Need some advice
#1
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
Posts: 34
Need some advice
MIL used to make quilts with a faux fur backing. They were generally/always (as far as I know) one length of fur, hence no piecing needed. She left me 2 lengths of fur, one of which is now dedicated to a quilt for DD#2. Imagine my surprise/shock/horror when I realized that the thing was NOT 62-ish inches long, it was 124 inches long... And 62 wide, so it would make a nice quilt for a human toothpick, UNLESS I piece it into much shorter and wider piece. I have played with the graph paper, and have decided I can get it to 78" long and 83 wide...
THE QUESTION....:
What's the best way to stitch the seams? I am thinking that a standard seam will be thick (thicker than I want or think appropriate as the back of a quilt) and really ought to have all the fur in the selvage clipped off. Which is not remotely something I'm interested in doing! I don't have electric clippers, or the hands with which to do it manually, although I suppose I could sacrifice a razor and get rid of the fur that way... I was hoping I could do something like run some wide tape up the back side of the seams to help strengthen the edges of the fur, which are NOT strong, and do a blanket stitch or big fat zigzag that would open just enough to allow the edges to butt together, without allowing a gape.
I don't need an answer yesterday, because I'm working on the face, and I'm only at the starching stage... But I DO need to know the best way to join the pieces together, other than Mom's Magic Wand, which broke years ago.
Waiting hopefully for a brilliant idea to be relayed to me...
Melinda
THE QUESTION....:
What's the best way to stitch the seams? I am thinking that a standard seam will be thick (thicker than I want or think appropriate as the back of a quilt) and really ought to have all the fur in the selvage clipped off. Which is not remotely something I'm interested in doing! I don't have electric clippers, or the hands with which to do it manually, although I suppose I could sacrifice a razor and get rid of the fur that way... I was hoping I could do something like run some wide tape up the back side of the seams to help strengthen the edges of the fur, which are NOT strong, and do a blanket stitch or big fat zigzag that would open just enough to allow the edges to butt together, without allowing a gape.
I don't need an answer yesterday, because I'm working on the face, and I'm only at the starching stage... But I DO need to know the best way to join the pieces together, other than Mom's Magic Wand, which broke years ago.
Waiting hopefully for a brilliant idea to be relayed to me...
Melinda
#4
When I've sewed fake fur, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Once you've made the seam, you can use a big needle-hat pin size and kind of pull/fluff the fur to the front. The fake fur I've worked with wasn't REAL thick. Mainly used it to make stuffed animals.
Will be interested to see what others think.
** Is it possible to take a small piece and test it to see how the fabric feels once you sew it together?
Will be interested to see what others think.
** Is it possible to take a small piece and test it to see how the fabric feels once you sew it together?
Last edited by HillCountryGal; 11-27-2012 at 07:11 PM. Reason: thought of something else :)
#5
Back in the 70's using fake fir, the long kind, we used a razor blade on the back side to keep the fur intact and less fluff. I used a not very wide zig-zag to join pieces but they didn't need to lay flat in a quilt.
piney
piney
#6
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: East Tennessee
Posts: 212
As you're sewing you need to push the fur out of the seam allowance as much as possible using a chopstick or something similar. You're bringing back memories of that fake fur jacket I made myself in the seventies. You also have to be careful and make sure the nap is in the same direction on both pieces.
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Michigan. . .FINALLY!!!!
Posts: 6,726
Here are some links about sewing fake fur Maybe you can find an answer somewhere! https://www.google.com/search?source...64...........0.
#8
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
Posts: 34
DD#2's boyfriend, with whom she lives, is 6'4" or more. I was begged to make it larger...
Charming - I'm confused?
tkee - Mom made herself a coat that made her look like a high fashion Sasquatch! She hand clipped the fur in the seams. I told DD#3 that she would be doing the seam grooming herself, since she wanted the quilt to be SO LARGE!!
Aunt Piggylpn - thanks! I'll check those out.
I just finished a 'baby' quilt (child is nearly 4 years old... ) with fur backing. Flannel face, two layers of batting to make it nice and poofy, and zebra 'fur' on the back. It's a great quilt, and the mom sent me a nice email with a picture of her daughter sleeping on the quilt the day she received it. The only reason I'm intimidated by the bigger fur for MY kid is that I have to seam the fur.. Humm, maybe a double seam where I also top stitch it down to flatten it. I'll peruse those links and see what they have to say.
Charming - I'm confused?
tkee - Mom made herself a coat that made her look like a high fashion Sasquatch! She hand clipped the fur in the seams. I told DD#3 that she would be doing the seam grooming herself, since she wanted the quilt to be SO LARGE!!
Aunt Piggylpn - thanks! I'll check those out.
I just finished a 'baby' quilt (child is nearly 4 years old... ) with fur backing. Flannel face, two layers of batting to make it nice and poofy, and zebra 'fur' on the back. It's a great quilt, and the mom sent me a nice email with a picture of her daughter sleeping on the quilt the day she received it. The only reason I'm intimidated by the bigger fur for MY kid is that I have to seam the fur.. Humm, maybe a double seam where I also top stitch it down to flatten it. I'll peruse those links and see what they have to say.
#9
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: N. Florida
Posts: 4,568
I have made teddy bears with fake fur and the fur I used (a mohair) sewed with a regular stitch. You could always reinforce the seam with a zig zag. You can do whatever you want with it. From my experience it was easy to sew.
#10
When I went to a tailoring course at UNH, we were told to shave the seam allowance on the faux fur to make it easier to sew. I haven't made a quilt with it, but made that long winter coat & it sure seemed like good advice at the time!
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