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Sewing Q&A


Guest Cleverlilminx

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Guest Cleverlilminx

I always get hit with sewing questions... always...

 

So I thought maybe a open Q&A thread might be a good idea.

 

Later on it could work as a Sewing FAQ or makeshift tutorial. :D

 

 

So by all means... ask away!!

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Guest Cleverlilminx
Curves. I hate curves. Is there a better way than the basting stich cut notch method?

 

 

I rarely baste stitch but that's because I'm lazy. :lol:

 

 

I find if I didn't cut notches, the curves & corners do not lay right. Since that was the way I was taught to make curves and corners lay right, I never thought about an alternative to be honest.

 

Does anyone else use an alternative method for curves or corners?

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Guest bassclarinets

I have a new tip to share-

 

while working with a LARGE amount of faux fur to make trim for a new costume i'm making - i came up with (i am sure this is not a revelation to a LOT of people, but it is to me) a way to cut the fur without having your cutting area and the area around your sewing machine look like you just shaved

IMG_0322.jpg (him)

 

i put tape where i needed to cut the fur - i used blue painters tape and cut dead in the center of the tape - where i cut - the fur did not shed because it stuck to the tape - and when i peeled the tape off (over the garbage) AFTER sewing the pieces, the tape took off the fur that was going to shed and i had a clean front room :)

 

Jen

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Guest bassclarinets

I just had the pleasure of working with highly crinkled fabrics -

 

it took me awhile to get the hang of working with it, so i figured I would post up a few tips.

 

1. lay out your pattern flat and cut out ONE LAYER at a time - don't pin the pattern to the fabric, chalk or trace out the pattern - use SCISSORS to cut out the pattern (said because rotary cutters work GREAT to cut WITH the crinkle, but against the crinkle stretch out the fabric)

 

2. serge your fabric if at all possible - set a differential feed to bunch the fabric at the back and pull in a lot at the front. THEN set your stitch length to as LONG AS YOU CAN..

 

3. make sure you trim when you serge the fabric because it helps the serging work better (for some reason)..

 

ok - carry on..

 

Jen

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Does anyone have any advice (or recomendations for a good tutorial) for the best/proper way to put a lining in costumes? Linings are one thing that I've just never been able to do well. It never seems to look or hang quite right when I'm done, and I'd like to learn how to do a better job before I find myself needing to line another costume piece!

 

Pam :-)

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It totally depends on just what you are lining :) I do a lot of Victorian and Renaissance costuming as well as recreations and they all use very different methods :)

 

As others are reading this I'll start from the beginning :)

 

Two basic common techniques are bag lining and flat lining:

bag lining is where you sew the shell and lining separately and then sew them together around the edges- right side to right side. Often the sleeve linings are sewn in by hand at the armsye.

Flat lining is where the shell and lining are sewn together as one layer.

Interlining is a third layer inside the lining and shell and is usually treated as a support layer for the shell. It can be iron in/sewn in, woven/non woven.

Padding and small pieces of interlining is often used in tailored garments (such as the Imperial Officer uniform).

 

The Victorian gowns are almost exclusively flat lined- tailored garments are a very notable exception as are outer garments such as mantles and coats. There is no separate lining and it makes for a very good non wrinkled fit with the extremely hourglass figured gowns of the 1870s to 1890s especially. Even the skirts are treated this way.

This is an example of an extant 1890s bodice I own:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/ ... 030657.jpg

The boning is all encased in special boning tape.

This does though leave the edges and seam allowances raw. I would love to do Parisian binding (now called Hong Kong binding) but do not have the time. This is where a very fine silk (habotai weight) is used to completely encase the edges of the seam allowance. It's fiddly but looks amazing. Modern overlockers/sergers will do the fastest tidying job. Or you can use pinking shears or a zig zag stitch.

Also facings are then used at the openings and hem to hide the lining fabric. You can see this again in the example above.

 

My renaissance gowns are always interlined, usually the shell fabric supported with a cotton duck, and then have a separate lining inserted. I like to sew the bodice and skirts as separate items and then hand sew them together at the waist with an overhand stitch. This means I can bag line the skirt after letting the layers hang to stretch naturally to shape and do a mixture of hand and machine sewing of the lining in the bodice.

 

My modern recreation items use a blend of all sorts of techniques that I have learnt from all the forays into historical costuming (and I include the 20thC in that!) it all depends on what effect I'm after.

My Gentle Giant leia for instance using bag lining in the sleeves and skirt (I have a seam at the waist for drapery reasons) and then flat lined at the torso. this allows for the hiding of all seam allowances. If the torso was also bag lined then the stretch would pull the seams out of alignment and they would cast "shadows" on the outside.

 

My Padme Light blue also uses a mixture of bag lining and flatlining. The cloak and hood are baglined but the body and skirt are flat lined for smoothness.

 

My Imperial Officer uniform has some in progress photos showing the various support layers:

http://glittersweet.deviantart.com/gall ... wse/scraps

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Thank you, thank you! Bag lining is the only kind that I've tried so far, and those sewn edges where they come together just never seem to be up to the standards that I want to hold for myself. I read through some of your information (and want to look into ordering a book or two), and I HAVE been doing things the way the instructions say.... so maybe I just need more practice. There's always room for improvement in this hobby!

 

Thanks again,

 

Pam :-)

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Guest Aysel

just a tip for when sewing on the right side of pleather/leatherette/vinyl, if you don't put something between the feed dogs and the foot it'll stick to them and bunch. First I tried paper towels, while this worked when you go to rip the paper away it leaves little bits of lint which is a pain. So I kept thinking and landed on plastic grocery sacks, cut them into strips that you can wrap around your seam, do your sewing, then just rip it away, the stitches will have perforated the plastic so it'll be really easy to remove. just go slow and make sure your fabric is straight.

 

SDC11053-1.jpg

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Another tip for this, and it's really more suitable to those who have sewn a long time, ease the pressure off the foot completely and guide the fabric through. Generally it means holding the fabric in front and behind and keeping it steady and allowing the feed dogs to do the work but helping it along.

 

I prefer this as there is nothing to pick out of seams after at all :) But it really is a technique to practice and get familiar with.

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Guest Sakara

I use non stick baking paper when sewing pvc, vinyl or leatherette. The fact that paper is slippery to start with means the foot cannot stick at all and ripping it away is also clean.

 

When i can afford it though im investing in a teflon foot and plate!

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can anyone explain how to make this seam? it doesnt appear to be an unfinished edge of fabric.

 

8894467234_1c813c5b1b.jpg

Untitled by ajakadoo, on Flickr

 

is it just 2 layers straight stitched? will i need to do this for the entire robe/cape? or could i get away with 5-6 inch hems?

any advice and tutorial is appreciated ^_^

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Guest Aysel

there's a couple of things you could do; a tiny rolled hem is one choice, this would also give the front of the hood some stability. or you could double the hood fabric, this would hide the edges of the seam in the back of the hood if you ever had it down. If I were doing this (and probably will in the future) I'd pick doing the hood as a double thickness.

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thanks for your advice :D

if i may ask for more wisdom, why do i randomly get a stitch that looks like this?

 

8954008476_3ceabaa086_n.jpg

Untitled by ajakadoo, on Flickr

 

you can see previous lines that were decently straight, but this bobbin line is wavy wavy! the top stitch is straight tho...anyone ever have this happen? know what causes it, fixes, or prevention?

thanks again for the help!

aj

 

edit: my top thread tension was too low and bobbin was wound too loose, found a pdf manual and got it straightened out i think (:

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Guest Aysel

that means your thread tension slipped, you'll have to re-adjust the tension and probably re-thread the machine to fix it ^_^ It happens on my machine every once in a while and pisses me off when it does cause it always seems to happen when I'm working on something that I can't resew ^_^

 

^_^

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it always seems to happen when I'm working on something that I can't resew ^_^

 

No joke! >,< I did take the tension up...to 8!!! not sure what the max is, but it hasn't happened since 8)

 

"Go home bobbin, you're drunk!"

 

That's how i felt! hehehe (B

 

 

My next question is about costume pleather:

How can i get rounded edges like these thigh pieces?

9045060031_68a0f6f279_n.jpg

Untitled by ajakadoo, on Flickr

I initially made the thigh out of EVA foam, but would like to use pleather instead for more mobility and higher accuracy.

Not even sure if that's a sew issue o_o

 

btw, I may be getting a serger soon, so I'll possibly have a ton of new questions lol XD

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