My daughters love super comfy PJ's. I'm considering sewing them fleece PJ's for Christmas. However, I need advise on buying good fleece. My store choices are: JoAnns or Walmart. Does anyone know who (if anyone) has fleece that does not pill and will stay super soft? Also, I do not have a surger ... Will my zig zag be enough to make the seams look finished? I do sew, I just have never used fleece in a garment. The only thing I have made w/ fleece are bean bags and no-sew blankets. Any tips on sewing w/ fleece would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
So long as you don't mind spending the money, buy the best from Malden Mills! There are many on-line outlets that sell it, or you can go direct to the source. There are many types of fleece, so be sure to buy the type you need for the job in hand. Penny has an excellent list of suppliers on her page here:
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I've used all three of the European suppliers, and they are all excellent.
As for actually sewing it... Well, OK, a serger would be my first choice for seams, but there's no reason to think that's the ONLY way to sew it. And anyway, plenty of processes NEED to be done on the ordinary machine! :) Just use a knit/jersey needle and a small narrow zigzag stitch (and be prepared for any stitch ripping to involve unpicking each stitch individually!). You'll find a walking foot a distinct advantage, and a roller foot useful. Fleece doesn't ravel or ladder, so there's no real need to clean finish, though a serged seam *is* neater and less bulky than an unfinished seam.
I second Kate's advice to buy good fleece (Malden Mills or Huntington), especially for something that will be washed as often as pajamas. My choice would be Malden Mills 100 weight or microchamois if the daughters sleep under covers.
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has a variety of solid colors now;
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has a few solids and some prints; Penny's list has more sources.Fleece is EASY to sew with. It does not ravel, and a ball point needle and narrow zig zag will do nicely.Have fun, Karen
Two more flat seams for fleece: butted and zigzagged (or some other variant), and overlapped and stitched through...
DON'T do facings and pockets and such in fleece... use a thinner fabric or eliminate them. Last time I looked at Big 4 patterns that said they were intended for fleece, they had the construction of a woven, complete with turning under the edge of a facing and stitching it so it wouldn't ravel... except polarfleece doesn't ravel anyhow.
Easy stuff to work with... the pile can hide all manner of sewing sins. However, I would suggest that you might want to use something like Collins Wash-A=Way WonderTape to baste in zippers instead of pins. No ripples!
oh my, my last real sewing of clothing attempt caused me to quit sewing for years (and now I don't do clothes,just silly applique stuff) and it was the ZIPPER. I think I should buy some WONDERTAPE. That sounds like great magic stuff.
On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 23:13:19 -0800, Beth In Alaska
Two other trips for you:
1) Cut the zipper area seam allowance 1" wide instead of the usual 5/8" (yes, even on non-fleece fabric)
2) Use a strip of very light fusible interfacing (I mostly use a fusible knit intended for sheers) on the zipper seam allowance*. *(don't interface fleece)
There is a zipper insertion technique in RTW where all the sewing is done down one side and up the other... fast, efficient, and works well. LMK if you're interested, or check out the zipper section of Crawford's Guide to Fashion Sewing. (That book is intended to teach basic sewing to fashion students who will need to have an inkling of how it's done in the real factory... so it uses RTW techniques adapted for regular sewing machines. Very step by step, a major improvement on the home sewing instructions. Wish I'd learned that way. My productivity and sewing quality improved after that book.
While I am using Kate's posting as a starting point, my questions are in no way meant to negate her knowledge and experience.
A few years ago I made a flannel and fleece jacket which was only meant to be worn for casual occassions. When I got to the point where I wanted to put in buttonholes I came across a reference that said not to put buttonholes in *just* fleece because the stitching would just pull out (ie, ravel).
My question is: what is the one best book to learn the tricks to sewing fleece?
Hm... That depends what type of 'fleece' you are talking about... The sort we are discussing here is made from a knit fabric, stuff like Malden Mills Polar Fleece. It can be quite stretchy. When I make buttonholes in that, I usually do them just in the fleece, with no backing, but I cord them to stop them stretching out of shape. The same technique can be used for stuff like sweatshirt fleece and the stuff with a fleece layer bonded to a mock suede or other fabric backing (or 'fronting' really, as the fleece is usually the inside of such garments!). For fabrics that are knit on the inside, with no pile, you can use a knit fusible interfacing to stabilise them a bit, but I still like to cord the buttonholes.
If you are using a woven fleece fabric, or combining a fleece lining with a woven outer, then I'd stabilise the buttonhole area on the inside of the flannel, but not the fleece. You'd probably find you didn't need to cord the buttonholes in this instance, as the flannel and its stabilizer would stop the buttonholes stretching anyway.
The coat I'm making for my sister right now has HUGE buttons and buttonholes. These are made like a welt or bound buttonhole without the welt! You use a woven 'facing' to make the slots... I might actually insert some welts just for the look of the thing. I'm using a fold-over elastic binding on the coat edges, so I may use some of that for the buttonholes as well.
The coat I'm going to make this fall has a bottomweight woven for the exterior. But the area where the buttonholes are going to be is all in a knit fleece at the center front on both sides. The interior of that area will also have a stabilizer (type to be determined), 200 thinsulate and a lining material. Also, as this material has been fairly pricey to buy, even at the best discounts I could find, unless I am very successful at losing weight I will be wearing it for at least 3 yrs.
Your "welt" idea has given me this....the coat has some decorative ribbon used decoratively on some of the seams. I could carry this over to the buttonholes.
Ooooppss! I the middle of the last paragraph I relooked at the pattern. We're going through all this for almost nothing. Someone will get some use out of this info. I don't know where I got the idea I needed buttonholes. The pattern uses loops for the buttons not holes. But, if I decided to redo the old jacket I'll keep these posts filed away.
Of the books I've seen on the subject of sewing fleece (I'm sure there are some I'm not familiar with), the best one is "Adventures with Polarfleece: A Sewing Expedition, by Nancy Cornwell." I also have, and have used extensively, Ruthann Spiegelhoff's "Polarfleece Pizazz" and "More Polarfleece Pizazz," but IMO they are for projects that are rather basic and without real dressmaker details.
The Cornwell book is softcover, 160 pages, and retail price is marked $19.95. These a very abbreviated summary of the contents:
What's in a name (brand names, types of fleece)
Basics you need to know (right and wrong side, sewing and serging basics, notions, adhesives)
Doreen, I didn't even notice it. If you knew how many times during a posting that I've made errors and had to hit the backspace key you'd wonder how I posted anything at all! I didn't count but there were probably a half a dozen in that previous sentence.
More often than not, zippers are installed where no zipper is needed. I was quite offended, back when I still tried to buy RTW, to find that a loose, scoop-necked dress had a zipper running down the back!
All my own designs have no zippers. The last hold-out fell when I realized that I never undo the neck of my cycling jersey for ventilation -- wet cotton is much cooler than bare skin, and has a higher SPF.
But I'll put a zipper in my windbreaker, if I ever get around to making it.
Depends on how much mobility you have in your shoulders. I've got a teammate who is struggling with a reoccurring contractures in the shoulder joint subsequent to a mastectomy. Back zips are extremely helpful if you can't raise your hands overhead and shimmy.
Yeah, but a wet white cotton t-shirt only has an SPF of 5. Better than bare skin but not by much as compared to the various high-tech synthetics which have SPFs of about 50.
I've got enough lime green wind-pro fleece to make a jacket and pants (okay, it's not lime, it's more like booger green) and I want a zip-front windbreaker, and whatever style of pants won't make me look like a peeled kiwi fruit.
It was a baby footed onesie thing. It needed SOMETHING to get the kid in and out. Snaps probably would have worked. I had no idea a zipper would be difficult though.
Doreen, i'd like to make little polarfleece outfits for The Monk, aged two. I'm a beginner. Would I be better off with the "pizazz" books since I'm a clueless idiot? Or would the cornwell be understandable?
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