Happy Saturday –
Hope your week is going well. It feels like January is just flying by and before we know it we will be celebrating Easter.
Just finished the blouse using the pattern S9470 Simplicity view C. The pattern had invisible zipper and pleats in the front and back. The fabric was a rayon, and it was slipping around everywhere. I had some issues at first in getting the pleats to match up and then I decided to utilize my own tips.
My first tip is to slow down. I am a seamstress who has a heavy foot when sewing on my machine. I wanted to get done quickly and then jump to the next project. Reminding myself that sewing is fun, but it is not a race. The blouse had several pleats, and my mindset of lightning speed was not working.
Second tip, utilize a lot of pins, basting glue or fabric glue or a combination of all three. The hardest was getting the pleats matched up. There were times that I was spending most of my time pulling out stitches than sewing. I had marked the pleats, utilized the basting glue and pinned the pleat below the stitching line. Once I utilized this method, I was able to match up the pleats.
Third tip is starching the fabric. Since the back of the blouse had a 22-inch invisible zipper, I starched the back pieces heavily. This made the process so much easier. Once the blouse was completed, I washed out all the starch and it laid beautifully.
Hope this helps when you are working with slippery fabric. Do you have any additional tips to keep the slippery fabric from moving around. I love hearing from my readers.
Happy Sewing –
Valerie
The Saturday Seamstress 