Sew corduroy material

Corduroy material was a popular fashion material in the 70s. What does Corduroy mean? That is a question people have started to ask themselves lately. Even though corduroy became less popular after the 70s, people have started to use it again. Corduroys are not made in one form anymore. There are now corduroys of different forms and patterns.

No matter how much you hate corduroy, you would find one style that you like. What does Corduroy mean? The easiest way to identify a corduroy is through its wales. The wales are attractive and they are easily noticed. Apart from its strength, there are other admirable qualities about corduroy. Corduroys can be used to make almost all types of sewing projects.

As you can use it to make bags, you can also use it to make toys. If you’re just learning how to sew corduroy material, you’re going to experience some difficulties when working with the material. To make projects with corduroy faster and better, you should study the tips listed below

Select a quality fabric

Instead of choosing a polyester blend, you should always go with corduroy made of cotton only. When you wash it repeatedly, the blended fibers start to become weak. At times, the pile even crushes. Finger-pressing is good on cotton. Since other pressing methods are not good on corduroy, you should stick to only finger-pressing. At times, you might not be able to determine if your fabric is of the right quality. All you just have to do is scratch its surface. If it becomes discolored, it is a sign that it is inferior.

Choose simple shapes

The first thing you would likely notice when you’re learning how to sew corduroy fabric is the piles. Those piles are referred to as wales. There are different types of wales. As some of them are tiny, some of them are wide. Tiny ones are referred to as pin wales. Some Corduroy fabric content even has a combination of both tiny and wide wales. When you’re deciding on what to choose, it is better to select the ones with simple shapes.

Match Wales

Just like other fabrics, the wales of corduroy should be joined at the seams. That is when they will appear attractive. Things are quite different in narrow wales. There is usually a space in that case. You might even find it difficult to line up the tiny wales. Unlike tiny wales, the problem with wide wales in misalignment. To avoid it, you just have to lay your pattern well.

Prevent Fusible Interfacing

Whenever you sew corduroy material, make sure you don’t practice fusible interfacing. Even though a lot of sewers prefer fusible interfacing, it is not a nice idea to use it on Corduroy. You can only use fusible interfacing on collars. Fusible interfacing is quite popular because it produces a great finish. Your project would appear neater and more attractive after fusible interfacing. It also adds structure to projects. Even with all those benefits, you should still use stitch-in variety.

Shave down seam allowances

A lot of people believe that every shaving down is metaphorical. It is quite different in corduroy. It is really literally. The same thing applies to all other fabrics that contain the pile. After shaving down the pile, you would get more space for work. Before you start a new corduroy project, you must have practiced well enough. You can even get a crap corduroy fabric content from anywhere and use it to practice. Ensure that there are seam allowances available. That is the only way that you can avoid bald spots.

Use a full lining

With a full lining, you can easily secure seam allowances at the same time. To even make your garment more attractive, you should add flair. That is why full linings should always be considered before facings. The best materials for full lining are soft fabrics. Some of them are cotton and silk. They help to prevent bulk in projects. In case you want to use an obvious lining, you should decide if you want it to fade or not.

Select Subtle Embellishments

You should always be careful while working on Corduroy embellishment. It doesn’t work the same way denim works. Denim is known to stand up to overlays, rhinestones, and the likes. Corduroy is quite different because of its texture. It has a lot of beautiful and attractive styles. Since embellishments can be too obvious on corduroy, you should use another thing. Some of the other options that you should consider are unique buttons and the likes.

Choose the right layout

Corduroy has a nap. That is why you won’t see it the same way when you view from different directions. It even becomes more obvious when it has a deep pile. You will also have the same view with terry cloth and other similar fabrics. Even though the fibers on them don’t stand straight, the pile still maintains direction. If you take the time to brush the fibers, you will notice that the color will change. You might only see those changes if you brush in the backward direction.

Think vertical

Just like all other striped fabrics, direction matters a lot. It is quite normal for wales to run in the vertical direction. That direction makes it easy to sew corduroy material. You would be able to layout patterns of any size. Even though most people are used to the vertical direction, wales can run diagonally. It can also run in a horizontal direction.

Avoid Pressing

If you want to know why it is wrong to press Corduroy, you should iron a velvet. The wales will crush. All that would be left is a permanent shiny texture. There is nothing that you can do to revert the changes. To avoid things like that, you should finger-press. First of all, you have to finger-press the seams. After that, use an iron to set the stitches. Only the tip of your iron should be used in doing that.

Reduce Bulk

When you’re cutting corduroy fabric that contains pile, you are going to have a problem with bulky seam allowances. Even though the fabric is quite thick, the seams would become stiff in a short time. When you’re working with garments where seams are positioned in flexible areas, you would have the same problem. There are ways that you can reduce the bulk. The easiest way is to clip curves. You just have to figure out areas where you have more than one layer. An example of such an area is the collar.

Give raw edges a good finishing

When you’re learning how to sew corduroy fabric, you should learn how to finish edges. If you don’t finish the edge of Corduroy, it would likely ravel. After clipping your seam allowances, you have to protect them. If you don’t do that, they might become worn. There is more than one solution to that issue. It depends on your work. In some cases, you have to use more than one solution. You can simply serge the edges. Several binding techniques can also be used.

Make use of walking foots

Since the sides of corduroy material have different textures, the fabric can easily creep when sewing. You should also be careful while cutting corduroy fabric. As feed dogs pull the bottom, the seam becomes uneven. The only way to avoid that is to lift the presser foot. You might not be able to lift the presser foot in some conditions. That kind of adjustment can’t be made on some sewing machines. You can also use a walking foot. It provides a better result.