Joining fabric

Hi, I am making a very large project and need to piece together two pieces of fabric. Does anyone know how best to do this? The seam will be right in the center.

Reply to
Fran
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What sort of fabric ? and will the design cover all of the join ? Would iron-on interfacing work ? I'm thinking that you could cut a strip of the interfacing, and lay the fabric edge to edge on top of the 'adhesive' side. Press as instructions. Just a thought.

Reply to
Parrotfish

I don't know a whole bunch about needlework, but in regular sewing, it is usually best to not put one seam in the center but to take one width of fabric right down the middle and then piece equal amounts of fabric on each side.

Reply to
Samantha Hill - take out TRASH

I am working on pearl linen. Much of the design will cover the join but not all. This is a 5 foot by 6 foot chuppah and the single seam is much more palatable than 4 or more seams. Also, since the fabric is not square (big surprise ??) there is no way to just abut the edges.

Reply to
Fran

This is the way I've been advised to do it in needlepoint as well. I believe it has to do with the structural strength of the piece, not just aesthetics. But perhaps someone could comment on that.

I assume this is cross stitch you're working in? And that you've already worked most of it? Would it be feasible to work the stitches that would normally be background fabric in a thread color that matches the background? Dora

Reply to
bungadora

In SEAMGALLERY in Megadim , we had several years ago an exhibition dedicated to Chupot. Are you joining the cloth self edge ? if so just sit and hand stich it loke you would a knitted piece , a flat stich with an embroidery perle thread same color as the cloth ..The part that is not covered by the pattern i suggest that you embroider over with same thread color , for strengthening the join. if the join is made on a cut side and you have to make a seam and `hide` the edges, that i advice you saw the edges flat with invisiblestiches.

And Mazal Tov to the young couple , Is it for Lag Ba`Omer ? mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

And for added strength, you wouldn't just seam the canvas together, but actually work a couple of rows of stitches through both layers.

How that's going to work with the pearl linen, I don't know, but it's worth a "doodle cloth" to find out.

Reply to
Karen C in California

Fran wrote:

Fran, what type of stitching are you doing on the pearl linen - cross stitch, surface embroidery, crewel, pulled thread???? Will the face of the stitching be seen from the underside, directly over the bride & groom? I have only been to one wedding where a chuppa was used and from what I remember that's the way the chuppa was stitched. I ask because it makes a difference how the seaming is done. I am a professional seamstress and the way Samantha describes *is* the proper way to join two pieces of fabric. From what you have said, I assume there are only two pieces of fabric to be joined. It must be *really* wide linen to manage a 5 foot x 6 foot finished piece with just two pieces! If it is just two pieces, then I agree with you about having only one seam and I would put it as close to center as possible assuming the bulk of the stitched design is located in the center of the chuppa. If the bulk of the stitching is at the ends, then I would go with the way Samantha described. For esthetic reasons, when three pieces are stitched together, the center is usually the largest. for some reason, this just looks better to the human brain! But with something like a chuppa, I would probably have the pieces, however many there are, the same size. Regardless of where you put the seams and how many you have, you will need to "address" finishing the raw edges. Seam the fabric by hand so that the threads match up evenly. If you are doing any sort of counted work you don't want to have trouble getting your stitching in the right place; if you are doing some sort of surface embroidery, it's not as critical. Sew the seam about 3/4" to 1" wide with the raw edges on the back side of the stitching. Press the seam open within the stitched area and, if necessary trim the seam allowances down to whatever is comfortable to work with for you. In the areas where there is no stitching leave the full seam allowance, making it easier to turn under the raw edges. In the unstitched areas, you can finish the raw edges in one of two ways. The first is to turn under the raw edges on either side of the seam, hand stitching it down with thread of the same color. The other is to do a French seam where you press the seam allowance to one side, trim the seam allowance that is next to the body of the fabric to about half its width and then carefully turn under the top seam allowance to cover the raw edges and hand stitch down. If you have the time, you could work some sort of decorative vine type stitching over the seam in the area that doesn't have the body of the stitching. To balance things, if needed, you could also do this down the center of the sides that don't have a seam and that way, the seams would be even less obtrusive. I joined fabric -- years ago -- and it's near impossible to cover the raw edges with decorative hand stitching. Those pesky edges always seem to peak out, That's why I recommend having the raw edge on the "back" side away from the decorative stitching AND turning the raw edge under somehow. Stitching a chuppa is a huge undertaking and it is something that will be used over and over again so you want it to stand up to repeated use. PLEASE -- if possible post photos once you have the piece finished. And let us know which way of joining the fabric worked best for you. You never know when one of us will need to have that knowledge :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

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Reply to
Tia Mary

MY BAD!!!! Thanks to Joyce in RSA, who brought this glaring mistake to my attention! All I can say is I must have still been half asleep when I wrote this. What I have described is NOT a French Seam which is done when the fabric is sewn WRONG sides together in about a 1/4" seam, and then folded in so the right sides are together and the final seam is stitched along the original seam line. This encloses the raw edges within the seam allowance which is left loose. Joyce says what I describe is, to her, a specific type of fell seam

-- sorry I can't remember what her term was. I know what I have described above is not what I learned as a flat fell seam where half the seam allowance along the raw edges of both pieces of fabric is pressed in, one to the front and one to the back. The two edges are then "interlocked" (rather like folding your fingers of each hand into the palm and then joining them together) and a row of stitching is done along both of the fold lines. What I describe is a sort of felled seam but I can't for the life of me remember what the proper name is for it

-- and MOI a PROfessional seamstress!!! The only thing that comes to mind is a mock fell seam but I don't think that is correct. I must be having a Senior Moment so if anyone can tell me the proper name for this sort of "Joe McGee" flat fell seam, I would greatly appreciate it :-)! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

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Reply to
Tia Mary

It's also possible to back the seam with strong, fine tape. I believe one can get linen tape from re-enactor's supply houses such as

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. Tape can be used to strengthen and cover the raw edges of apressed-open seam, or it can be the seam: both edges sewn to the tapein lap seams, touching. For maximum strength, use a flat-felled seam -- but even when pre-graded, that means three layers of cloth at the join.

(A pre-graded flat fell starts by turning one edgy to the right side, then matching the other raw edge to it, right sides together, sewing one seam allowance from the folded edge, then pressing both allowances to the same side and hemming them down. The effect is like what you'd get by turning one edge to the front and one to the back, then making a lap seam with the raw edges inside.)

Joy Beeson

Reply to
Joy Beeson

Reply to
mirjam

Ps Same as in names of places clothes sewing items SEAMS do have different names in different countries, the above mentioned seam apears under the name flat seam , French seam /English seam ,,,, depends who the intends to use it. mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

We called that "run and fell" seam, but then it was all by hand, so done with running stitch and hemming! As Miriam says, the names differ, that's why I didn't say you were wrong, just different! I didn't know our French seam was called English seam elsewhere - that's like the French horn - cor Anglaise; Broderie anglaise - ?

Joyce > >...............

Reply to
Joyce

Thank you all very much. This will be very helpful. The work is primarily going to be pulled thread and kloster blocks with some cross stitch and satin stitching. The very center will be stitched. Right now I am in the process of gridding these two pieces and will join them once I can match gridlines. The reason I chose the pearl linen is that it comes in 67" widths. I had hoped that ordering 2 yards would result in a single piece but of course that did not happen. Fortunately, the cut ends are overstitched so I do not have to do any other overstitching until I am ready to join the pieces. I will try to keep you up to date on my progress. I have a November 1 deadline.

Reply to
Fran

This is too late for you now but if you ever do a project like this again you should call or e-mail your supplier and tell them specifically that you need a 2 yard length instead of just ordering 2 yards. That way not only do you not have to worry about a seam but you know the fabric came off the same bolt and do not have to worry about the remote possibility of change in dye lot. I hope you are a very fast stitcher because there is now way that I could stitch something that big and have it finished by November. More power to you if you can and I too would love to see pictures when it is finished.

Beverly B

Reply to
BeverlyB

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