In 2020 we have a year long challenge to #SewThePrecious – in other words, to sew that special fabric you’ve been afraid to use! It’s great to follow along with the hashtag on Instagram, where there is everything from refashioning to some serious pattern matching going on. It’s clear that many of us needed a bit of a push to use that special fabric.
I sewed my own #SewThePrecious project a while back, using this bold faces print rayon. The fabric is special to me because it cost more than I usually spend on fabric, and because as an ESL teacher, I love the multi-ethnic faces. Here are the strategies I used to make sure it turned out well:
- I used a pattern I’ve used before, the Cashmerette Montrose. I’ve been a pattern tester for Cashmerette for years, so I know the patterns always fit me well in terms of cup size, length and proportion. It’s also quite a simple pattern, so I thought it would balance well with the bold print.
- I chose a style with ease. As I’ll write about soon in another post, I tend to gain about an inch of circumference each year. If I sewed a fitted garment, it wouldn’t fit me in two years; this blouse has gathers in the back under a yoke, which gives me some wiggle room in sizing.
- Now, this will make some of you shriek in horror but… I cut into it without too much thought! Once I knew what I wanted to make, I put on a podcast to distract myself and cut the damn fabric. It is only fabric, and you can always seam together bits and pieces to make it work, or sew a sleeveless top instead, or use a contrast fabric if something goes wrong. Just go for it!
Cutting into special, sentimental, or pricey fabric can be intimidating, so today we are asking you for your tips to make sure it goes well! What are your strategies for getting the best result out of precious fabrics? Have you taken the plunge to #SewThePrecious yet?
This is kinda obvious but do a practice run of a similar, less expensive fabric first. If you know it fits and looks good you won’t worry so much about cutting into the good stuff.
I have had some Atelier Brunette fabric for a year or so that I have been waiting to use until I have time to make a muslin of the Matcha top. I am not going to cut into that stuff until I know it will come out the way I want it to.
Yes! I forced myself to make a muslin for my most recent #SewThePrecious project – I usually skip it but it’s better safe than sorry!
I’m no longer afraid to cut into precious fabric as I mainly sew TNT patterns that are well tested for fit.
Thank goodness for TNTs!
For me it was actually deciding which pattern to use which was the tricky bit, getting over that, ‘What if there’s something out there which would be a better use of this fabric?’ Once I’d come up with an idea which I was happy with (a mashup of a couple of TNTs), actually cutting it was fine.
I had plans to use one of my precious pieces of fabric – a border print Ankara – to make a dress and a fake jumpsuit (shirt and cropped wide legged trousers) which I could mix and match to wear: separates, dress with shirt/jacket; jumpsuit; trousers, shirt/jacket and vest; but my test of the trouser pattern isn’t a great match to my shape, so I’m back to the drawing board. I have other plans for other pieces, but I am not the right shape for most patterns so I’m being cautious about cutting into fabric I like until I know it’s likely to fit.
I just recently cut into a precious fabric, curtains that were hand-woven by my grandmother. They’ve been sitting in my stash for two years, while I procastinated and tried to decide on a pattern. In the end I knew I had given it enough thought and that I chose a pattern that wouldn’t be too hard, I just cut into the fabric and in return got a great summer skirt.