14+ tips for sewing velvet fabric

Velvet is one of the most luxurious fabrics that you can sew. It comes in bold colors and a nice texture. No matter the size of velvet used in making a cloth, it would look attractive. Unfortunately, learning how to sew velvet is not easy. Just like other textured fabrics, there are some quirks in velvet.

Those quirks make it difficult for beginners that are interested in sewing velvet fabric. To work easily, you just have to study the tips for sewing velvet listed below.

Select simple styles

Velvet has a pile inside. That means that it has woven sets of threads cut to make the surface. The surface is quite fuzzy. So a lot of people see it as a signature texture. Unlike other fabrics that don’t have piles, the seams that are inside velvet are quite stiff and bulky. When selecting designs, you shouldn’t select the ones that use too many seams for fitting. One of them is darts. Instead of selecting any one of those, you should go for the looser ones.

Cut from the other side

Whenever velvet fabric is cut on the right side, there are two things that you will easily notice. You will notice that it is not easy to mark the pile. The way you mark piles even depends on its length. At times, your markings won’t be good. Such a thing can affect how your garment will turn out. In some cases, the markings can even become obvious when you finish sewing velvet fabric. Consider designing Care labels to brand your products and make them unique everywhere.

Baste your pieces properly

When learning how to sew velvet, you might experience creeping. That is the double layers of your fabric will shift while you’re working. To return things to position, all you have to do is baste the lines of your seam. You should even do that before you start to use the sewing machine. It is easy to baste by hand. It can even save you from a lot of seams that you are yet to pick.

Trim seam allowances

If you trim seam allowances, the bulk will reduce easily. The stiffness would also reduce. After more than 2 layers have been joined, you can grade the allowances of your seam. All you have to do is reduce the interior layers and make sure that they are not as big as the exterior layers. You can do that by trimming. After all those things, your bulk will be minimized. Then the velvet clothing fabric would drape easily.

Sew in stabilizers

You shouldn’t use irons. It is also not advisable to use a stabilizer in ironing.  Since velvet has a drape, it would be easy to reinforce some of its areas. Those areas include collars, closures, and the likes. You shouldn’t employ the use of a stabilizer. Stitched-in layer is one of the best material when it comes to fabric. Another popular material that can be used is silk organza. Just make sure that you don’t make use of iron-in interfacing. When you finish sewing, you can use hangtags to brand your products well.

Try velvet of different weights

Some velvets behave differently. Even though old velvets were made of pure silk, the new ones are not like that. Velvet now has a lot of options. You can select anyone that you like. As there are new velvets made of silk, there are other ones made of synthetic blends. Some velvets can even stretch to a long distance. Those were made by combining knitted backing fabric with velvet of a soft pile. As the fabric brings flexibility, the velvet brings softness.

Be careful while selecting closures

Since velvet clothing fabric is fine and attractive, it needs a closure that can match it well. Even though invisible zippers are a great option, they easily get caught in fibers. Another option that you have is a hand-picked zipper. Since they were carefully stitched by hand, they are quite sturdier. Even when they are compared with an average zipper, they are sturdier. When you study the majority of the available fabrics, you would notice that you can easily see the picks. Just focus on the tiny orderly dots.

Study pile closely

Since there is a pile in velvet, a nap can be found there. It would even point you in the right direction of the fiber. If you touch the pile at the bottom, you would notice that it is quite smooth.  It might even appear lighter. If you change the direction that you run your hand, you would notice that your velvet would appear darker. It can also become softer.

Easy marking techniques should be used

It is one of the most important tips for sewing velvet. When you’re sewing velvet fabric, you have to make sure that you don’t crush the pile. While you’re making your fabric, you can easily trace wheels. Pencils can also be marked the same way. Just do it carefully to avoid any form of damage to the fabric. You can make use of the tailor’s tacks. You just have to get a thread and a sharp needle.

Make use of walking foots

There are various tools that can be used to prevent creep. One of them is walking foot. Walking foot is also referred to as presser foot. It consists of feed dogs. The function of those feed dogs is to move the fabric at the top. Then it would go under the needle. In most cases, the rate at which it would go under the needle is the same as the rate of the layer at the bottom.

Don’t press

Just like applying a hot iron on fabric, it is wrong to press velvet. If your pressing goes wrong, the pile would be crushed. Then the signature look would also get spoilt and you won’t be able to reverse things. The best thing that you can do is to press seams with your finger. Since the seam will open easily, you shouldn’t apply too much pressure. The steam generated from your iron can even help make your fibers relax.

Don’t hem before hanging

If you hang your velvet sewing projects before you start hemming, it would help the weight and stretch. You can hang them for a day or a couple of days. Before you stitch, you should mark the line of the hem again. If the length of your hem is too much, you should cut it in a rough manner. Then you can proceed to hang. If you remove excess weight, there is a chance that your fabric will spring back.

Employ the use of stretch techniques

If you want to make use of stretch velvet fabric, set your machine well. While you work, make sure that your fabric isn’t stretching in any way. To make your velvet sewing projects neat and attractive, you should work on a surface that is large enough. If your table can’t contain the fabric you’re working on, it might make your fabric over-stretch. Such a thing can result in rippled seams. To perfect your project, you should consider making use of custom woven labels.

Right needles should be used

On velvet, stitch work is so obvious. To make your work fine, you should always use good thread and needles. Since the sharpness of the Microtex needle is too much, it reduces the mark in needles. When compared with polyester, silk thread is quite thin. Even with that, it isn’t compulsory. You just have to ensure that you always use thread with the right weight. If you don’t do that, your thread might fray easily.