Sew Basics: Prepping Fabric

This past Saturday I found myself with a little time to myself while out running an errand and I decided to pop into my local thrift store to see if I could find any treasure.  And sure enough, $8.00 later, I had struck gold (well for someone who loves sewing!).  So here's what I found......

I found a set of vintage floral sheets (set included a flat sheet and two standard pillowcases), a couple embroidery hoops (you can never have enough of those), and three large pieces of fabric.

One of the fabrics was 1.5 yards of a linen/cotton blend that was sold for .75 cents and included a matching zipper - treasure for sure!  Another piece was a neutral quilted piece of fabric.  And finally, my favorite was this giant piece of wool suiting (which can be VERY expensive at retail prices).  These three fabrics just have my creative wheels turning for fall........I'm seeing a fall coat tutorial coming!

As with any new fabric, it is very important to prep your fabric before sewing with it.  When it comes to thrift-store finds you may not know the true composition of each fabric - therefore washing can become a little tricky. 

But for me, for .75 cents, I'm happy to give washing and drying a go - if it doesn't turn out, no worries.  But I have to say, if I sewed something that took a lot of time and energy and then went to wash it, I would be VERY sad if it didn't turn out.  So, my point is ALWAYS wash your fabric before you use it.

Knit fabrics can shrink a considerable amount (yes, I learned this the hard way).  You may find after working with specific fabric manufacturers that some fabric shrinks more than others.  Also, if you are sewing children's clothing, it is very important to wash your fabric so it doesn't irritate your little ones skin.

Before throwing my fabric in the wash, I like to serge the raw edge.  If you don't have a serger, you can try doing a tight zig-zag stitch on the edge with a regular sewing machine to achieve the same effect.

By serging the raw edge, you eliminate all of the fraying that can occur in the washing machine.   Your fabric will come out looking the same way it went in.  This is definitely not something you must do, but I have found it to make life a little easier.

I made sure to serge the raw edges of all the fabric pieces that I brought home from the thrift store.

Most fabrics are pretty good about not spreading dye from one fabric to another as long as you group like colors together.  But if you have a fabric that has a lot of white with some other more bold colors, I suggest throwing in one of these Shout Color Catchers.  It's basically just a sheet you put in your wash and it will catch any loose dye that may come from your fabric.  They are a truly great invention!!

Here are my fabrics all ready to be washed.  I usually wash on cold and tumble dry.  Because I do a lot of children's clothing I like to pre-wash using Dreft just to make sure my garments don't irritate any little ones skin.

Not bad for $8.00, right?  Can't wait to play with these fun fabrics.  Oh and by the way, I've got some fun ideas for the vintage sheets as well!

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