Satin Fabrics
With today's fashions, there is a lot of satin fabric being used. Once it was just for after five, evening wear, formal occasions and weddings. Now with all the pretty little tops, it is being worn much more. When getting satin ready to cut out, there are a few little rules to follow. When laying your pattern, use double thickness and right sides together. Always use "with nap" cutting layout. When pinning, use only fine pins and pin within the seam allowance so as not to have pin marks on the finished area. Only use dressmaker's chalk. When cutting, make sure your scissors are really sharp and cut with long clean cuts, not short ones, make each cut the length of your scissors. Or use a rotary cutter. Make sure you test your needle and thread on a sample of the satin. Your needle should be lightweight with a sharp point. A fine cotton-wrapped polyester thread or lingerie thread would be fine. Your stitch length should be slightly smaller, about 10 to 15 stitches per inch. You may find increasing the pressure on the presser foot could be helpful. If you move your needle to the far left will give support on three sides of the fabric as you sew. Sew plain seams although a French seam is also suitable for straight seams but not for curves. Some satins tent to fray so a Hong Kong seam could work well. Your Hong Kong seam is where the seam allowance edge is encased in a bias binding, giving a nice flat finish to the seam. CTBaird is an author of many articles and the Sewing eGuide “Sew More For U” http://www.sewmoreforu.com Copyright © 2005-2006 CTBaird Rights Reserved Sew More For U
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