Sunday, March 19, 2006
Fuzzy Wuzzy
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a ... Sweater?Well it will be by the end of this post.
As you may remember from the Christmas stockings, this fabric is made of polyester. What I like to think of as the New generation of polyesters... Am I in love? You bet. This stuff is soft as a kitten, it's warm, stretches almost as well as a slinky knit, Machine washable (by itself), and no ironing. But as with all love there is a draw back, or two.
Fuzz. I really mean it too. It will get everywhere and on everything. Think of shaving a fluffy cat in your sewing space. The fuzz vacuums up pretty well. And the lint roller works too. You should have both on hand when working with this stuff.
Tips
Because this fabric is no iron, ie.. You can't iron it. You need to pick a pattern or project with few pieces and simple seams. Remember to use the *with nap layout. Press to set does not apply here.
New stretch knit needle.
Straight stitch presser foot.
LARGE head pins..... The Flower type work well, but can still be lost in the deep pile of the fabric.
Try not to sew the right side of this fabric to either the feed dogs or the presser foot. IF you have no other option, choose to sew the right side up toward the presser foot. It is much easier to sew this fabric wrong sides out. You could use the between tissue method if it was really necessary, but I don't know how well the tissue would tear-away or wash out. If you try it, let me know how it works.
Test.
You really need to buy extra fabric to play around with. Test cut, test sew, test serge (overlock).
You don't get to rip out your mistakes with this fabric. So, test, test, test. And if you are worried about fit.... Baste and fit BEFORE you sew.
Here is how the Sweater went.
As you can see the pile of this fabric is DEEP.
Simple pattern with few pieces and simple seams. Three pieces total. The back is one piece cut on the fold and the front is one pattern piece cut doubled.
Fuzz 
More FuzzMaybe now is a good time for that first vacuuming.
Go slow when serging 
Okay.... Here is where I had some great close-ups that don't seem to want to load....
There are just four seams in this sweater jacket. So, it was quick to sew and serge. (And then vacuum again.) I serged all of the remaining raw edges(and vacuumed) and then just folded over and stitched for the bottom hem and the hem on the sleeves. Also, just fold over and stitch the front and neck edges. But I added a fancy trim on both front sections from the shoulder seams along the neck edge.
I used two shank buttons and a hair elastic for a closure. I used baby gold safety pins to secure the buttons as I was not sure how well these buttons would wash and dry. A few hand stitches with matching thread is holding the hair elastic in place. (One last good vacuuming!)
Here is the finished sweater jacket. The fabric is not shiny as it appears to be in the photos. Ok, it does not look spectacular in the photo. However I did receive more than a dozen compliments when I wore it and Seven women and two men actually petted me. One of the women wanted to take it home with her! That made all the vacuuming worth it.One last tip... Carry your sticky lint roller with you until your new fuzzy item, whatever it is, is all done shedding.
Happy Sewing!
