Preparation of Fabric for Sewing

Preparation of Fabric for Sewing

Preparation of fabric for cutting and sewing involve the following steps :

·               Straightening

·               Shrinking

·               Pressing

Straighten the Grain of the Fabric

The grain of the fabric should be checked thoroughly. The cross wise grain is composed of fabric threads that run parallel to the cut edges of the fabric. While the length wise grain, on the other hand, is composed of fabric threads that run parallel to the selvedge edge, the self-finished edge of the fabric.

Knit Fabrics

In knit fabric, cannot be straightened by pulling a thread. To find a straight line, in knit fabric, contrasting-colour thread is used to hand-baste across a crosswise loop. Then fabric is cut along the basted line. This gives a straight edge for folding the fabric and laying out the pattern.

Serge the Cut Edges of the Fabric

An over lock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an over lock sewing machine (sergers) will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through the machines. Serging is done to prevent unravelling of fabric

Prewash the Fabric

Most fabric need to be pre washed because many of them including cotton, flannel and knitted fabrics can shrink significantly when washed.

It is important to wash such fabrics before use.

Iron Out the Fabric

Iron out the fabric after prewashing of fabric.

Appropriate amount of heat should be used on the fabric to remove creases and wrinkles