Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Stabilization


 There is different advice about the best interfacing to use to stabilize the fabric from silk ties. The silk is flimsy and on the bias. Dave of Dave's Craft Room said he used the stabilizer that he used when sewing a t-shirt quilt. I don't exactly know what he used, but a ultralight weight knit interfacing is often recommended for t-shirt quilts. I used Pellon White Easy Knit Fusible EK130 for the top piece. And it is very light weight and slippery. It is a good weight in general, but was very slippery to sew.

The bottom interfacing is Pellon Featherweight Fusible (911FW). It is stiffer than what I wanted, but it is much easier to sew. I would not want to hand quilt it, and the hand of silk isn't really there anymore. But given that I will want to have some precision with seam intersections, this will be my choice for the project I am planning.

For the test I am trying flip triangle corners. The top row has the knit interfacing and the bottom has "featherweight" that we will call cardboard.

Using the knit interfacing is a bit like wrestling eels dipped in oil. And using the cardboard gives the satisfaction of origami.


I could get precision with both types of interfacing, but I think I will swear less using the heavier interfacing. To me, there is no question that some kind of interfacing is necessary, but the choice of which ultra lightweight will depend on preference and the type of quilt being made.

And although Molly would like to announce the winner of the chicken dinner now, we will make that announcement tomorrow. (Yes, it's still a fabric giveaway, I just had to sustain Molly's interest.)


4 comments:

  1. This is what I use for stablelizing for T-shirt quilts
    Pellon's Shape-Flex--it's a woven 100% cotton. Available in white or black

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  2. Adding my recommendation of the Pellon Shape Flex SF101.

    Good to see those wood Wood Ducks are being put to work. That's what they do!

    Carolyn

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  3. Having said that, for my last T-shirt quilt (made for me!) I starched the designs quite heavily (at least twice--possibly thrice--with a heavy-duty spray-on) before cutting them out. That worked quite nicely.

    Carolyn

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  4. Would that wash-out stabilizer that some of the embroiderers use be a help? I've only used the really really stiff stuff for reinforcing bag parts and waistbands, so this lightweight is a complete unknown.

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