We were thrilled when artist and designer, Amy Butler, scheduled See How We Sew for an appearance on her summer “blog tour.” (Wonderful concept, isn’t it? Like a book tour, but without leaving home!) We here at See How We Sew love, love, love the beautiful fabrics Amy designs for quilters, and are always interested to see what new things she has in store. As usual, she doesn’t disappoint! Today, Amy shows us some of the exquisite new voile fabrics she has coming soon, and shares some helpful tips on how to sew with them. Take it away, Amy!
Thank you to Darra, Christie, Laura, and Jennifer for letting me stop by today. My voile fabrics are getting ready to ship out to retailers, and I wanted to chat about a few of my favorite sewing tips with you. If you’ve never sewn with voile before, you are in for a real treat. It is super soft and has an amazing drape that makes it perfect for so many different projects.
Voile is great for quilting! Many people think voile is just for flowing skirts and blouses, but I have seen some amazing results when voile is used for quilts. Voile fabrics paired up with silk batting create a soft, light quilt that you will love. I am working on a new free quilt pattern with my voile fabrics now; keep an eye on my website to see the final project and give it a try yourself! (Note from See How We Sew: We’ll also let you know as soon as the pattern is available.) Meantime, here are a few tips for working with voile.
1) It is best to use a smaller, sharp needle with voile; a size 9 or 11 sharp would be your best option. Cotton embroidery thread works great, but you can also use cotton or cotton-covered polyester thread to get a nice finish.
2) It is always best to pre-wash your fabrics and press them before you start cutting. The general rule for washing voile is machine wash warm, normal cycle with like colors. Use only non-chlorine bleach, and then line dry. Use a warm iron for pressing when necessary. Since everyone’s washers, dryers, and irons are different, I highly recommend that you use a small test piece of fabric before washing your full yardage.
3) When washing your fabrics, make a small diagonal clip in the corners to help prevent fraying and tangling.
4) You can interface voile, but you will want to use a lightweight fusible interfacing. When making a garment, it is usually best to line your project with a lightweight fabric (such as another voile) rather than interfacing.
Thanks again to See How We Sew for having me over for a chat today. Be sure to stop by Re-Nest tomorrow, August 3rd, to get a look at my “Living Green” interview and some more fun photos of my Organic fabrics!
Reminder: Noon (PDT) Friday, August 5, is the deadline for leaving a comment on our July 26 group post, telling us about your favorite tool or notion for piecing. Don’t miss the chance to be included in the drawing for a terrific goodie basket of some of our favorites…and more!