Crepe backed satin

S R Glickman wrote:
I'm thinking of making my 14 year old daughter an outfit for her
brother's wedding with crepe backed satin. I'm looking at butterick
pattern 4021 which claims to be easy.

Nice pattern.

Does anyone know if it's worth buying the material cheaply from a UK
ebay store ( £2.75 to £3.50) or if I have to spend £8 or more from a
'normal' shop to get something decent? Bearing in mind, I don't know
if she'll wear it again !

Then no - they both behave equally badly!

Also, how easy is this kind of fabric to work with? Any hints or
tips?

I'm the Queen of Cheap Poly Satin - I've sewn masses of it! Take a look
at what can be done with it on my web site. It's fantastic stuff if you
keep several things in mind...

Things to be aware of:

Puckered seams: ALL straight cut seams will pucker. This can be
mitigated by sewing it as if you were sewing bias cut fabric, using a
small very narrow zigzag. But it won't work miracles... And the
expensive stuff behaves no better than the cheap stuff!

Ironing: it's very easily marked! Start cool and work up.

Basting: hand baste tricky bits! The damned stuff is so slippery it's
quicker than doing it the 'easy' way!

Use FINE pins and a size 60 or 70 needle on the machine. And decent
poly thread. I usually use Empress Mills 120's poly for both machine
and overlocker. Drima is far too tightly wound ans will pucker even
more. Gutterman is OK...

Use sew in interfacing! The fusible stuff doesn't stick to it.

Clean finish long skirt seams, even if fully lined. The stuff frays
almost as much as silk dupion! A two thread overlock is best for this.

I've worked with velvet before but not really anything as slippery as
this.

And you never will again! Velvet is MUCH better behaved!

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

S R Glickman wrote:
Many thanks Kate for your swift reply.



I'm the Queen of Cheap Poly Satin - I've sewn masses of it! Take a look
at what can be done with it on my web site. It's fantastic stuff if you
keep several things in mind...


And you have years of experience and lots of skill!

Thank you. In this instance, certainly lots of experience!

Things to be aware of:

Puckered seams: ALL straight cut seams will pucker. This can be
mitigated by sewing it as if you were sewing bias cut fabric, using a
small very narrow zigzag. But it won't work miracles... And the
expensive stuff behaves no better than the cheap stuff!


I think I get the message!

I've made some fantastic costumes with it, and it likes serged seams
best, but there are some areas and styles where this just isn't practical...


Ironing: it's very easily marked! Start cool and work up.


Dry, I pressume, not steam?
Not particularly... It's washable, after all. But frequently it starts
to mark before the iron is hot enough for proper steam, and you don't
want spit marks! Test!

Basting: hand baste tricky bits! The damned stuff is so slippery it's
quicker than doing it the 'easy' way!


This gets better )

Use FINE pins and a size 60 or 70 needle on the machine. And decent
poly thread. I usually use Empress Mills 120's poly for both machine
and overlocker. Drima is far too tightly wound ans will pucker even
more. Gutterman is OK...


OK


Use sew in interfacing! The fusible stuff doesn't stick to it.


Could I sew in the fusible kind?

NO! When you press it, it might just stick in parts, leaving a lumpy
and uneven finish...

Fine or medium weight?

I usually find a soft medium weight is best.

Clean finish long skirt seams, even if fully lined.


What does 'clean finish' mean?

Erm... Overcasting or finishing the edges. Catch-all term covering all
finishes from a Hong Kong type down to a serged/overlocked one.


I've worked with velvet before but not really anything as slippery as
this.

And you never will again! Velvet is MUCH better behaved!


I get the feeling I'm not going to like this job - if I decide to do
it !

Oh, do it! Once mastered, you'll never be afraid of it again! And
the cheap and cheerful stuff isn't always the worst to sew with. The
gold ball gown on my web site (What The Dickens project) was expensive
John Lewis £8.99 type stuff, and it was a nightmare compared with the
£3.50 red stuff I used for the bridesmaids elsewhere on the site... The
worst of the lot was the £12.99 stuff 'bought from the warehouse for a
very good price' brought in by a customer... ARGH!

Maybe we'll keep looking round the shops - but everything is so
expensive and not nearly as nice.

Just take care, don't rush it, and yell if you get stuck!

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

S R Glickman wrote:

I've now bought the material, lining, patterns etc. I've adjusted the
skirt pattern as it was too small and cut out and sewn up a 'skirt' in
the lining material to test it out. I didn't sew on the waistband,
just pinned it, so I can use this as the real skirt's lining.

A few follow up questions have arisen to the post from Kate:


Puckered seams: ALL straight cut seams will pucker. This can be
mitigated by sewing it as if you were sewing bias cut fabric, using a
small very narrow zigzag.


Any guidance as to how small a stitch in length and width? I tried
various things on the various parts of the lining but am unhappy with
all of them. I have a Brother which has a normal stitch length of 2.5
which is adjustable in length and width.

'Bout 2, on my HV Lily... And about .5 for width. You might also need
to increase or decrease the foot pressure, if you have that option. I
also find that 'taut sewing' (i.e. holding the fabric taut before and
aft the needle - equal light pressure either side!) sometimes helps.



Use FINE pins and a size 60 or 70 needle on the machine.


Universal or micro? Does the make matter?

I use Schmetz whenever possible: they are the best. Experiment with a
micro, but I ususally get away with the universal in the finer size...


And decent poly thread. I usually use Empress Mills 120's poly for both machine
and overlocker.


They don't have a colour to match. Is there something about using a
grey instead?

Don't worry about an exact match for overlocking: close will do. You
may find a blend of two near misses works best!



Gutterman is OK...


Do you mean their normal sewing thread or their overlocker thread?

Both! I don't usually use their overlocking thread as it comes on
little cops and is expensive. Whenever possible I stock up on basics
(bright red, black, white, navy, school grey, beige, whatever... ) when
I get up to Colne and get along to the factory. That way I get to pick
up miss wound cones for half price!

Dear SR Glickman,

Another tip on sewing seams. Test this first on scraps. Sew a
straight seam, and press it open. You'll see that it probably is very
puckery. Now on another scrap, sew a seam. Press the seam flat, the
way it was sewn; then, open it and press. This is a demonstration I
did with my students to show how proper pressing can solve pucker
problems. Now, I'm usually the last person to tell you to adjust the
tension on your machine, but in this case, it could help. This lesson
is good for velvet and satin both. In fact, pressing a seam flat
before opening it should be routinely done, especially in tapered
seams.

Teri

wrote:


Dear SR Glickman,

Another tip on sewing seams. Test this first on scraps. Sew a
straight seam, and press it open. You'll see that it probably is very
puckery. Now on another scrap, sew a seam. Press the seam flat, the
way it was sewn; then, open it and press. This is a demonstration I
did with my students to show how proper pressing can solve pucker
problems. Now, I'm usually the last person to tell you to adjust the
tension on your machine, but in this case, it could help. This lesson
is good for velvet and satin both. In fact, pressing a seam flat
before opening it should be routinely done, especially in tapered
seams.

Teri

You know, I do that so automatically I never remember to mention it!
Silly me!

S R Glickman wrote:
Thanks to Teri and Kate.

I shall now work myself up to cutting out the 'real' fabric - probably
not 'til Sunday.

I wondered if bobbin thread would be a good idea both top and bottom.

Thanks again

Susan

I think it's too thin and stretchy and not strong enough for seams...
However, test it and see!

S R Glickman wrote:

To bring you up to date:

I've cut out and started the skirt. So far I've done the centre back
seam and put in the zip. Doesn't look too bad )

Now, when I get up to it, how do I sew the interfacing to the
waistband?

I'm used to iron on interfacing you see.

Many thanks

Susan.

Just had baste the two together inside the seam allowance all the way
round and treat the two as if you had fused it. If you think it
might slide arround still, you can use a fine silk thread and a fine
needle to baste it across the middle too.

S R Glickman wrote:

Just had baste the two together inside the seam allowance all the way
round and treat the two as if you had fused it. If you think it
might slide arround still, you can use a fine silk thread and a fine
needle to baste it across the middle too.


Thanks.

While I'm asking - what about the hem on the skirt? The pattern says
to fold a small hem and then fold again. Is this the best way?

Thanks again

Susan

No. I like to clean finish with a 2 thread serged edge and then turn up
about half an inch with a hand stitched hemstitch.

S R Glickman wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:42:09 +0000, Kate XXXXXX
wrote:

No. I like to clean finish with a 2 thread serged edge and then turn up
about half an inch with a hand stitched hemstitch.

OK, I'll try that.

Any special instructions for the serging?

Fairly narrow cut, not too much tension, and play with the diff feed
until you get something that does the job!

Thanks.

I'm actually enjoying this - so far )

Good. See, I *tole* you it werten't frightning!

S R Glickman wrote:

As I don't have the Empress threads yet I've started the jacket,
Butterick 4603.

The instructions for the front darts are tortuous - involving cutting
into a corner and then slashing the dart before sewing it. The
pictures are not very helpful - and are small.

I think I've worked it out - time will tell!! I've started with the
lining so hopefully I'll have got it sorted when I come to the top
itself.

If you have any spare scrap cloth, try it in that too, first!

I think part of the problem is that this piece is part of the front,
the front facing and collar all in one.

Grr! ARGH! Yup, I know that sort...

As there are princess seams on this jacket I wanted to know if the
curver foot ( I have both a 5/8" and a 1/4" one) would work on the
crepe backed satin?

Yes, the 5/8" should work just fine, but again, experiment and report
back!

I'm doing the lining the way it says in the pattern as I think that's
too thin and slippy for the curver foot - or am I wrong?

Try it... I only have the 1/4" one for patchwork, and haven't got round
to using that yet...



--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!