Oh Sew Chic Darling!

I was reading Vogue online the other week - unusual for me but an eye-opening insight into all the things in life I have never considered.

I was really interested in their proclamation that this summers ‘must have’ is a silk scarf. To wear round your neck, about your waist or fashioned into a top. It made me immediately want to fashion myself a silk scarf top (out of viscose obvs, silk is a little out of my budget at the mo) and I got to thinking about all the pitfalls of sewing with delicate, slippery materials.

So let’s talk about sewing with slippy materials. They may be light and airy and have a drape to die for but they can shift under your needle/scissors easier than a penguin’s belly down a sheet of ice. So here are my top tips for working with viscose and and other light slippery fabrics:

• Weigh it down! If you are cutting without a paper pattern (as we did for these infinity scarves) pattern weights really help to keep the fabric still whilst cutting.

• If you are pinning a paper pattern on then cutting the fabric leave it on til you are ready to sew it together this fabric really likes to shape shift and the pattern will keep it in place!

• When you are ready to sew pin, pin and pin some more. These infinity scarves are 60 inches in length and we pinned roughly every 2 - 3 inches to keep the pesky stuff still as we sewed.

• Use a new needle in your machine, fine and sharp is the winning combination.

• Use a walking foot if you have one - this isn’t necessary at all, so don’t be out off if you don’t have one!!

• Slow and steady wins the race, keep checking the bottom fabric as you sew to make sure it hasn’t slipped out from where you want it to be.

Sew well and prosper my friends!