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Member since 6/27/10
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Posted on: 9/18/20 2:17 PM ET
Rayon challis is one of my favorite fabrics to wear, but I've never sewn crinkle rayon challis before. I bought some from Fabricmart recently in a black/cream semi-geometric print. It's sold out now or else I would link to it. When it arrived, it felt kind of like a crepe texture but didn't look too crinkly. I washed and dried it as I normally do for rayon challis - cold water wash, medium heat in the dryer. I always do this a couple times before cutting to preshrink my challis. Out of the dryer, it definitely has a crinkly texture now. I'm wondering how I should treat it while cutting. I assumed I should NOT iron the crinkles out, but it now has a kind of stretchy, bounciness that I'm not accustomed to, and it's making me a little nervous. How do others handle this kind of fabric while cutting? And what should I think about when looking for an appropriate pattern or selecting a size? I'm thinking that anything too structured would not be suitable for this fabric and that I may want to size down.

Any advice is much appreciated!
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Claire
Twitter and Instagram - @errantpear
Blog - errantpear.wordpress.com
  
Member since 3/24/04
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Posted on: 9/18/20 2:32 PM ET
In reply to errantpear
My mom loved something similar, a crinkle soft rayon, not a challis though.

I prewashed, machine dried it, and laid it out on paper for cutting and rested it like a knit, for about 48 hours.

I cut it single ply, with very simple patterns, and made sure that I marked notches well.

I wound up actually machine basting the garments together by sewing the fabric with the paper underlay as if I was making something underlined. After I got a seam basted and checked, I'd pull off the paper underlays in the area of the seam and serge the basted seam. My serger has a taping slot, so it was really easy to add narrow twill to areas like shoulders and necklines and crotch seams so the garments didn't growin wear.


This all sounds horribly fussy, but having sewn through the crinkle cotton era, I thought all this bother would likely cost me less time and bad words. And I was right.
  
Member since 4/4/05
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Posted on: 9/18/20 6:36 PM ET
In reply to errantpear
Linda Lee from the Sewing Workshop has been doing a series of weekly you tube videos on various sewing topics during the pandemic including one on Sewing crinkled fabrics. Her instructions are always good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEzd3WhK91o&feature=emb_title
  
Member since 1/27/15
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Posted on: 9/18/20 7:36 PM ET
In reply to errantpear
Sandra Betzina in her book "More Fabric Savvy" recommends you press slightly to remove some of the pleating. so it looks more like it did when you bought it. If you don't do this, the pleated areas will release in places of stress (knees, elbows etc) leading to bagginess.

For cutting, she says a double thickness is OK, using a "without nap " layout, as is cutting either with scissors or a rotary cutter. Use pattern weights instead of pins.

Sew with a tiny zigzag or lightning stitch. Choose a pattern with very little or no topstitching.

Hope this helps!
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Cheers!
  
Member since 3/26/16
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Posted on: 9/18/20 8:12 PM ET
In reply to errantpear
Hi errantpear! Crinkle rayon is one of my very favourite fabrics to wear. I’ve made seven garments using it (all reviewed on PR), including button-front tops with and without collars, pants, shorts, and a romper. I agree that the less structured the garment the better. Because of the built-in stretch, I have gone down a size for most of the items. I never over-press so that it retains the ridges or pleats. As for sewing with it, I don’t really find it different from other rayons. I can’t remember what type of needle I typically use. I’ll check and add to this post...

Update: okay, I didn’t note what needle I used but it wasn’t anything too weird. I usually keep a universal, a microtex 60 or 70 and a stretch knit needle nearby and practice with scraps to see what gives the best stitches. And I did see that you specified that your fabric is a crinkle rayon challis. I don’t think mine were necessarily challis but it’s definitely crinkle, with a gauze-like texture and appearance. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll love whatever you decide to make with it .
-- Edited on 9/18/20 at 8:26 PM --
  
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Posted on: 9/18/20 10:52 PM ET
Thank you all for the helpful advice and resources! CodyMoran - I wonder too if this is actually a challis. It was labeled that way, but crepe and gauze do seem like better descriptors.
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Claire
Twitter and Instagram - @errantpear
Blog - errantpear.wordpress.com
  
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