July 2023 Meeting Recap

Like honeybees in a garden, members kept drifting toward the bolts of beautiful fabric at our July meeting. Janet and Dick Dapson from Fabrications brought so many high-quality choices, it was a sensory delight to peruse the luxurious and colorful textures. Janet’s presentation topic was “All Types of Fabric”, and she managed to cover an amazing variety with examples to demonstrate differences in weight and draping. Although her favorite fiber is silk, she advised that we consider the type of fabric rather than focusing on the fiber content. For example, rayon has evolved over the years, and is now included in many blends with differing characteristics. Rayon challis, originally a fussy dry-clean-only fabric, is now available in a washable! Newer rayons such as Tencel, Viscose, Modal (all trade names) are made from natural plant fibers which are then treated, and can be classified as “semi-synthetic”.

Janet also explained the differences between interlock or double knits such as ponte, and single knits like jersey. The latter, having a “knit” side and a “purl” side, tends to curl toward the knit (a.k.a. the “right” side) no matter what the fiber content is. Steaming the curly edges to lay flat while cutting and sewing can help somewhat. There is also a wash-away fabric stabilizer called Perfect Sew, that can tame those curling knit edges. In contrast, interlock knits do not curl. You may also see fabrics labeled ITY, an abbreviation for "interlock twist yarn," referring to a method of knitting the fibers that includes a twist, resulting in a natural elasticity.

Don’t let fabric suggestions on the pattern envelope limit your creativity. To prove this point, Janet showed 5 or 6 shirts and jackets all made from the same pattern, yet each was a completely different look because of her fabric choice.

Her final bit of advice was on NEEDLES. Universal needles work well on traditional wovens like cotton and wool, but if you are seeing skipped stitches with knits, try Ballpoint/Jersey needles. Newer types like athletic wear fabrics and some ponte may need the newer “Stretch” needles which feature a longer eye. Schmetz sells a color-coded pack with 3 knit and 2 stretch needles. Try Micro Tex Sharp for sewing jeans and use a longer stitch length when doing any topstitching.

Janet and Dick Dapson are long-time supporters of our chapter and have been advertising in our newsletter since they opened their fabric business over 20 years ago! Janet is also a certified Palmer/Pletsch sewing instructor. Their fabrics are gorgeous, programs are always fun and informative, and they did not disappoint!

Marty  Boehme
Past President, Lansing Clippers

Comments

  1. Judy HuhnJuly 28, 2023 at 2:41 PM

    Nice article, Marty! It was a fun and informative meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 28, 2023 at 8:09 PM

    Great coverage Marty and it was a nice evening!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoyceJuly 30, 2023 at 7:07 AM

    Marty, this sums up the evening perfectly and it's helpful to see Janet's tips.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 31, 2023 at 4:23 PM

    Thank you for summarizing the meeting for those of us who could not attend. I really appreciate hearing about the programs that I have missed. Well done! Pati Snow

    ReplyDelete
  5. Char ThelenJuly 31, 2023 at 10:17 PM

    Thanks for a great article Marty! It’s nice to have this information written down so we can refer back to it in the future, when we forget what we heard at the July guild meeting. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  6. Char ThelenJuly 31, 2023 at 10:19 PM

    Thanks for a great article Marty! It’s nice to have this information written down to refer back to when we forget what we heard at the July guild meeting. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 1, 2023 at 3:30 PM

    The article that Marty posted was really great. It described the content of the meeting perfectly.

    ReplyDelete

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