Sewing Lessons & FAQ

[Lady Day]

Theres a whole thread on it DpD lol
A whole thread....

LD

 

[deadpandiva]

Theres a whole thread on it DpD lol
A whole thread....

LD

Thanks. I 'll take another look at the thread. It looks like everyone made theres according to the pattern though.

 

[Lady Day]

Ladies, an opinion.

I have a 30s dress that needs alteration. The fabric is stable and all but it needs to be laundered as well. Would you alter it first, then wash, or wash, then alter?

Thanks,

LD

 

[Miss 1929]

Wash, then alter...

Ladies, an opinion.

I have a 30s dress that needs alteration. The fabric is stable and all but it needs to be laundered as well. Would you alter it first, then wash, or wash, then alter?

Thanks,

LD

Even if it isn't shrinky fabric, some of the slack from being worn will probably pop back into place when washed.

 

[ShortClara]

LD, wash, then alter.

Ladies, I have a question as well. I am making a navy and white cotton dress with red cotton contrast. I washed the red separately, and, as I feared, it ran, just a little, even in cold. So, is there any trick to get it to be color-fast before I attach it to a navy and white fabric, or must I settle for white contrast on this dress? Thank you!

 

[BonnieJean]

try white vinegar

I had heard that washing your fabric with a cup of white vinegar helps lock the fabric dyes in place. I use vinegar instead of fabric softener and it hasn't harmed any of my clothes. As a matter of fact, I no longer have 'color transfers' with my clothes since I've switched to vinegar. So I'm pretty sure this does work.

I've also heard that washing the fabric in a solution of epsom salts and water helps to keep the dye in too.

 

[dakotanorth]

LD, wash, then alter.

Ladies, I have a question as well. I am making a navy and white cotton dress with red cotton contrast. I washed the red separately, and, as I feared, it ran, just a little, even in cold. So, is there any trick to get it to be color-fast before I attach it to a navy and white fabric, or must I settle for white contrast on this dress? Thank you!

There're a couple of different methods.
1. Buy something called "Retayne" (correctly spelled) that you can probably find at a quilting/sewing store. It helps "Cure" the dyes.
2. I think Soda Ash added into the water when you wash the red will help too- it drives the pH of the water UP, which helps the dye "cure" as well.
3. Wash the *&#@ out of it!! If it bleeds, wash it with hot water and actually use different soaps; Woolite, Dawn (dishsoap) are my two favorites. In short, torture the material and get it to give up as much dye as you can get BEFORE you use it.
4. Buy different fabric.

 

[Laughing Magpie]

LadyDay - I also agree, wash first then alter. You want any changes that will occur with washing (like shrinkage, or colour change etc) to happen before you cut or sew.

Color Bleeding:

I think the two apparently conflicting pieces of advice on whether to use vinegar (which lowers the pH) or soda ash (sodium carbonate, which raises the pH - regular baking soda would raise it too, just not as much) come from different fabric/dye combinations requiring different chemistry.

Commercial processes are a mystery to me, so I have no clue what sort of dye or process was used to actually dye your cotton, ShortClara, but the at-home process would have probably used a Soda Ash bath for cotton with a fibre-reactive dye. So in that case, Soda Ash would be used to cure or 'fix' the dye. Soda Ash is a powerful base and should be used with care.

Vinegar or acid baths would typically be used for fixing Acid Dyes on silk, wool or nylon.

Vinegar in the washing machine shouldn't hurt your cotton, though. And I know many people like BonnieJean, who do that.

I think, like dakotanorth, that the best suggestion is to get a product specially made for the purpose, like Retayne. Dharma Trading also has their own dye fixative for this purpose too (I have some and use it occasionally myself).
Retayne:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1981-AA.shtml
Dharma Dye Fixative:
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1569-AA.shtml

The other thing I sometimes do is use a detergent like Synthrapol since it really gets all the loose dye particles out.

Jen

 

[KittyT]

Thanks. I 'll take another look at the thread. It looks like everyone made theres according to the pattern though.

Nope! Josephine modified the neckline, Goldwyn Girl modified the armholes. I also modified the neckline. Also, check http://sewing.patternreview.com/ for reviews - I'm sure there are some who have modified the pattern.

 

[ShortClara]

Thanks all for the advice! I'll try to find some retayne and maybe try that vinegar in the wash, too.

I think I've decided to make the contrast white and use red button detailing. The navy and white fabric is the pricey stuff I got at Mood Fabrics, so I just don't want to take any chances!

 

[dakotanorth]

Different dyes

Ah yes, I forgot about Fiber-reactive versus Acid Dyes.... yup yup yup.
I didn't get that much result from "Synthrapol" though, I thought it was more for cleaning out residue, factory "junk" and dirt/grease/grime. IT didn't seem to do anything for the dye itself.

Jp

 

[Laughing Magpie]

I mostly use synthrapol while dyeing things myself, since it is so good at preparing fabric for dyeing, and so I've got it around. While you're right it won't fix dye at all, it does seem to help get rid of excess dye.

I think Synthrapol might help when you're washing fabrics together that you're afraid will bleed into each other by keeping the dye off the stuff you don't want stained, if that makes sense.

It's so cool that fabric dyeing has come up here - I have a lot of fun with that sort of thing

And good luck with the Retayne, ShortClara!

Jen

 

[dakotanorth]

I mostly use synthrapol while dyeing things myself, since it is so good at preparing fabric for dyeing, and so I've got it around. While you're right it won't fix dye at all, it does seem to help get rid of excess dye.

I think Synthrapol might help when you're washing fabrics together that you're afraid will bleed into each other by keeping the dye off the stuff you don't want stained, if that makes sense.

It's so cool that fabric dyeing has come up here - I have a lot of fun with that sort of thing

And good luck with the Retayne, ShortClara!

Jen

You DO??
Last time I tried to dye stuff I thought I need an albino snake and chicken bones... I've never had consistent results. Plus I discovered recently that fiber reactive dye goes inert after a while.

 

[ASimpleLady]

I've got a SUPER old sewing machine that I don't know how to work. I'm going to post some pictures here when I get off work and see if someone can show me what I'm doing wrong. I get so frustrated that I break down in tears because I'm not able to figure it out.

What happens is that I start sewing and the bottom gets jammed so I'm not doing something right with the bobbin thread.

I actually did have it serviced and got it to work ONCE but I'm doing something wrong.

 

[dakotanorth]

Jammed up sewing machine

There's a few common things that could be causing this- if you do have an old machine, it's probably easier to fix this yourself.
The lower bobbin has too much tension- doubtful.
The lower bobbin has too little tension- possibly. This means it's not "hanging onto" the thread and just letting it fly right out the instant the upper thread touches it.
The upper bobbin (your spool) has too much tension- possibly. Like above, it's a tug-of-war contest and the lower and upper need to be balanced in resistance.
The needle may be set out-of-sequence. In short, when the needle comes down all the way, it should pass inside the bobbin at a certain point, to a certain depth. If the front wheel isn't set right, the needle pops in early OR late. It's missing it's mark.
So... the lower bobbin- adjust the tension by twisting the little screw that holds the thin "clip". Righty tighty lefty loosey and we're talking 1/8th of a turn, TOPS.
Upper bobbin- the thread should come through an item that screws in or out- typically it has numbers painted around it. Higher the number, the more the tension.
Oh yeah, make sure your lower bobbin is fed right- like a roll of toilet paper, it should come OVER the spool, not under (inside the bobbin case).
Needle depth/timing- in the back of the neck (the "Front" of the machine) there is probably a hole, and if you turn the flywheel slowly, you will see a screw come around! IF you loosen this screw, you can now turn the wheel BUT the arm holding the needle won't move. This is how you retime it. Once it's set, tighten the screw. This "timing" gets messed up if you jam a needle into something and the needle doesn't pierce. Sorta like jumping and landing with your knees locked. Ouch!!
I'm pretty sure you can find diagrams online for this stuff.
As always, CHECK YOUR WORK before you take off- especially on the needle depth, it's really easy to snap it in half- somehow snapped metal always flies right for my eyeball too.

 

[Elaina]

I actually did have it serviced and got it to work ONCE but I'm doing something wrong.

Well, it can be caused by a few things. I always check see where my problem lies.

1) Is the machine threaded correctly in all the little doodads and do-hickeys right?
2) Is it the right needle for the job? If so, is it new, or does it have a burr on it?
3) Are you using cheap thread? Coates and Clark is cheap, but I personally don't have a problem with it, but I have sewn on a machine that required Guttenburg or it jammed. Along that line: do you have a huge amount of lint built up?
4) I'm going to assume you're not a masochist like I am and use an electric. Do you keep your foot on it and distrube the stitches evenly (no starts, stops, or Speed Racer seams)?
5) Did you put the bobbin in right?
6) Is the thread between the tension disks, and not on top of them?
7) Are you using the same thread weight in the bobbin and for the garment?
8) Last but not least (and this is ALWAYS my problem. I've had it so much, I can set disk tensions by feel, not by trial and error any more) try setting your tension tighter (same rule of thumb for screws applies: "Righty tighty, lefty loosey"). Be prepared for a very long, very fustrating time.
9) Of course, you can retake it in, and if you've got it fixed once, and it's not been long, most shops with refix it. If you take it in, have them look at the tension mechanism and see if it's worn. (I've had this problem, my disks were way too worn for words, and I had to get noew disks.) I've also taken mine in out of sheer fustration...a month of fixing it was too much.

Not sure what machine you have, but try the threading first. Always seems to be the main culprit, unless you have Mike the Treadle, of course.

 

[Miss Crisplock]

Elna Super?

Darling you don't happen to have an Elna Super do you?

If so, you're in luck. Besides being a fabulous Swedish machine, there is a wonderful Elna guy training Elna people in Machine repair and maintainance all the time. Also has every old manual, part and extra on the planet.

Can you post a picture of your machine?

 

[artful dodgette]

crepe!

have any of you ladies used crepe?
ive got some gorgeous crepe, but shall i wash/steam it first to see how much it'll shrink by?

 

[Lady Day]

I just hand washed a 30 crepe dress. Once its dry and pressed, it will go back to its size.

LD

 

[Laughing Magpie]

It's so cool that fabric dyeing has come up here - I have a lot of fun with that sort of thing

You DO??
Last time I tried to dye stuff I thought I need an albino snake and chicken bones... I've never had consistent results. Plus I discovered recently that fiber reactive dye goes inert after a while.

Really, I do . I have a hobby making costumes, so it comes up every once in awhile. I love silk and silk velvet the best (and mostly I've used Fibre reactives but in a vinegar bath). The couple times I've done cotton it's been a bit splotchier and not as rewarding. I always do it by hand in a tub rather than in a washing machine. But I love the combination of art, science and luck!

Jen