how perfect?
Arnold Feeny
as a new sewer, i feel like i have aeons to go before perfecting this
wonderful craft.
i've also been wondering lately if it *is* possible to perfect it...
that is, will there always be some margin for error in the process,
and That's OK?
a couple of my current For Examples:
i can't seem to get a truly straight edge when cutting out the pattern
from material. it seems so awkward, whether i'm using pins placed
close to the edge, or weights; whether i hold the fabric down while
cutting, or lift and tense it. i'm using very sharp scissors, so i
don't think that's the problem... is it just in the nature and geometry
of cutting that there will be some crookedness and/or raggedness
to the edges? or is there a better way to achieve something
closer-to-perfection?
relatedly, will most fabrics accommodate the just-slightly-askew seams
that come from using these slightely-jagged edges as stitching guides?
i've had no problems with knits so far, how about wovens?
how important is it to have the grain perfect? it seems like most of
the fabric i've used so far is just a little less than exact. i've in
the main not bothered to correct it, because the one time i tried to, i
destroyed the fabric. subsequent efforts seem ok, but am i missing out
on better success by not perfecting a method of correction?
fitting seems like an endless challenge.... do most of us strive for a
couture fit, or is there a point of ``acceptable,'' particularly with
regard to slacks?
i feel that i can really see progress in many of the necessary sewing
skills, particularly hand stitching, pressing, and working quickly,
but the above mentioned topics are still baffling to me. should i just
keep practicing and hoping for improvement, or cut myself a
little slack (no pun intended ;-) on hoping for a perfection that
doesn't actually exist?
thanks for any insights, and for the wonderful group!
michelle
--
mich...@sco.COM
Andrew Nguyen
>i can't seem to get a truly straight edge when cutting out the pattern
>from material. it seems so awkward, whether i'm using pins placed
>close to the edge, or weights; whether i hold the fabric down while
>cutting, or lift and tense it. i'm using very sharp scissors, so i
>don't think that's the problem... is it just in the nature and geometry
>of cutting that there will be some crookedness and/or raggedness
>to the edges? or is there a better way to achieve something
>closer-to-perfection?
Depends on how much you are off by I suppose. I usually find that the
cutting line will deviate by about 1/32" from the pattern lines.
I use a rotaty cutter (like a pizza cutter with a _very_ sharp circular
blade) which will pull on the fabric some as I cut, so I lift it up
every now and then to ease the tension in the fabric as I cut. I suppose
the same would apply to scissors.
(BTW, are you using "dressmaker's shears?" Their blades are offset
from the straight line of the handles to get the blades real low down
to the cutting surface.)
>relatedly, will most fabrics accommodate the just-slightly-askew seams
>that come from using these slightely-jagged edges as stitching guides?
>i've had no problems with knits so far, how about wovens?
Unless you are capable of following the fabric edge _exactly_, I would
not think that a _very_ slightly wavy cut edge would affect the seam
line.
>how important is it to have the grain perfect? it seems like most of
>the fabric i've used so far is just a little less than exact. i've in
>the main not bothered to correct it, because the one time i tried to, i
>destroyed the fabric. subsequent efforts seem ok, but am i missing out
>on better success by not perfecting a method of correction?
I am not sure I know what you mean by "correcting" the grain...
--
Andy Nguyen / Team Paranoid ...!uunet!actnyc!aqn
(212) 696-3668 ...!uunet!panix!aqn
Obsess Oblige
thanks for responding, andy. a couple of comments:
In article <1991Sep26.0...@panix.com> a...@panix.com
(Andrew Nguyen) writes:
> (BTW, are you using "dressmaker's shears?" Their blades are offset
> from the straight line of the handles to get the blades real low down
> to the cutting surface.)
yes, i'm using sharp 7" dressmaker's Ginghers (when i'm not
using an Olfa rotary cutter). another netter
wrote and commented that the angled dressmakers
are more accurate because of the same reason you note.
i realized i was holding them up and away, running them
along their point, almost, thus
cancelling out their functionality. now that i'm
holding them closer to the table, in the manner
for which their designed, i'm having much better luck.
>>how important is it to have the grain perfect? it seems like most of
>>the fabric i've used so far is just a little less than exact. i've in
>>the main not bothered to correct it, because the one time i tried to, i
>>destroyed the fabric. subsequent efforts seem ok, but am i missing out
>>on better success by not perfecting a method of correction?
>
> I am not sure I know what you mean by "correcting" the grain...
correcting the grain means straightening a crooked
weave (and/or knit?) by grasping and stretching the
material until the warp and weft of the fabric
are at right angles to each other.
i've heard that it's particularly difficult to
straighten today's fabrics, because many of them
are permanently set with sizings and various
chemicals -- even materials made with all
natural fibers.
by the way, i made a dress this weekend from
some *very* off-grain fabric -- i use only
remnants at this early stage of my sewing
career, so it's the luck of the draw |^) --
and it seemed to have almost no negative impact
on the drape of the dress. good thing it
was a rather, mmm, impressionist print.
maybe "correcting the grain" is one of
those vestigal sewing practices that has
gone the way of tailor's tacks ;-)
or, does anyone use tailor's tacks?
michelle
--
michelle murdock
mich...@sco.COM
friend of a fiend
In article <20...@scorn.sco.COM> mich...@sco.COM (Obsess Oblige) writes:
<stuff about dressmaker's shears deleted>
I don't do tailor's tacks right now. But then, I am still working
up to the concept of full tailoring, anyhow.
But, I can remember my grandma showing me how to correct the
grain of fabric back when I was first learning to sew. Basically,
if the grain of your fabric looks (something) like this (the diagonals
are the lengthwise fibers going off-grain):
A
/-/-/-/-/-/
/-/-/-/-/-/
/-/-/-/-/-/
B
Then you want to pull gently on the diagonal from A to B along the
entire length of the fabric, which will usually be much longer than
I have shown in this cheap ascii picture. This is supposed to true
up the weave so that the lengthwise and crosswise fibers are at
right angles again.
I have managed to successfully straighten out some fabrics using
this method, using a lot of steam ironing and pins to hold everything
in place, and sometimes also involving much cursing and swearing
while I struggle with the fabric. It really helps to have a large
flat surface to lay the fabric out on if you are going to attempt
this, though: working over an ironing board in cramped quarters is
a guarantee of frustration.
One thing I always-always-always do is to wash the fabric before
I use it. This is frequently the most difficult part of the project
to do, because I am always anxious to begin the project RIGHT_NOW,
once I've bought the fabric and so I am impatient to have to wait
to wash and dry it. But I always do, so that it doesn't surprise
me by shrinking or something, later.
The point of this comment, though, is that washing the fabric gets
the sizing and such out of the fabric, and helps relax it from where
it was wound around the bolt, so that it is ready to use. Sometimes
this will help straighten the grain, which can get pulled out of
true while the fabric is stretched around the bolt at the store.
If you have an item in which the drape of the fabric is not 100%
essential, then you can probably get away with a fabric that is
slightly off-grain. I can remember that I used to buy Levi jeans
at a seconds shop, and 99% of them had the side leg seams wrap
around to the front and back of the legs, which is what can happen
with an off-grain cutting of the pattern. It didn't really affect
the fit, or even the wearing comfort, of the garment, but it
tended to annoy the *$%@! out of the perfectionist side of me to
have the "side" seam running down my shin.
If you're cutting something that depends on drape, such as a
bias-cut skirt or top, then don't use fabric that is off-grain.
Also, you will occasionally find a fabric that is PRINTED off-grain.
I have, or used to have, this wonderful remnant of a plaid flannel
that had been printed off-grain, which I did not notice when I
bought it. So, the stripes of the plaid diverged from the horizontal
weave of the fabric by an inch or so. Needless to say, this fabric
piece did not turn into a garment (arrggghh!). That's ok, there
wasn't very much of it to begin with, and my kid, who was going to
end up with the proposed garment, probably would have hated it
anyway. :-}
Well, that's about all I know about fabric grain.
=caroline(waiting for the software to install....)=
--
It's been a bloody odd day.... not even a two plus two equals five kind of
day, more like two plus two equals ... fish ... or something.
-- from 'Cages'
Christine Hofmeister
I bought some wool jersey to make a dress, and washed the fabric first,
so that I'd be able to handwash the dress instead of dry-cleaning it.
After the fabric dried, I found that it had twisted; I no longer had a
rectangle of fabric, but a parallelogram. (I've had t-shirts that do
this: they start out straight, but twist more and more with each washing.)
I didn't try to straighten out the fabric before cutting, because I figured
that it would just twist back each time I washed it. So I cut it out
with the crosswise grain correctly aligned, leaving the lengthwise grain
crooked. Well, the first time I wore the dress, it started twisting.
I guess the lengthwise grain was straightening itself out, and exposing
my skewed cutting.
Should I have straightened the fabric before cutting? Or should I
have left the fabric skewed but aligned the lengthwise grain correctly
instead of the horizontal grain? Or should I have just resigned myself to
dry-cleaning? (I'll put up with twisted clothing rather than resort to
dry-cleaning.)
Christine Hofmeister