I am not fan of interfacing- in particular, the iron-in non woven kind. Even following the instructions closely I find it wrinkles, and worse, melts. It makes the bag or the clothing feel a bit stiffer but not in the way I want it too and I often end up with some sort of iron glue incident. With clothing, I now tend to buy woven interfacing, I think it gives a more professional finish- or even an extra layer of fabric instead. With bags, wallets, purses etc I have tended to use cotton batting/wadding, I could never find the fusible fleece that a lot of USA patterns mention. Hearing of my difficulties, Julia from Gone to Earth, sent me a couple of generous samples of Vilene fusible fleece, what can I say, it is love at first use. This is what I made with it.
A little camera wristlet. The pattern is from Keyka Lou. If you want a purse to try and you haven't made purses or wallets before, this is the ideal first project- no zips, easy velcro fastening and like all her patterns, the most excellent instructions. I bought the pattern a while ago, along with this pocket clutch which I shall be making soon and I cannot recommend them more highly. Both patterns call for interfacing and batting/wadding but with the Vilene fusible fleece I can skip those and use one layer of fleece- I chose the heavier H640 loft as a camera needs a good layer of padding. When I cut my pattern pieces, I layered up the feature fabric,the lining and the fleece and cut though all three- much faster!
You can see the thickness of the fleece in this pic, three pieces of fabric all backed with fleece. Julia kindly sent the Vilene instructions for ironing the fleece to fabric. I think a very important step is letting it cool for 30 mins- I have not done that in the past. It adhered perfectly, no lumps and bumps on the fabric side at all. This fleece has a lovely feel- not what I expected, I must expect. I am a fibre snob and tend to think natural is best but this stuff is the exception.
The biggest difference I found compared to working with batting was the ease of trimming seam allowances. Reducing bulk in the seam allowance is vital to get a professional finish on your purse or wallet. With this fleece, I could trim it easily at an angle and feather it away, as a result the edges are a lot less lumpy, top stitching is much easier and the end product looks better.
I will be trying more with the fleece, the lighter weight one too which I think will be perfect for bags. If you have had a bad experience making bags with iron on interfacing- this could be your life saver! You know me, I like to test things thoroughly and I won't big it up unless it genuinely impresses me, this definitely gets my thumbs up! I have found through hard experience that with interfacing, you get what you pay for. Saving a few pennies buying the cheap stuff is such a waste when it frazzles under the iron or wrinkles with the top fabric. I know, I've been there and shed tears!
This is such a handy little case, I may well make another to carry my phone, keys and card when going to the gym, it is the perfect shape. Quick to sew too- instant gratification- well nearly. Fabric roll call- Outer fabric-Melody Miller View Finder print, lining- Chloe's Closet, Hello Betty, Strap-Alexander Henry, Heath in tomato.
By the way, can I just say- Flippin' heck Tucker! (British nostalgic TV lingo- apologies, I can't help myself), over 600 followers, how did that happen? A big thankyou and a howdy to you all x
Thanks for this info, it's really helpful. So I'm not the only one that has an iron+fusible=melty mess mishap every time I use it!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the camera case, AWESOME.
I didn't realise fusible fleece was difficult to get hold of in the UK as I've always got mine from cotton patch. But I'm sure I could use it for lots of projects that I've not even thought of.
ReplyDeleteMy worse thing with any kind of interfacing is I buy what's required for a pattern I intend trying - put it in the drawer and then promptly have no idea what half the interfacings are or whether they are light, medium, heavy by comparison unless I can find every type I've bought and stashed. I have had the very light interfacing melt - but it's normally been due to my rushing and thinking I can do it my way and not follow instructions - ie my thinking I can quickly iron it without a cloth over it oppsy
I suspect your following is deservedly high due to good posts like this one. I have used Hobbs fusible wadding but this Vilene product looks different - I am assuming it's a polyester wadding type thing so am interested in how it fuses without flattening or melting.
ReplyDeleteI am a total ignoramus on all this, so I will refer back here when the time and need comes! Thank you! Congratulations on the 600! x
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Kerry - I think it will be very useful! I, too, have a selection of unidentifiable interfacings that I have not a clue what they're suitable for :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your super 600!
I get my fusible Pellon 630 and 640, which is a bit thicker, from Gone to Earth. They are very reasonably priced and they post very quickly...I´m in Spain. Love the stuff!!!
ReplyDeleteFrom a Different Sheila to the one above :)
Gorgeous Pouch Kerry. Havent tried the fusible but will have to get my mits on some! Congratulations on 600! Woo hoo!
ReplyDeletex
Wooop look at you go 600 well done!! Here's to many many more!
ReplyDeleteLove your camera wristlet!
I like the idea of fusible fleece, will have to try it myself one day.
Thanks for the review! Love the camera wristlet!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess to being an interfacing addict. I buy any different one I see and have heaps of different ones. I love fusible wadding, it is hard to get here in Aust. too but when I see it I grab some. To give small projects and things like market type bags some body without that interfacing 'stiffness' I have also used a layer of flannelette. It's easier to get hold of and has way less bulk than non-iron on wadding etc. It doesn't have as much body or protection for something like a camera case as fusible wadding, but if you need just a light layer of something it is quite handy.
ReplyDeleteI am with you though, fusible wadding is a sensation!
Oooooh! I love how your pouch turned out. I have just been making some of these pouches for xmas presents and have used both the batting and the fusible fleece and the fusible stuff is so much easier as it doesn't shift. I must say the Keyka Lou patterns are brilliant!
ReplyDeletethank you for your product review. i've never had interfacing melt and i rarely have bubbles in it---until i wash the item. then there are stinking bubbles all over the place. anyway, not to bother you with my interfacing troubles. but, this brings up a question. did you launder your beautiful pouch? or even a bit of test fabric + interfacing? having a toddler (and occasionally being a bit of a slob myself) i always need to know if i can toss something in the wash.
ReplyDeleteInterfacing is such a tricky beast. Most of my sewing so far has been bags, so I've used it quite a lot, and I definitely agree that the woven iron-on is so much easier to use (although discovering that my iron is broken and so doesn't get hot enough also explains some of my recent difficulties!). I used the iron-on fleece to make a deep bucket bag, and it was just fabulous.
ReplyDeleteLove your camera wristlet. Looks perfect for snapping on days out :)
i love the way you close the bag!
ReplyDeleteLove your camera bag! I'm a big fan of fusible fleece (or fusible wadding as it's known in my LQS which is why I didn't realise I was using the same stuff that everyone's talking about!) and the vilene is great for so many projects as it's soft and pliable but still holds its shape...
ReplyDeleteGorgeous bag! It looks so handy! I can't get the Grange Hill theme tune out of my head now, so thanks!! ;)
ReplyDeletei just looked you up on google reader and it said you had ***900*** followers! wha?! your last post said over 600. how does that math work out?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honesty I was starting to think that I was the only person in the world how struggled with interfacing, anyone I've asked says 'oh just do... it always works for me' and it still wrinkles! I tried woven iron on earlier this year for the run around bag and it worked like a dream.
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