My mini-wardrobe plan will have to modified to finish this in time. I think I'll make a knit top to to go under my jacket.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Slow but Steady
I always like to do samples before I sew things. One of my favorites is topstitching samples. For the BWOF 04/2009 #116 jacket, I'm using a baby wale corduroy. I did pressing samples to see how it would behave. You have to worry about the nap when you use corduroy. If you crush it with the iron, it's really obvious and looks very over-pressed. It's hard to see in this photo but the left most pressing is the best. I hovered the iron over the seam and finger pressed the seam. It left the least amount nap flattening. Ironing on the back with a pressing cloth was the second best. Ironing on the front was the absolute worst though it doesn't look that way in the photo. You'll just have to trust me. :)
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7 comments:
That jacket will look very nice made up in corduroy. I like the color.
I wish I would do more practice runs. I'm always too impatient, and boy do I pay for it!
Ditto to making samples. It is time well invested. I always keep my samples to refer back to on a later project.
I've pressed corduroy using a scrap of the fabric placing the seam and the scrap right sides together. A really fluffy towel can work or - if you're going to do a lot of napped fabrics - you might want a needle board. I googled to find you a link.
- Myrna
http://www.fabriclandwest.com/Notion_basics/Sewing_Tools/tools_for_professionally_sewing_.htm#velvaboard
Sorry - the link got cut off. Googling needle board + velvet did it.
- Myrna
I have also had decent success with ironing on the back over a bath towel. The terry cloth of the towel absorbed a lot of pressure without affecting the nap of the corduroy.
My (new) sewing teacher showed me this neat little trick last week with pressing seams on corduroy... with wrong side of fabric showing, she slipped a piece of thin card / cardboard under each seam as a kind of shield to the fabric underneath it, then pressed the seam open. Worked very well!
Funny, the corduroy I've been working with is very similar to your your picture here :)
I have a question for you - did you treat the fabric in any way before using it? This is my first experience with corduroy... and I went straight into it, no pre-steaming/cleaning/etc. But am nervous what will happen when I need to launder it (or in fact, how best to launder it!)
Thanks,
Jen.
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