some q's about sewing from a pattern

Nap is the direction of the fabric. Think of corduroy or velvet. Remember/notice how the color is different depending on which way the light hits the fabric? (take a velvet or corduroy shirt. hold it upside down, then right side up. see the difference?) That's nap. When you're using a napped fabric, all of your pattern pieces need to have the top facing in the same direction.

Many fabrics don't have a noticeable nap, and so pattern pieces can be pointing in opposite directions without making the finished garment look odd.

The selveges are the finished edges of the fabric.

Almost all new patterns have the seam allowance already included in the pattern. You cut on the outside line of the pattern, and sew your seam 15mm in from the cut edges.

If the pattern instructions don't say you need to add seam allowance,

*don't*.

You should probably think about getting a good introductory book on sewing. Reader's Digest puts out a good one, as do a number of other publishers. Your local library or used bookstore should have a few. (even the old books, with the outdated fashions, still have good information....the terminology hasn't changed.)

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

"Nap" in fabric is when the fibers on the fabric lie more in one direction than the other. Thick fabric like corduroy and velvet are good examples. For these, if you run the palm of your hand over the fabric, you'll see that the fabric looks darker in that spot. Also, one direction of the fabric will feel more smooth as you run your hand over it than when you run your hand in the other direction. =20

When you buy fabric off a bolt, notice how the fabric is folded around the bolt? The beginning of the bolt, and where it is cut to the measurement you want are the cut ends....the side ends, which are finished so they do not ravel, are the selvage ends.

You can transfer the seam allowances to the fabric, but it is easier to have something on the sewing machine to guide you.=20

If you got attachments with your machine, hopefully one of them is a seam guide. This guide is often shaped like a "L" with the long side having a screw that goes into one of the holes on the sewing machine bed. You just measure your seam allowance from the needle to the location on the bed, and set your guide so that the fabric 'hits' the edge of it. When you have the measurement just right, tighten the screw so the guide stays in place and this helps your seams to all be even.=20

Some folks just stick a piece of tape on the needle plate at the right measurement, and use that as the guide.

Yes, one should never, never, stop learning!! Good luck with your project!!!

------------------------ Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing = in the middle.

"Nap" in fabric is when the fibers on the fabric lie more in one direction than the other. Thick fabric like corduroy and velvet are good examples. For these, if you run the palm of your hand over the fabric, you'll see that the fabric looks darker in that spot. Also, one direction of the fabric will feel more smooth as you run your hand over it than when you run your hand in the other direction. =20

When you buy fabric off a bolt, notice how the fabric is folded around the bolt? The beginning of the bolt, and where it is cut to the measurement you want are the cut ends....the side ends, which are finished so they do not ravel, are the selvage ends.

You can transfer the seam allowances to the fabric, but it is easier to have something on the sewing machine to guide you.=20

If you got attachments with your machine, hopefully one of them is a seam guide. This guide is often shaped like a "L" with the long side having a screw that goes into one of the holes on the sewing machine bed. You just measure your seam allowance from the needle to the location on the bed, and set your guide so that the fabric 'hits' the edge of it. When you have the measurement just right, tighten the screw so the guide stays in place and this helps your seams to all be even.=20

Some folks just stick a piece of tape on the needle plate at the right measurement, and use that as the guide.

Yes, one should never, never, stop learning!! Good luck with your project!!!

------------------------ Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing = in the middle.

Glitterati, you've gotten some excellent help here.

Now I'll add a little cheerleading. My daughters and I were in a mall recently, and in a store window were two skirts with no hemming done to them whatsoever. The raw edges were just there, shredding. If you've already made a couple pillowcases, I KNOW you can do better than that!!!

And if you mess up, just tell your friends it's the new "unconstructed" look!

Hang in there, it's like learning a new language--you don't need to know how to conjugate every verb to start out! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Indeed! Everybody has to start somewhere! With me it was at my granny's treadle when I was too small to SIT at it, so learned to treadle standing on one leg!

Oh, and welcome to the group!

Pattern tissue IS relatively strong, but needs care. Start with you measurements (there's a chart and instructions on my web site), and cut out the right size for you, based on those measurements.

No, this is the pattern or pile: make sure the flowers/checks/velvet pile is going the right way before you pin down the pattern and cut it! Looks vile of half the pattern is upside down!

Not all fabrics have a nap, and these are more economical as you can lay pattern pieces out dovetailed!

Selvege is the woven edge of the cloth. Sometimes it has the name and maker of the fabric on it. You need to lay the pattern pieces out with the grain line parallel to this woven edge.

There is a note about reading pattern symbols on my web site that might help you with some of this stuff.

It might be a good idea to mark this until you are used to it. After 42 years of sewing, I usually manage to eyeball it fairly well, but i like my students to mark it the first few times. A standard dressmaker's tape measure is 5/8" or 15mm wide, and you can use this to mark you seam allowance: best thing is to pin the garment together and baste it on this line.

There are some notes about different seam types and finishes on my web site.

Good attitude! But DO have high hopes! If I can make my first wearable skirt at 7 years old, and with a zip in it, so can you now. Just be prepared for having to re-do bits. Baste the main bits together and try it on to see if it needs adjusting, make the adjustments, then sew. Make sure that you UNDO any bits of basting that get in the way of other seams!

And we are here to help you every step of the way! To find my site, hit the URL below...

So it seems that I am using a 'napped' fabric, since I'm using corduroy. It's easy enough to tell on a finished piece which is top and which is bottom, but how will I know which is which on a piece of fabric?

I'll go to the library sometime this weekend and have a look at their sewing books =)

So it seems that I am using a 'napped' fabric, since I bought a corduroy for the pattern. I guess it's fairly easy to tell which is the top on a finished garment, but how do you tell on a piece of cloth which is which?

=)

Hello soul mate,

I'm a beginner too, and I have just started my first pattern as well.

I am doing a shirt, and I have been working on it for over a week. When I went to the store to pick up the fabric I told the nice lady I wanted something inexpensive as I was making a shirt for my garbage pail.

So far I have sewn , taken appart & resewn everything at least twice, I made about 3 collars and it still isn't right. But I am having fun.

As a beginner myself, I can probably give some beginner advice, or at least advice in beginner terms.

Nap is more or less the direction of the fabric. Lets say you chose flower pattern for your skirt , you probably want all the flowers to be pointing up with the stems at the bottom. Unless you are going for a solid color flat cotton, you will want to pay attention to the direction of the fabric.

Seem allowance is the distance between where you will sew and the edge of the fabric. Most pattern now have them included in the drawing so you don't need to add them before you cut the fabric. 15 mm is about 5/8" which is the usual seam allowance unless otherwise specifide. This being said you will want to pay close attention to those marks on the pattern they tell you where the pcs fit together. since you have extra fabric added ( the seam allowance ) you can't realy aline the pcs just by alining the edges since they are 15 mm off .

Have fun and keep your seam ripper handy you will need it

Jean

So it seems that I'm using a 'napped' fabric, since I bought corduroy for this pattern. It would be easy enough to figure out which is top and which is bottom on a finished garment, but how do you tell which is which on a piece of cloth?

=)

Doesn't really matter, as long as all of your pieces face the same way. Pick whichever direction you like best. :)

(The only time that 'top' matters is when you're using a directional print like a floral that really only goes in one direction.)

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

Congratulations!

"With nap" layouts are used for fabric that has a nap or a one-way pattern. Velvets and corduroys have a nap. It means that the fabric has a different colour or sheen when viewed from one direction (parallel to the selvedges) to the opposite direction. It feels different, too. If yo brush your hand one way it will feel rough and smooth the other. You need to make sure that all the pieces for a skirt have the same orientation or there'll be colour changes from one piece to the next.

A one-way pattern will be obvious and again all the pieces should be in the same direction or you'll have (eg) bunches of flowers sprouting upside-down on some panels. You may also need to take care where big motifs are positioned. You may not want a large single flower directly over each breast, for example.

It's safer to stay away from napped fabrics or one-way designs until you're a bit more confident. Better to be brilliant at something simple and build on your success than to fail at something complicated, I think.

Selvedge is the uncut edge of the cloth that runs along each side of the whole length of the bolt. You can tell which edges of the cloth are selvedges because they don't have any loose threads and they don't fray.

You can mark the seam allowances on the fabric if you want but you may find that there is already a mark on the throat plate of your sewing machine.

15mm or its imperial equivalent, 5/8", is the commonly used seam allowance in home sewing patterns so if there's any mark on your machine's throat plate it's likely to be there. If it isn't marked it's easy to do with a fine-tipped marker or a piece of sticky tape, or you can draw a fine scratch on the metal throatplate with something hard and sharp. The mark needs to be 5/8"/15mm from the centre position of the needle.

You'll get pretty good at eyeballing small distances as you sew more.

Are you anywhere near a library? Can you borrow a basic sewing book? It will answer a lots of questions - although of course you can always ask here :-) I just bought a book for my DD: the New Complete Guide to Sewing, here:

and I'm hoping it will last her formany, many years.

Best wishes, happy sewing,

Sally

Awesome advice guys! =)

One more piece of advice about choosing your material, buy the best quality you can afford. I've run into more people who've said they hate the way their pieces turn out because they've chosen really cheap, poor quality material. While sewing clothing can sometimes save you a bit, especially if you are an odd size as I am, what you are really getting is the quality of a made to fit item.

If you are going to spend x numbers of hours constructing something think of what your time is worth in addition to the cost of the materials you use. Corduroy an excellent choice for your skirt, or a jumper, or jacket. You just have to be careful to use the with nap instructions when cutting it out.

Good luck on your project and let us know how it comes out.

JV

Stroke it lightly. When you are stroking with the nap, it will feel smooth. When you stroke against the nap, it will feel rough. I like the nap to point down, but this is strictly a matter of personal taste. Pick the fabric up by the middle and look at it -- which end looks better to you? Stand in front of a full-length mirror, drape it around your neck, and see how it looks on. Since this fabric is to become a skirt, hold first one end and then the other up to your waist to see how it will look and feel as a skirt.

If you still can't decide, make it up with the nap pointing down. That's how all the other mammals are wearing it.

Having chosen a direction, use chalk or removable marker (check that it *is* removable on this particular fabric!) to make little "this end up" arrows all over the wrong side. When you cut, watch the scraps and put more arrows on any usable-size scraps that haven't any.

As long as you don't wear the fuzz off correcting mistakes, I don't think a corduroy skirt will give you any extra grief. It's a nice stable fabric, it doesn't try to crawl off the cutting board, and the fuzz will hide your stitches when you hem it.

Oh, yeah -- *measure* the pattern, and compare it to a skirt that fits you. I don't trust any pattern company's sizes.

My first for-real project was a skirt. I don't know how many times I had to pin the pleats before I got it right.

Joy Beeson

After reading through all your replies many many times, I have finally positioned the cut out pattern pieces with the nap going in one direction =D

I realize I'm jumping a few steps ahead, but I have a question regarding "pressing". The pattern calls for it a few times, and from reading a bunch of your posts, pressing seems to be crucial in order for the garment to look not-homemade. Is there a special technique to doing so? It's different from ironing, isn't it?

Thanks a bunch =)

I have one long-sleeved velvet dress cut with the nap going down, and one cut with the nap going up. If I wear anything - sweater, wrap, shawl - over the one with the nap going up, whatever i wear over it creeps upward. Xena

Yup, it's different!

For garment making, I use a DRY iron and a damp pressing cloth. When you press, you DO NOT move the iron: You PRESS it down on the fabric, and lift it off to move it to a new area. After pressing a seam, you can iron any sole-plate dents out of the cloth if there are any, but it is quite a good idea to avoid this by pressing seams over a sleeve roll for straight seams, or a 'ham' for curved seams.

If you look on my web site, there are more pressing ideas explored in the Pressing Problems section of Kate's Sewing Room. This is more to do with fusible interfacing than seams. I must write the seams section!

You might also find my Glossary of Sewing Terms useful. Something else that could interest you is the sewing equipment list.

They say, don't they, to make velvet clothes with the nap going up as it looks richer, but I prefer the nap to go down. You can very easily slip right off a chair if the nap's going up (ask me how I know...)

:) Trish