Whites & Brights
What a fabulous fashion season summer is and nothing is easier than summer sewing. Less structured, uncluttered styling, linked with easy wear, easy care fabrics.
This summer is filled with choices and directions that should please every taste and every age with different styles, textures, fabrics, trims and patterns to suit – and as always the lynch pin is summer white.
15 GREAT TIPS FOR SEWING WHITE FABRICS
- Sewing Space – A byproduct of sewing is dust and lint. Clean your sewing machine and overlocker and oil if necessary. Run your machine, over old fabric, before starting on the new whites. Clean iron sole plate and water reservoir. Change the ironing board cover to a clean, white one. Dust and vacuum thoroughly. Put away other coloured ‘works in progress’.
- Almost all white fabrics will have ‘show through’. Seam show-through and underwear and body show-through. The alternatives are to make a statement out of it or eliminate it. To make a design feature from seams and hems consider French seams, Run & Fell seams or Double Welt seams. Edgestitching and topstitching are a fabulous way to highlight details like pockets, yokes, collars, cuffs, hems and edges. Choose patterns with more seams and features.
TIP: See the detailed article on edgestitching and topstitching featured in our last issue, November 2007 – Click on: Past Issues / Sewing / Fashion / Reversible Jacket & Vest.
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To eliminate show-through consider backing or lining your garment, but remember that this will add heat to your summer garments.
- Always wear skin coloured underwear.
- One way to conceal pocket bags, facings and seam allowances in white pants and skirts is to camouflage them by using skin coloured linings. Cut the pocket bag facings and any other facings from a lining colour which is close to your own skin colour. Trying to find a selection of skin tone lining is not always easy. Fabric stores which sell bridal fabrics have the best selection. To conceal the seam allowances neatened with a “Hong Kong” finish. This is a process were the seams are individually bound with double-fold bias strips, once again using skin coloured binding.
- Interfacings – For sheer and semi-sheer fabrics consider self-fabric, cotton or silk organza or select designs that need no interfacing i.e.: rouleau loops and button closures instead of buttons and buttonholes, neck binding instead of a collar. For mid to heavy weight fabrics select the correct interfacing for the weight and fibre content of the cloth, but always make a test sample.
- Remember that there are many shades of white. Not everyone looks great in ‘white white’ so consider winter white or shades of ivory. Remember to match your thread, lining, trims and buttons to your shade of white.
- Avoid coloured markers of any sort. Try white chalk (sometimes it does show), pin marking or tailor’s tacks, with white thread only.
- Always press from the wrong side of the garment or over a pressing cloth.
- If you can’t find white painted hooks and eyes, cover your silver ones with buttonhole stitches sewn with white thread. Similarly, cover any press-studs with white cotton voile, lining or organza.
- Choose sewing techniques, machine needles and pin type according to fabric type and fibre composition.
- Sew several white projects at the same time.
- Wash your hands often, especially in the summer, as oil and sweat from the skin can stain your fabric.
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Always launder whites with whites (try and train children, husbands and partners!). Avoid bleach in the wash, but rejuvenate whites at the end of summer with a long (several days, stirring twice daily) soak in NapiSan or Sards Wonder Soap. A bar of Sards Wonder Soap is a little miracle worker on stubborn stains.
- Always mend and launder ALL garments, before storing, at the end of the season.
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