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From: MaryW
Date: 07-20-2004, 07:32 PM (1 of 10)
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Please respond here if you can help, thanks. Hi, My name is Barb and I was wondering if you could give me some help with sewing velvet together. I am finding that it shifts as I'm sewing the seams. How can I get it to stop shifting as I sew. Many thanks, MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: wifetod
Date: 07-20-2004, 08:29 PM (2 of 10)
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Is this something that using a walking foot would help with? Just a thought. I am not real experienced myself but have used the walking foot to help with other fabrics shifting.
Jolene
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User: wifetod
Member since: 01-19-2004 Total posts: 149 
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From: paroper
Date: 07-20-2004, 10:51 PM (3 of 10)
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Barb, if the pile of your velvet is long enough, you can lightly press the pile into itself. You don't want to smash the pile, but it will kind of go into itself like velcro. This has worked for me on some pretty high-priced velvet. I use a slightly longer stitch too...and if you have a walking foot or perhaps even a teflon foot, this is a good time to employ it. However, I have had pretty good success pressing the from one piece into the other and it doesn't walk nearly as bad. I always use pins..not only do they help hold the fabric in place, but they also help me gauge how much my fabric is "creeping".
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: DorothyL
Date: 07-21-2004, 07:59 AM (4 of 10)
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Walking Foot!!!! Seems to be a consensus. I don't understand why they aren't built into all machines. Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: SewBug1
Date: 07-21-2004, 08:30 AM (5 of 10)
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I use Wonder Tape. It is a double sided sticky, washaway tape. I put it along the edge of my velvet before I sew it, and sew at my normal seam allowance. It never shifts. I had tried the walking foot, the velvet foot (havent seen that for sale in a long time) I had tried pins, and even tried holding my head in the right position. |
User: SewBug1
Member since: 05-29-2004 Total posts: 26 |
From: stitchmd
Date: 07-21-2004, 12:05 PM (6 of 10)
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I heartily agree with Wonder Tape, IF the velvet is washable. If not you can probably still use it if you keep it inside the seam allowance, though you'd then have that sticky surface to deal with. I saw a tip on Sewing With Nancy to pin with the pins alternating direction. They are perpendicular to the seam line, one facing in, one facing out, etc. She didn't specify this for velvet but said for unknown reasons it keeps the seam more stable while sewing. |
User: stitchmd
Member since: 02-25-2003 Total posts: 226 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 07-21-2004, 10:50 PM (7 of 10)
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I think a walking foot is your best solution for sewing velvet as the walking foot should feed both layers evenly, at least my Pfaff does. Dorothy the reason all machines don't have the walking foot built in is because Pfaff has had the patent on the IDF for years. I wonder if Viking also bought the patent when they bought the Pfaff name? Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: DorothyL
Date: 07-22-2004, 07:18 AM (8 of 10)
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Patsy That foot is the reason I bought the Pfaff and the reason I love it. Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 07-22-2004, 10:05 AM (9 of 10)
Same here Dorothy, I have a 2044. I also have a Singer Quantum which is a very, very nice machine but when I switch from the Pfaff, I feel like I'm learning to sew straight seams all over again.  Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: MariLynnTX
Date: 07-26-2004, 12:56 PM (10 of 10)
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I've tried all these methods, and found the walking foot best, but I also like the 'press the seam allowances together' method also. The 'alternating pins' works, too, but push in the pins on the seam line or so that they come out of the fabric on the seam line to avoid possible pin marks. I love my Pfaff, too. It is a 1475CD which I have used since they first came onto the market! It is still going strong...and I did custom sewing for years with it! It has been in to the dealer for cleaning and oiling ever 4 or 5 years; in beween I do it myself. It's a wonderfully efficient machine. I do freemotion embroidery on it all the time (I taught that for years and I also wrote a book on it) and it amazes me still how beautifully it stitches on so many different fabrics, including velvet. MariLynntx
Life is a song...we give it harmony or dissonance.
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User: MariLynnTX
Member since: 08-13-2001 Total posts: 256 |
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