is the Pinless Technique? (posted on 2/6/19 3:12 PM ET)
Have you used pattern weights?

Mostly, when people say "pinless", though, they are talking about industrial sewing techniques, not so much cutting.

  
Member since 1/15/17
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Posted on: 2/6/19 3:16 PM ET
In reply to jadamo00
I've despised cutting until I bought a large cutting mat and rotary cutters. Instead of pattern weights, I use flat but heavy candle holders and old heavy cutlery (i.e. knives), also empty glass containers from my face cream. No pins.

I sew much more than before and my cutting is more precise. Have never looked back but regret that I didn't embark on the rotary cutter/mat train earlier.

-- Edited on 2/7/19 at 1:51 AM --
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For 2019 committed to:
- Continue using what I have (fabric, notions, patterns, books, mags, tips & tricks etc.).
- Strive to re-use 52 items from my upcycle cupboard.
- Continue purchasing fabric and patterns mindfully.
- Continue tracking my fabric stash.
- Resume tracking my pattern stash.
- Continue with RTW fast. Exceptions: bras, socks, panty hoses, shoes. Plus anything that coincidentally crosses my way and is a truly mindful purchase.
- Prioritize replacing some plain wardrobe basics (pillars or backbones) that are close or past their lifespan over adding fun, more exciting garments that I, strictly speaking, do not need (nice-to-haves).

2018 Summary:
- Used successfully what I had and bought mindfully, i.e. fabrics.
- Got a very good grip on my stash (measured and catalogued almost all of it) but failed to sew 10% down (got 9.28% done).
- Did not meet goal to make 50 projects (new, finish or re-use UFOs, upcycle, mend, repair).
- Key take away for 2019: Set fewer number-specific goals. My sewing should be driven by needs and love, not by achieving numbers.
  
Member since 3/26/17
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Posted on: 2/6/19 4:23 PM ET
In reply to jadamo00
“1. The industrial style, "pinless" fabric handling techniques taught by the late, great Margaret Islander. Look on YouTube for Margaret Islander sewing update for a taste. Her niece, Janet Pray, now teaches and owns the company.”

This is a direct quote from kayl from February 2018. Pinless meaning you sew seams without things being pinned together, not referring to cutting out ( which of course could be a whole different pinless technique as discussed above. )
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 2/6/19 4:50 PM ET
In reply to Raffey1
Quote:
not referring to cutting out ( which of course could be a whole different pinless technique as discussed above. )


Back when RTW patterns were made by hand, they were generally cut from heavy manila paper/tagboard that is minimally about as thick as a filing folder. To use these patterns, you place the pattern on the fabric, weight the pattern down so it can't move with heavy (oof!) weights, and then trace around the pattern piece with something like a grease pencil. Then you remove the pattern piece and cut the fabric, cutting away the traced line. That keeps your fabric exactly the same size as your pattern piece.

Interesting test for industrial style cutting skills:
https://fashion-incubator.com/the-7-minute-cutting-test/
https://fashion-incubator.com/the-7-minute-cutting-test-pt-2/


For larger production, the patterns were traced onto the top piece of a stack of fabric, with the whole stack weighted, and then the stack cut with a knife. The guys who did this work were often the highest paid worker in the factory, because a minor slip could kill a big part of the planned production.

Long ago and far away, my DH had a friend who owned a ladies' underwear manufacturing firm in North Carolina, inherited from his parents and grandparents. Once a year, they'd spend a couple of weeks making up the stack of fabric for next year's production, and letting it rest so it would be relaxed for cutting. Then the patterns were applied, carefully aligned with the grain (I think DH told me they were cut of masonite, but I don't recall for sure). That took another couple of days to get everything aligned perfectly and weighted and traced.
The owner did all the cutting, usually starting about 10 at night when there was no nearby traffic, and stopping about 4 am when the traffic picked back up again. Usually took him several weeks to get the entire stack cut -- slips, panties, bras, nightgowns, robes... they couldn't afford to miscut. Then the stitchers would take over... some of them had been with the family more than 40 years. Saturdays, a smaller cadre of the really experienced stitchers came into repair anything the regular stitchers had goofed up.


More from F-I:
https://fashion-incubator.com/tracing_and_marking/
https://fashion-incubator.com/marking_cutting/
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 2/6/19 4:57 PM ET
Margaret Islander demonstrating some of the pinless sewing methods on an old extension video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zyTaEfo-J0

Janet Pray, Margaret's niece and the current owner of Islander Sewing Systems, setting a shirt sleeve:
https://www.facebook.com/IslanderSewingSystems/videos/setting-a-shirt-sleeve-easy-peasy/10154933794721589/
  
Member since 12/13/08
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Posted on: 2/6/19 5:53 PM ET
In reply to kayl
That is exactly how I cut everything--as I also mentioned in Jada's "why I like tracing" thread. When I started drafting my own costume patterns, I did it on gridded wrapping paper, and it was IMMEDIATELY obvious how much easier and more accurate it was to trace the perimeter of the pattern onto the fabric and cut along the traced lines, vs trying to cut around pinned tissue. This is also why, when I trace my tissue patterns, I trace THROUGH the pattern ONTO crisp paper with a Sharpie.

(Also in that thread I mentioned that I hate all the steps of prepping a pattern, but I think .pdfs get a slight edge because the tracing is easier, thanks to the printer paper's crisp edge.)
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Member since 11/28/13
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Posted on: 2/6/19 6:07 PM ET
In reply to jadamo00
If you know how to cut well with shears, rotary cutters aren't necessary. I use them on tight curves and for cutting bias strips.

I often use patterns that have been traced to oaktag. It's not a pinless process. If I'm cutting more than a single layer, I secure the folded fabric with some pins around the edges, weigh down the pattern pieces, trace around them with chalk, remove the oaktag pieces, and then add some more pins to secure the layers. Then I cut. To cut a single layer, pins aren't necessary because there's nothing to shift.

In factories, several layers of fabric are cut with an electric cutter operated by a person or it can be loaded into a device and cut by laser (I've never seen it done, only heard it described, but it's apparently very cool.). The fabric is suctioned beforehand to make it stick together.
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 2/6/19 6:54 PM ET
In reply to pointpatou
A stack of fabric is typically suctioned before the knives are used, too, if I understand correctly.

Besides laser cutting, water jet cutting and plasma jet cutting are sometimes used. Most of it is pretty well automated, since it's easy to turn a pattern into XY coordinates that a machine can trace with a cutter. I've not seen stack cutting with a laser, only single ply... I wonder if it is because thermoplastics can stick together in a stack when cut?
  
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Posted on: 2/6/19 7:01 PM ET
In reply to jadamo00
removed
-- Edited on 2/6/19 at 7:07 PM --
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www.nancyksews.blogspot.com
  
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