I've been playing around with some new techniques and fabrics. One being Laminated Cotton. It's not oilcloth or some version of , however, truly cotton fabric with a thin layer of vinyl laminated on top. I'd love to get into the factory to see the process, but it's probably pretty much like the laminator I have at my house. Yes, don't judge. Of course I have a laminator at my house. And I use it a lot. See, I love details. Nothing better than a laminated thing. Love it for keepsakes and crafts.
Anyway, Laminated cotton seems like it should be pretty challenging to sew. Pinning and stitching are the top two scary issues. I have a really great Viking Lily machine that it is desperate need of professional attention, but we both have separation anxiety so we'll pretend it's ok, that the tension is perfect, and the throat plate isn't gouged everywhere.
The first project I did was ok to sew and looked cute and fine when it was done. But, on closer inspection, I should not have had to TUG to get the fabric through. All the stitches should be the same length with equal tension on top and bottom. There was also a bit of bubbling where the top and bottom were shifting while being stitched.
UNTIL I did a few things.
1) use a walking foot (an accessory foot you purchase separately for your machine)
-it acts like an upper feed dog so the fabric on top and bottom are feeding at the same time instead of just the bottom fabric feeding through.
2) use a very sharp machine needle. Pierces right through easily and doesn't get stuck in the laminate on it's way out to create the next stitch.
3: ditch your pins. I used Japanese Masking Tape to hold my fabric in place while I sewed. It held in place beautifully and was easy to remove. I pulled it off before the area was sewn much like how I remove pins, but one spot I missed it and even that was easy to remove the tape.
3 easy fixes and now Laminated cotton is a joy to sew! and the project ideas are so fun and varied - it opens up a whole new world!
2 comments:
Love all the tips! So, exactly what size needle did you use?
I used a size 80 needle. If you sew through a heavy layer of fabric, you'd need a heavier needle. Schmetz "sharps" are great, but at minimum, use a brand new "Universal" needle for your project.
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