A lesson of how and why to clip inside and outside curves. Includes tips for beginner and experienced sewists. Includes a pattern to practice clipping curves and tip sheets for handsewing and sewing with Minky-type fabrics.
Bendy and Bunchy Curves – Clipping Your Way to Smoother Curves Have you sewn a curve and wonder why it looks more like an octagon? Are your seams lumpy around the turns? Learn why clipping curves are an important sewing foundation to making your curved seams smoother on clothes, pillows or any project.
In this demonstration of a foundational sewing skill, you’ll learn to how to clip and snip your way to smoother curves on your next sewing project. If you’ve been sewing for a while, you might be surprised at the newest technique to clipping and grading curves.
We’ll make an easy sleeping eyemask to take us through the twists and turns of smoother curves.
Why and How to Clip • Clipping condenses the fabric into a tight or concave
curve (1) and avoids bunching the fabric. • Clipping spreads the fabric to a bended arc, or a convex
curve (2). • Clip to approximately within three threads of stitching.
o Clipping too close to stitching puts stress on the seam and risks tearing the seam.
• Clip about every ½” to ¾”. The more the clips, the tighter the curve or wider the spread. With several clips, you can even make an s-curve.
• Beginners: clip vertical to the stitching line. o Example video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSrA-SQDo8g
• Intermediate and advanced sewers: o Grade seam; o Clip one side of seam in one direction; o Clip second side of seam in opposite direction; o Make second set of clips between the spacing of the first clips. o Reference: “Better Basics” article by Louise Cutting, Threads
• 1 fat quarter fabric or 2 5”x12” scrap pieces of fabric (no knits) • 13” length of ¼” elastic • Point Turner • All-purpose thread • Thread Heaven • Hand-sewing needle • Straight pins • Scissors
Instructions
Cutting 1. Fold fabric on the grain with right sides together. 2. Place the pattern on the fold. Pin and cut 2 of pattern. 3. Pin on the “X” of one of the fabrics; this marks your elastic placement.
Sewing 4. Unfold fabric pieces and pin right sides together. 5. Sandwich and pin ends of elastic on “X” of fabric. The end of the elastic
should be at the edge of the fabric or extending just beyond the fabric. 6. Sew around the outer edge using ¼” seam allowance. Reverse and sew
forward when you reach the elastic to give extra strength to these areas. Leave a 2” opening.
7. Clip curves and turn right side out. Use the rounded side of your point turner to push out the curves. Press with an iron or use the larger, rounded side of your point turner to press the seams.
8. Slipstitch opening closed. Tip: Run your thread through the Thread Heaven after threading your needle for tangle-free and easier sewing.
Make It Uniquely Yours! • Use flannel or Minky fabric on one side for a soft, luxurious feeling. • Use your sewing machine’s decorative stitches in a contrasting color to add
pizzazz or write a message across the front of the eyemask. • Let younger family members use puffy paints to decorate finished eyemasks. • Glue fake eyelashes or cut eyelashes from felt and for flirty girl eyemask. • Use shoelaces or ribbon instead of the elastic for a tighter-fitting eyemask. • Fill with 2 tablespoons dried lavender buds for a relaxing aromatherapy
experience.
This project is suitable for beginner, intermediate and experienced sewers.
won't be subjected to stress• Decorative purposes in lieu
of machine topstitching• Baste temporarily in
preparation for machine orhand sewing
Backstitch • Hand-set a zipper or attachtrim
• Use whenever strength isimportant
CatchStitch
• Hem heavy or bulky fabrics• Secure facings
DiagonalBasting
• Same as for basting• Useful for slippery fabrics
Overcast • Finish raw edges, especiallyloosely-woven fabrics
Slip Stitch • Close seams on stuffedanimals or pillows
• Attach linings
Stitch Best Use
Tailor's Tacks • Mark fabric for construction: darts,folds, match points, etc.
Whipstitch • Join one finished edge to another
Buttonhole/Blanket • Overcast edges• Make hand-stitched buttonholes• Decorative or functional depending
on closeness of stitches
French Tack • Secure facings• Join lining and garment hems at side
seams
Prick/Pick Stitch • A variation of backstitch used asdecorative element along a garmentedge or parallel to a seamline
Blind Hem Stitch • Hem a garment
Hand Stitches
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Sewing with Minkee-like FabricsPage 1
Fabric Notes
Microfiber plush fabrics are usually 60"-wide knits, so there's no need to worryabout raveling. They're available in manydifferent textures, from flat, dots, ribs,diamonds, stripes and swirly plushes tocurly longer surfaces sometimes referred toas "poodle."
The fabrics come in solid colors, polka dots,stripes and prints, and they can be single ordouble sided plushes. Some flatter piles areembossed with design motifs.
Because the plushes are polyester, there'sno need to preshrink fabrics before sewing.However, if you're combining plushes withother fabrics that do shrink, pre-wash themall before cutting.
Cutting Cues
Microfiber plushes will stretch. Like mostknits, there is more stretch crosswise thanlengthwise. Follow the pattern guidesheetfor layout, but be sure that the greatestamount of stretch goes around the item,especially for garments where fit may bedependent on some stretch.
Plushes have a nap. Color shading willoccur if adjacent project pieces are cut inopposite directions. To minimize the chanceof cutting discrepancies, mark the top ofeach pattern piece with an arrow, then besure to place them in the same direction onthe fabric.
Securely pin the pattern pieces to thefabric, as layers may shift easily due to thelush plush texture.
Cutting microfiber plushes is simple usingeither a rotary cutter or scissors. For easierhandling during construction, add to theoriginal seam allowance to make it at least1/2" wide if the pattern doesn't alreadyhave that width. This helps to minimize theseam edges curling while sewing.
Shedding Solutions
Because of the soft pile fibers, this fabric isvery messy to sew, so keep a lint removerhandy. It helps to take the cut piecesoutside and shake them vigorously toremove loose cut pile before sewing.
It's also important to keep the sewingmachine clean while sewing plush fabrics.Clean the bobbin case often during yoursewing spree.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h Seaming
A size 80/12 universal needle works well formost microfiber plushes. If your machinebalks or you have problems with skippedstitches, try a ballpoint needle instead.
Pin seams every inch or so to keep themfrom stretching and curling, and place pinsat right angles to the seamlines. To helpcontrol the fabric's stretch, use a walkingfoot on the machine to help keep the twoseam layers of aligned.
4.320
The term Minkee is a trademark of Benartex Fabrics, but you'll also see similar fabrics calledMinky, Minkee and Minkie. All of these names refer to a polyester microfiber plush that'ssofter than soft, and perfect for robes, sleepwear, quilts, baby blankets, children's toys, andanything else snugly and lush!
Sewing with Minkee-like Fabrics
Page 2
On a conventional machine, use a slightly longer thannormal stitch length for sewing seams—about 3.0. If theseam needs to have flexibility, use a narrow zigzagstitch. To prevent seams puckering as you stitch, use thetaut sewing technique: Hold the fabric firmly both infront of and behind the presser foot as you sew—don'tstretch it, just hold firmly.
A serger is ideal for stitching plush seams, as it trims theexcess seam allowance and finishes the edge at thesame time. Differential feed can be used to help keepthe seamline from stretching as you serge.
Trim off the excess seam allowance width as you sew ifyou're using a serger; otherwise, stitch on the seamallowance, then trim the extra width with scissors.
Hold It!
If pinning doesn't hold the seams securely while you sew,try water-soluble basting tape between the layers, but onlywithin the seam allowances. This narrow tape will hold theedges in place while you sew, then wash out later.
Pressing Issues
The plush textures of this microfiber fabric are easilydamaged with pressing, particularly if the iron is toowarm. It's easy to obliterate the texture completely ifthe temperature is too hot.
Finger-pressing works well, but if you must press with awarm iron, do so from the wrong side and cushion theplush on a folded towel or needle board to avoidflattening.
Embroidery Essentials
To embellish a microfiber plush project with machineembroidery, use a cut-away stabilizer to keep thestitched motif from distorting.
Select designs with some openwork or light fill inkeeping with the fabric weight, as opposed to heavilyfilled satin stitched areas. Designs should have goodquality understitching to help flatten the pile beforecovering with the fill stitching.
Most importantly, use a topper on the fabric surfacebefore you embroider to keep the plush fibers in check,and to keep them from poking through the designstitching. Water-soluble stabilizer or a permanent color-matched topper both work well for this purpose.
