Your Guide to Interfacing by Amy Butler

Cotton Cloth

* Description: Pant weight twill 10 oz. 100% cotton. This is a less expensive fabric than Duck Cloth.

* When to use it: We use it to add thickness, durability and structure to the project. Be careful not to get too many layers because it gets thick in the seam allowances and difficult to stitch through.

* Can you wash it? Yes, It’s important to wash it if your project will be washed after being constructed. The canvas shrinks quite a bit.

* Substitutions: Duck cloth, a denim if using a darker fabric. Be careful to match the colored fabric with the fabric color you are using.

* Tips for use: It is important to preshrink, but if you are not washing your project then do not wash the canvas. Once you wash it, it wrinkles a lot and can be difficult to press flat.

Duck Cloth

* Description: Pant weight twill 10 oz. 100% cotton.

* When to use it: Same as cotton canvas.

* Can you wash it? Yes, it will shrink.

* Substitutions: Canvas or denim (if using a dark fabric.)

* Tips for use: Preshrink

Fusible Interfacing

* Description: There are different weights of fusible interfacing. A lot of fusible interfacings are non-woven.

* When to use it: When you are looking for a crisp look or to change the drape of the fabric.

* Can you wash it? Usually. Always check the label on the bolt to be certain.

* Tips for use: Fusible inter-facings will usually create a crisper look once applied. Always test on a scrap of the fabric you are using first.

Sew-In Interfacing

* Description: This is a non-woven interfacing. It is thinner material and crisper but will usually create a softer feel than fusible once applied.

* When to use it: For stability, especially in areas of buttonholes, cuffs, necklines, facings and to prevent sagging or stretching of the fashion fabric.

* Can you wash it? Yes, it is washable. It will shrink. Sometimes ironing will pucker it…use caution (test first).

* Substitutions: “Self-fabric” interfacings could work as long as no bulk is created in the seam. Think muslin.

* Tips for use: Should pre-shrink before using, by hand washing or steaming w/iron.

Timtex

* Description: This is a thick, stiff stabilizer

* When to use it: When you want to hold the shape of your project.

* Can you wash it? Yes. It does not have to be pre-washed, but it helps to reshape your project.

* Substitutions: Yes, you could use Peltex. It is not quite as thick as the Timtex but it should work just as well. Peltex is available with fusible on one or both sides.

* Tips for use: Cut off the seam allowances before stitching it onto your project. You can stitch right on the edge of the Timtex which helps to cut down bulk in the seams. Steam the finished project and mold the Timtex to shape.

* Tip to apply the Timtex: To help keep the bulk from the Timtex out of the seams, we cut a little more than the seam allowance off completely around the Timtex Panel, then center it on the panel. Cut a piece of fusible interfacing the same size as the panel. We use Stacy’s stabilizer, it’s perfect for this! Place the fusible side toward the WRONG side of the panel on top of the Timtex. This will secure the Timtex on the panel with no need to stitch it in your seams. It’s makes using Timtex more ” friendly”.

Other Tips

* Always choose light color interfacing for light color fabrics and dark for dark. It is best to use an interfacing slightly lighter in weight than the fashion fabric. Interfacings can be “doubled up” if extra thickness is needed. Trim in the seam allowance to take out some of the bulk. It’s okay to use different kinds/weights of interfacings in different areas of your project and even combine them . When in doubt, test, test, test.

* It’s also OK to layer your interfacings. If using the same weight interfacing as your fabric is not enough, or does not give you the look you want, double it, or add a layer of another type of interfacing.

* Please note that sometimes there isn’t enough fusing material on your interfacing, or maybe it puckers as you stitch it in place. Fusible interfacing is easiest to remove while it is still hot. Be careful not to burn yourself, but pull it off once you see it is puckering. It rarely presses out. It is important to test on a scrap piece of fabric. Products We are always on the look out for better / easier ways to interface to give our projects the best effect. We receive most of our ” hot tips ” from our retailers and sewing friends, and we learn a lot through experimentation. We’ve tried several brands of interfacings and here are some of the products we like to use:

* Pellon Fusible Stacy’s stabilizer OR SF-101: This is a fusible woven mid-weight interfacing. This one is nice because we were able to layer it with a fusible fleece (Fusible Thermolam fleece). It adds the stiffness we are looking for and the fleece adds softness.

* Cotton canvas: We use a 10 oz. weight. It adds stiffness and durability. Sometimes we use multiple layers of canvas to get the desired effect we are looking for. The cotton canvas we used is from Thompson Manufacturing.

* Natural Duck Cloth: This is very similar to the cotton canvas. It is 100% cotton, 60” wide. It is manufactured by Schott International, Inc.

* Timtex: This is a stiff, thick stabilizer. It holds the shape of your project, and you can press or steam your project back into shape if it becomes distorted with washing and use.

* One product we have walked away from is Pellon Craft Fuse. We used it earlier on in our patterns but decided we didn’t like the papery / crunchy effect it gave the projects. Over time we’ve discovered that other Pellon interfacings used alone or in combination with Timtex, have a superior effect.

Kindle 2 is Here!!!

Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Now if only this thing can pull up pattern books and print out patterns with a touch of a button! Oh my, that would be awesome!!!!

New Fabric to my Collection – Amy Butler, etc.

Met a lady on Craigslist selling beautiful fabrics at $2/yard.  She even came to my place for me to pic out which ones I liked.  Total: $40 (fabric, a pair of bamboo purse handles, and 3 sets of patterns for purses).

Vintage Thread Holder/Cabinet

I found this sewing cabinet from a thift store in Poway, CA.  I almost passed it up but couldn’t resist this hand made beauty.  For $12.50, I think it’s well-worth the price.

Sweet Cherries with Embroidery Summer Dress

What a timely month and sale it is at Jo-Anne fabric and craft stores.  March is National Craft Month and what better reason than Spring season coming up to be inspired and get into full gear just before the summer.  I received a mini-magazine from the store with all the goodies for sale chocked full of coupons.  I headed over with some ideas and possibilities in mind for some upcoming projects.  While there, I walked aisle after aisle and my head kept spinning with even more possibilities and creations.  Despite failing at my goal of leaving with only 1 thing, I did manage to limit it to three items and save 40% on everything.  They let me use 3 coupons in one transaction because they were 3 different categories and 3 different coupons.  Imagine that… My three purchases were:

Cherry-print fabric for a summer tube top dress.  One yard of this stuff is enough to make a dress for me and the baby.

Schmetz Machine Embroidery Needles to do some machine embroidery on the summer dresses.

Sulky Sticky+ Stabilizer to put on the fabric before performing any embroidery.  This keeps the fabric from shifting or stretching as the machine does its stuff.

Total Bill = $23.31.

So go ahead… get isnspired.  Hit up your local J0-Ann store or go to Jo-Anne.com and shop with your fingertips!

The Sewing Machine Song

47″ TV Cozy (Martha Stewart Sewing Project)

The first of many "Project of the Day" projects I want to make

For directions on how to make one, click here.

Sew Up Some Buttonholes??

This concept comes from a story I read in the classic little book I Dare You. A professor once hit upon a great discovery while buttoning up his vest. Or rather, he hit upon the discovery because his vest wouldn’t button up. His little daughter had sewn up some of the buttonholes by mistake. His fingers were going along as usual in their most intricate operations of buttoning a button, when something happened. A button wouldn’t button.

His fingers fumbled helplessly for a moment, then sent out a call for help. His mind woke up. The eyes looked down………a new idea was born, or rather a new understanding of an old idea. What the professor had discovered was that fingers can remember. You know how automatic things can become, riding a bicycle, using a keyboard, or even driving home from the office.

Then the professor began playing pranks on his classes, and he found that the answer was always the same. As long as they could keep on doing the things they had always done, their minds wouldn’t work. It was only when he figuratively sewed up their buttonholes, stole their notebooks, locked the doors, upset their routine, that any thinking was done.

So he came to the great, and now generally accepted, conclusion that the mind of man is “an emergency organ.” That it relegates everything possible to automatic functions as long as it is able, and that it is only when the old order of things won’t work any longer that it gets on the job and starts working. Keeping things the same may be keeping you stupid.

* Maybe that job loss is an opportunity for your brain to wake up and discover meaningful work rather than just a paycheck.

* Maybe having the bank refuse your loan application will prompt your brain to come up with a better solution.

* Maybe that flat tire will trigger a great invention that will make you a millionaire.

* Maybe the warning about high blood pressure will wake you up to better health and richer relationships.

So my advice is this: Sew up some buttonholes in your life this week. Drive a different route home from work. Read a book you would not normally read. Write your name with the hand opposite your normal dominance to see how it wakes up your brain. Take time to stop to help a stranded motorist. Volunteer to help on a community project. And welcome the unexpected “closed buttonholes” this week. You may be surprised at having your brain turn on. Who knows what creative ideas or solutions you may discover.

- Dan Miller, author of No More Mondays

Another addition: Singer 15-91

I picked up a Singer 15-91 from the Salvation Army yesterday Friday morning. I have been eying it for 2 weeks at its price of $85. More than double the cost of my Singer 201-2 but I was given 25% off and this one had everything all still with its original boxes too:

Tube of machine lube, all the different feet (7), and buttonholer and its attachments. I did find the original manual. It was my daughter who took it from the set! It is good to know that no one stole something from the Salvation Army Thrift for the sake of providing a high-demand collector’s item on eBay.

I could buy one off of ebay…. but it just isn’t the same. I called SA and they said it wasn’t there. Oh well…. still worth it as the same exact machine is currently on ebay for $300 with still more than a day to go.

Singer 15-91 EB Series
Sews through canvas, leather, etc.
Distributed from Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1953
Factory Name: Kilbowie in Clydebank, Scotland

She works fine… just needs a cleaning.
More information on this machine can be found here.

Sewing Shopping Day

Gearing up for sewing, Little Miss here, thought it be appropriate to get some goodies. By 8:00 p.m. today, I had the following items:

*Cherry wood desk from a woman off of craigslist for $25.
*Hand made vintage sewing cabinet half off of its $25 tag
*Roll of velcro from Michael’s at $1.99 per package
*Pattern tracing paper for $.50 and some fusing for $.10 at the thrift store.
*Dritz Cutting Set containing the rotary cutter, a cutting mat, and a clear quilting ruler from Jo-Ann for 40% if its $39.99 tag
*Dressmakers ruler from Michael’s at 40% of of its $8.99 tag

As you can see, I love a great bargain and with a little bit of effort, it is possible acquire the things you need and will use without going so overboard. www.CreateForLess.com.
has my Dritz cutter for $12.99 by itself and at Joann’s, it was $14.99. No site has my cutting set bargain but with Createforless, you may still save with everything else.