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How to sew novelty fabrics?

HotRags | Posted in Fabric and Trim on

Hello everybody,

I am new to this forum business and not sure how it works so please forgive any gaffes.

I recently bought some material and I don’t know what it’s called. My guess would be “spangled”. The backing is a light mesh and it is covered all over with shiny black disks attached by one stitch on the edge. It looks very glamorous and showy, but I’m not sure how to sew it. I have sewn with sequinned material before, just sewing through the plastic sequins, but these disks are bigger…maybe about a half inch in diameter. Do I need to sew it by hand? Have any of you any experience or tips on how to handle this kind of material? It would be much appreciated.

I am using a very simple pattern with no darts, which I think is necessary… McCall’s 7995, view B. I am using black velvet for the straps. What should I do about the hem?

Thank you!

Replies

  1. User avater
    ThreadKoe | | #1

    These are paillettes, and are simply big sequins. The technique for sewing this fabric is similar to sewing with sequinnned fabric. Best bet is to remove the paillettes that are going to be in the seam area. You can hand sew some back on to cover up the ones that leave bald spots. Because they are quite flexible, you may be able to push them out of the way as you sew also. If the mesh is actually a netting fabric, you can sew it like lace and overlap your seams, rather than sewing them face to face. This would be a lot easier. A netting does not need a hem as such, so a bit of lace or cording or velvet ribbon makes a nice finish, as does a overcast (rolled) edge. You could also just face it with a piece of satin ribbon. Hope this is helpful. Cathy

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