How-to Sew a Zip in Faux-fur Fabric

Sewing a zip in long pile faux fur fabric is not difficult. However, figuring out how to prevent the pile (long hairs) of the fabric getting stuck in the zipper teeth, took a little longer. My solution was to sew ribbons between the zipper tape and the fabric - it worked perfectly!

 

 

The back story to this unusual 'how-to' was my daughters request for a Tribble costume (I learnt a LOT about Star Trek!). After some discussion (and my inability to figure out how the costume would work), we negotiated that a Tribble toy and a Tribble bag or backpack would do nicely.

The long pile faux-fur fabric that characterise Tribbles was difficult to find and eventually turned up at Minerva Crafts UK, which also has very reasonable postage to Ireland.

The pattern is simply an oval shape with darts in the sides to make the Tribble more 3D.

The ribbon is a stitched cotton ribbon from janemeans. The width of the ribbon is important. A 15mm width ribbon works with standard zips, any wider and the ribbon would overlap at the centre of the zip and make it difficult to open. A narrower ribbon would allow the pile to get stuck.

 

 

 

The steps are straightforward, except to remember that the ribbon is placed between the fabric and the zip and zipper pull must be facing down, towards the fabric.

 

 

 

The ribbon is sewn to both sides of the zipper.

 

 

The ribbon will cover the zipper teeth and prevent the pile of the fabric getting stuck when the zip is used.

 

 

As the backpack was quite a large size, I used two zippers so that it could be opened wide. A carrying strap was attached to cord loops sewn into the top and bottom of the bag. The addition of lining and a zippered pocket made the bag more functional.

 

 

 

 

Another successful make, seen modelled here with a ribbon dress from a Japanese pattern (similar to these) that I sewed a few years ago.

 

 

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Sewing on a Budget: A Summer Dress in Black...& Red

This month I sewed a black cotton summer dress with with a really great stretch cotton from Abakhan Fabrics.

The project got off to a bad start as I thought I was ordering a black cotton jersey and intended sewing boy's t-shirts, so when this lovely cotton arrived I had to rethink. Salme Patterns have a free pattern for a dress that I've wanted to sew for a while, so I sewed the Sonja dress.

There are just 4 pattern pieces, so it isn't a very difficult pattern. The only slight changes I made were to add bias binding to the neckline and armholes, and to sew an exposed zipper. The binding and zipper both came from my stash.

Despite measuring the pattern pieces carefully and comparing my measurements, I had a problem fitting the bodice. It was much too large at the lower part of the armholes so I had to take about 4 cm from each side, tapering down to zero at the waist. Because of this I think the bodice lost some of it's shape at the armholes, and ended up overfitted.

One part of the pattern that I particularly loved was how the bodice darts and side seams aligned perfectly with the side seams and pleats of the skirt. (The picture is over-exposed to show the detail).

I'm not sure if a red exposed zipper was the best idea, but it was all I had. I used this method which I found on Burdastyle to sew the zipper. Though I like this method, I think the one illustrated by Pattern Runway would have looked better, as less of the red zipper tape would show.

The Burdastyle method allows for a neat finish inside.

The cost of the project was as follows
Cotton 97% Elastane 3% Fabric - white version £7.85 x 2m = £15.70
Free pattern
Binding from stash (similar available)
Zipper from stash (similar available)

As I used about a meter and a half, the dress cost approx £11.00.

And the modelled pics! Roles have very much reversed around here recently, my 6 year old loves being asked to take pictures. She took these pictures and is a natural behind the camera!

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Ribbon Dresses & How-to Select Ribbons for Sewing

The inspiration for these dresses came from a few sources, particularly the Great British Sewing Bee, Kids Clothes Week & a series on sewing from Japanese sewing Books!

Kids Clothes Week at the end of April gave me the push to start sewing the dresses but it was the wonderful series on sewing from Japanese Pattern Books that helped me decide to sew a Japanese pattern. I used a pattern from this book, bought from an excellent eBay seller. The fabric for these dresses is quilting cotton, the blue is from Oliver&S and the yellow/lime fabric is from Heather Bailey.

I loved the BBC's recent TV series about sewing and watching Lauren's approach to adding details & embellishment on the Great British Sewing Bee confirmed my own love of adding fun elements like ribbons, facings and other details to what I sew. The haberdashery and fabric showcased each week on the show (and linked to by the Sewing Directory) was impressive, in particular all the beautiful ribbon which was supplied by Jane Means.

I had fun picking ribbons for these dresses, so I listed what I consider important when I'm selecting ribbons, though it may be obvious!

How to Pick and Choose Ribbons for Sewing:

There are no simple rules for selecting ribbon types and colours when sewing dresses like these.

• Ensuring the ribbons are pretreated (eg by washing) in the same way as the fabric is important, so that the finished garment will be washable.
• Picking a theme is helpful, especially here as so many ribbons were being used. I chose striped ribbons for one dress & the other has spotty ribbons (see above).
• Deciding on ribbon colour can also be complicated, but keeping with Colour wheel recommendations, I like to keep to 3 main colours. These can be complementary or contrasting - as you can see below I initially considered raspberry as a strong contrast.
• Focusing on colours in the fabric that can be matched is also a good start.
• Use ribbons to highlight a specific feature. As these dresses have square hems, I chose ric-rac and decorative ribbon to create a focal point on the garment.
• Personalise and add fun elements, especially when sewing children's clothes. These dresses were for two 6 year olds, so the music and dog ribbon were added to personalise the dresses to the girls interests.

 

Trust your instincts when choosing ribbon colours for sewing projects. Lay your ribbons out on the fabric for a day or so. Swap, move and change ribbons around until they begin to look and feel right to you. Aim to enjoy the process, rather than putting yourself under pressure to find the 'perfect'' ribbon. There really is no 'right or wrong' ribbon!

 

I used quite a selection of JaneMeans ribbons on these dresses, but also included details like Liberty bias binding, flat-felled side seams and ........

....... an exposed zipper. These have been around the fashion world for a few years, and I've finally decided I like them! I've seen them sewn a few different ways in tutorials, but generally followed this tutorial from BurdaStyle

I love the simplicity of these dresses, which look like a regular a-line style, when hanging.

However the unusual shape isn't fully evident unless the dress is being worn, or is spread out fully.

I sewed the lime-coloured dress first to help me with sizing for the blue dress (for my niece). The lime dress ended up being a little short so I sewed up leggings for my daughter to wear with the Riviera pattern from the Sewing Clothes Kids Love book.

 

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Cosmetic Bag for a Cat-Lover

This wasn't on my list of things to sew at all, but when I was tidying up my sewing room, the pattern and fabric (already cut) fell out of the Tilda book Sew Pretty Homestyle. How could I resist??

I had been thinking of how to thank a friend of mine who loves cats. She always remembers each of my children's birthdays and our wedding anniversary, every year with perfectly chosen cards. I thought she might like this.

Of course it helped that I was looking for inspiration for my newly delivered janemeans ribbons, particularly the very recently released cat ribbons (there's a dog version too and a lovely piece on the background to their design) also stocked by Liberty of London.

I've made this Tilda pattern about 4 times before (for a niece, for a friend, for my sister-in-law) and it is very straightforward. This time I chose to use a lace zip from My Fabric House, and it meant I had to change around the order of sewing so that the zip would be on the outside. Basically, I had to leave the base of the bag and lining open to allow the zip to be sewn on in a later step. That might make it seem easy, but the seam ripper got a lot of use!!

Matching the ribbon ends is the most important part to get right, and if you squint at the picture, I just about got them even!

Stitching the ribbon to the outer fabric is the first sewing step and this has to be measured carefully. Then the ribbon will be straight and meet at the side seams.

The thread colour is exactly the same as the ribbon colour, so that the stitching wouldn't be noticeable and detract from the lovely cat silhouettes

This is my first attempt at applying a zip on the outside or 'exposed zipper'. There are a few tutorials on the internet on how to do this on clothes (Threads, Burda), but none that I can find for bags, especially those with a curved top.

The lining was bought a few years ago from Dotsnstripes and is a medium weight cotton. As the outer fabric is a heavyweight cotton (bought locally), I took a chance in not using interfacing, because I hoped the weight of both cottons would give the bag enough structure. It worked - the bag holds its shape even when empty.

My friend should hopefully be pleasantly surprised. It got the vote of confidence from my no.1 fan - my daughter (5y) was wide-eyed when she saw it, and that was even before she realised that there are dog ribbons too.

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