[WhimsyTyme]

Good morning mamas! I am here to seek your wisdom <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"><br><br>
When shopping for fabric - <b>is there a way to tell if it will wrinkle badly when whashed and dried?</b> I have lots of different cottons, for example, some wrinkle and some don't. It is hard to tell if I can use it for a particular project when I am buying it, if I don't know if it will wrinkle. <i><b>I am thinking there is something in content or feel/texture that I should be looking for.</b></i> Too, the fabric shop I go to does not necessarily have the fabric on it's original bolt; thus, care instructions can be hard to come by.<br><br>
NEXT<br><br>
I am making some of my own piping and also using premade.<br><br>
Making my own from bias tape - <b>When I run out of one strip and need to move to another do I fold the edges of the tape, overlap and continue on the same strip of piping or cut and start a seperate piece?</b><br><br><b>When sewing with mine or premade and I need to add more do I overlap the ends a bit or butt it end to end?</b><br><br>
Thanks for any help you can give! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love">

 

[Kari_mom]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">Making my own from bias tape - When I run out of one strip and need to move to another do I fold the edges of the tape, overlap and continue on the same strip of piping or cut and start a seperate piece?</td>
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Sew the ends of the bias tape together to make one continuous strip before covering the cord for your piping.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">When sewing with mine or premade and I need to add more do I overlap the ends a bit or butt it end to end?</td>
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Of course, try to use a piece large enough for the section of your project you are working on, but this isn't always possible. What I do is overlap the ends a bit, but first I reduce the bulk and blend the join. I pull the cord out a bit from one end, trim about 3/8" off, then pull the bias tape back again. Then when I sew, I overlap the ends so that the cording does not overlap, and pull the ends into the seam allowance.<br>
I was taught this by my neighbor who ran her upholstery shop.<br><br>
Another technique for this is to open up one end of the piping, cut away about 1/2" of the cord, fold the raw edge on the end under about 1/4", and put it over the end of the new piece of piping. It looks like a seam but isn't, it goes straight across the piping. Because piping is covered with bias, all the seams in the piping are diagonal.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">When shopping for fabric - is there a way to tell if it will wrinkle badly when whashed and dried?</td>
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I think firm, smooth weaves wrinkle the least. I avoid anything that looks like it has a lot of sizing keeping it smooth on the bolt or just looks cheap. If I am not sure, I will crumple the corner in my hand and see if the wrinkles release. Mostly I think it is experience. Maybe someone else has the magic answer for this one.<br><br>
HTH! What are you making, BTW?