Pattern, primer, notch, interfacing, wet patch… the vocabulary of sewing can quickly lose people who are new to the subject. In this same jargon, you will regularly hear about decatizing. This important step must be carried out before making the garment or parts. Do you know what it consists of and what it is used for? Made In Tissus gives you all its advice for decatizing a fabric before sewing it.
The sewing machine is ready, the fabric finely chosen, the template in mind or the pattern laid down: all you have to do is sew...well, almost. Before moving on to sewing, it is strongly advised to think about decatizing the fabrics. One of the main reasons? Anticipation of the problems of shrinkage of the parts after washing. What does it mean to “decatify a tissue”? Originally, decatizing was the sewing step that consisted of removing the cati from the fabric. This finish added luster to fabrics. Today, the verb "decatir" has a more generic meaning of preparing the fabric before the sewing project. Concretely, if you plan to sew clothes in the coming days, you will certainly decatize your fabrics before cutting your pattern. Avoid garment shrinkage Decatizing is important for some textiles. Indeed, it makes it possible to limit as much as possible the shrinkage of the parts at the time of washing. Imagine your reaction if the garment you have just sewn has shrunk while washing in your washing machine. To avoid such a situation, decatizing the fabric before starting to sew is a good solution. Note that clothes and bed linens made of natural fibers such as linen, wool, cotton, silk and hemp tend to shrink during the first wash. Techniques to decatize tissue There are several techniques to decatize your tissues. One of the most common is to wash the fabric before sewing it. This washing can be done in several ways: by hand with cold or lukewarm water and in the washing machine. If you want to decatize by hand, follow these tips: Check with the knitted fabric manufacturers to make sure the natural fibers are not decayed. This step only needs to be done once in most cases, so you don't need to repeat it at home. If your fabric needs decatizing, fill a basin with fairly cold (lukewarm) water. Make sure the water is not hot to reduce the risk of damaging the fabric. Immerse the fabric for a few seconds. Be careful, do not leave it too long in the basin. Wring it out without twisting it and let it dry flat. When the fabric is dry, you can cut your pattern and sew the pieces you have imagined! For washing in the washing machine, choose the washing program related to the clothes or bed linen that you are going to make from the fabric. You can roll it up before putting it in the drum. In addition to washing techniques, decatir can be done from a steam iron. If this decatizing is simpler and faster, it is not as optimal as washing. With the iron technique, the goal is to create steam to wet the fabric. To do this, here are the steps to follow: Fold the fabric in half, iron the surface except for the crease that was created when you folded your fabric. Use steam to wash fibers and iron without steam to dry them. Repeat this operation on the other folds. Note that you can, for example, use the steam iron to decatify wool or linen. Although decatizing is important, it is not mandatory. Some fabrics do not need it and can be worked directly with your sewing machine. If you have any doubts, you can use old scraps of fabric and decatrate them.
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There are many benefits to mesh fabrics.
1. First, they are known to be soft and comfortable. They keep you warm and depending on the nature of the fibres, they will be breathable. 2. Due to their particular knitted texture, knit fabrics from most of the knitted fabric manufacturers have the property of being stretchable; which will allow us to put our head through the round collar without having to open a zipper or buttons. Mesh fabrics are comfortable fabrics that will hug the curves of the body. There are fewer adjustments to be made on the patterns because the fabric adapts to the volumes of the body (for example: there are no darts on a T-shirt, or you have 4 sizes for a pattern allowing you to sew the same garment from size 34 to 50...). 3. Knitted fabrics are also heavier than woven fabrics, this is due to the knitting of the yarn. Because of this heavier weight, knit fabrics have a nice drape. 4. Knitted fabrics do not fray like woven fabrics. The finishes are therefore easy to achieve. 5. Finally, mesh fabrics wrinkle very little and are easy to maintain, which doesn't spoil anything! Ecological and regional labels are taking more and more place in the choice of fabrics. Eco-labels like Oeko-tex and GOTS are the two best known. I wrote an article about it that you can find on the blog. It is true that this can be a criterion of choice for the fabric of your seams especially if the fabric is intended for creations for children, for hygiene or to be in contact with food... It depends on the sensitivity of each.
It is also necessary to draw the attention that all these measures to produce cleaner, to use organic natural fibers has of course a price higher than a traditional production. This is also a selection criterion to be taken into account. On the shop, you will find some knitted fabric manufacturers with a good quality/price ratio which was important for me and the vast majority of our fabrics are certified at least Oeko-tex (Atelier Brunette, Dashwood Studio, fabrics with Belgian patterns, our jerseys, plain poplins...) And yes the use... a very important criterion to take into account... I invite you to think about the future of a garment. For example, there is no problem in wanting to make an evening / wedding dress in silk because we know that we will not wear it frequently but the choice of silk may be risky for the confection a blouse to go to the office when we have two young toddlers... In short, if you plan to wear and wear out your clothes because you cherish your homemade seams, choose textiles that will last over time, that will be durable and easy to maintain. The seventh but also the most important when choosing a fabric is above all that we like it. The pattern, the touch, the drape... everything that makes a fabric put stars in our eyes and make us want to make a garment that we will wear with joy and a smile. |
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May 2023
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