Tips from Trish: Working with wool fabrics |
| I use hand dyed wools from Weeks Wool. The wool is hand dyed in fat quarters so they are lightly felted. This is wonderful because I don't have to worry about threads unraveling. If I don't cut exactly on the grain, I still have a nice solid cut edge to work with. |
One of the problems I have found is some wool fabric is very flat and some is very fluffy. To minimize the problems you have when sewing two very different weights of fabric together, I place the fluffy fabric on the bottom whenever possible. The feed dogs grip the bottom fabric and help it stay even with the wool on top. I also found it very helpful to use the IDT on my Pfaff. If you do not have this feature, use a walking foot. |
| If your sewing machine has this feature, lower the pressure on your presser foot. This helps prevent the top fabric from "walking" away from the bottom fabric. |
Lift the presser foot and place the fabric under the presser foot rather than letting the feed dogs grab it when you are trying to chain piece. It takes an extra step but is well worth it. |
| As you sew, push your fabric just a little bit in front of the presser foot. It will create a small hump. This lets your fabric feed more evenly, making for more accurate seams. |
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Trying to match seams so your points come out perfect? Don't pin directly in the seams... pin the fabric together with pins on each side of the seam you are trying to match. This prevents shifting and makes for a more accurate match. |
| Press seams open. |
It's difficult to cut as precisely with wool as you do with cotton. Err on the side of caution and let your pieces be just that wee bit larger rather than cutting scant units. |
| As you complete each unit and press them, take the time to "square" up your units. Your quilt will go together easily and you reduce dramatically the number of times you need to "rip". |
Wool is a "wobbly" fabric. To stabilize the edges of the pieced top I cut bands of cotton fabric about 3" wide to the exact measurements of the top, bottom and sides. For instance, if my quilt measures 40 x 60 I cut top and bottom pieces 3 x 40 and side pieces 3 x 66. Pin the bands to the ends, quarters and eighths of your pieced wool top and baste in place. It's ready to layer and quilt without fear of warping. |
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