Am I the only one who hates sewing digitally printed fabric? I mostly sew custom fashion doll outfits and have one customer who loves selecting fabrics from Spoonflower because they do have some fabulous designs.
After making a few outfits, I now gently steer this customer away from Spoonflower as working with these fabrics gets me very close to having a breakdown.
Even after washing, the digitally printed fabrics have an almost rubbery hand, in my opinion, and do not drape well at all, even the lawn. Needle holes do not heal, so every seam must be perfect on the first pass. And doing the hand stitiching that most pieces require in some areas is almost impossible. I have tried various sizes of hand sewing needles to no avail. I have to fight to get the needle thru the fabric, especially if the fabric is densely printed.
Anyone with good tips for sewing with digitally printed fabrics? I would sure appreciate any hints. Thanks.
JK
Replies
There are choices of fabric on Spoonflower. I have enjoyed sewing the fabrics I chose for quilting.
Sorry, but not very useful as information!!
- On what basis do you choose your fabrics ?
- How do you use/sew them?
- Any specialty threads, needles or stitches?
We would like to know.
Cordially.
I believe that Angellacey means that when you or your customer order from Spoonflower, you must remember to select the appropriate type of fabric for the item you wish to make. They offer silks, heavy cottons, light cottons, canvases, among others. The quilter’s weight cotton has been used by a number of quilters using the same supplies and techniques as always. Perhaps your customer has been ordering a fabric unsuitable for the garment.
Thank you for the comment. As I mentioned, I sew fashion doll clothes for adult collectors so fabrics have to work on those small bodies.
First I tried the Petal Signature Cotton which I thought would be similar to a premium quilting cotton. It was not. My customer had chosen lovely, but densely printed designs which would not soften up no matter what I tried. I did contact Spoonflower for suggestions and got their standard care instructions.
I also tried the cotton poplin and then the lawn. The lawn is closest to the hand that I would like but is still quite firm and not as sheer and soft as lawn should be. Just to try, I bought a piece of the chiffon, which seems the best; unfortunately, I can't use chiffon for every outfit.
Thanks, again, for your input.
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