Aligning the horizontal selvage is an easy, almost automatic, process for most sewers. Getting the cross-grain fabric straight on silk, rayon, and satin can be tricky, however. While working on one end, the other end too easily slides and becomes misaligned. Even finding the true cross-grain on some fabrics requires an extra step or two.

Sarah Veblen, Maryland sewing instructor, fashion designer and author, cautions that it may take 10 to 15 minutes of preparation before you can begin to pin up your pattern. In this video, she demonstrates the process and her favorite method of finding the true cross-grain.