How to sew vinyl window into middle of fabric panel

[sanguine_speed]

I'm sewing an under-bed curtain set like this one:
http://maxtrixkids.com/popup.html?im...beds_16865.jpg

I'm actually buying their bed in a mid-loft and they only sell curtains for the low loft beds.

I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions about how to sew the vinyl windows in. I tried just sewing it on then cutting out the cotton piece since the vinyl can be covered with trim, but I found it really hard to keep the vinyl square and centred, and ended up puckering the edges and the vinyl wasn't very centred. Pinning was near-impossible. I even tried sandwiching the vinyl between cotton pieces to avoid having the vinyl stick, but this didn't work out either (pinning was hard).
I was thinking about getting a lighter-guage vinyl and actually sewing the panels in strips, sewing the vinyl to the right side of the cotton, then 'pressing' it out like you'd do with other cotton. But I'm not sure how to expect the lighter-guage vinyl to behave, and whether this is a feasible plan.
Problem is that I had to order my fabric online and paid a pretty penny for exchange, duty and shipping, and I'm on my last shot. If I mess it up, it's going to cost me a lot of $$$ to replace the fabric, if I can even find it at all (it was hard to find).
Any tips greatly appreciated!

[jocelyndale]

From my days of reading alt.gothic.fashion, I seem to remember that the recommendation for sewing vinyl involved tissue paper, which you can then tear away. You use it between the vinyl and the machine foot, though, not between the vinyl and the fabric. Perhaps that would help with the moving around and sticking, preventing the puckering?

[Whistler]

I've sewed vinyl before but only vinyl-to-vinyl. So it kind of stuck to itself and was fine.

It think if I was going to sew it to canvas like you are I'd try some sort of spray-tack to get it to stay in the right spot. Then sew it on and cut away the fabric later. Then wash the sticky spray off the vinyl.

I think the lighter-guage stuff is still going to have problems with being slippery.

Another idea would be to buy a larger piece of vinyl than you need, pin it on all around the OUTSIDE of your square, sew the square, then trim the outside of the vinyl. That might help hold it in place while you sew.

ETA: Definitely keep the tissue between the vinyl and the machine or it will not slide smoothly through the machine.

[npl]

Teflon foot might help, too. I know it made a huge difference when I was sewing PUL, and I've seen it as a recommendation for sewing oilcloth.

[sanguine_speed]

thanks for the ideas.
The biggest challenge is keeping the vinyl in place. I like the idea of using an adhesive then cutting away the excess--pinning just doesn't cut it! I'll have to look around for something suitable.

[spmamma]

When I saw your post, I remembered a tutorial I used for sewing a zippered pocket into a purse. I think that you could use one of the steps for creating a clean edge for the windows.

http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandbl...ed_inner_.html

Check out Step 3. All you'd have to do is make yours into a square instead of a rectangle. Then cut your vinyl, pin it to the wrong side of the fabric then topstitch it on.

HTH!

[LaughingHyena]

I've only done small panels for eye spy bags but here's what I did

1. To cut out the window in the main fabric I cut diagonally from corner to corner.
2. Fold back the flaps an hem the window, trim away the excess fabric
3. Cut the vinyl to size, I left about an inch extra on each side
4. Use masking tape to attach the vinyl to over the window DO NOT sew through the tape.
5. With tissue paper over the vinyl sew round your window. I found a longish stitch length worked best
6. Finally tear away the tissue and remove the tape. You can now trim off the excess vinyl

For the play tent windows I think I would also sew some binding over the raw edges on the inside.

[rubelin]

I work with vinyl all the time for work and the things I've found work best is scotch tape wrapped around the foot (if you can't get a teflon foot, which I totally should do myself) and I found teflon sheets in the iron section of JoAnn which are designed for pressing sheets. I cut the large sheet into smaller pieces and tape a piece of it over the bed of my machine, with one edge right up to the side of the feed dogs.

I do pin the vinyl to the fabric on the outside of the seam allowance (so that you can't see the holes in the vinyl from the pins) and the key to not having it pucker or shift is to hold it as straight as possible so that it doesn't flop over your machine. It might help if you can create a false bed around your machine with books.

make sure you post pics when you're done!


forgot to say that tacky glue works decently to hold the vinyl in place temporarily while you sew. let it dry thoroughly before you sew it. Also sew with the fabric side up (then you don't need to wrap your pressure foot)

and practice on scraps for a while. I've been working with this stuff for well over a year and it took a long time to get good at it and it still gives me fits some days

[Smocked]

I've only worked with smaller pieces of vinyl and taped the window to the fabric and then pinned on tissue paper the same size as the vinyl window. The tissue paper just rips right off when you are done.

[AngelBee]

Cute!