BTW, if you see this fabric anywhere, run away very very fast. Although it looks (and feels) great now that it's made up, it is HORRIBLE to sew. Or, as I described it my mother on the phone this afternoon, it's fabric that could inspire a religion based on the belief that inanimate objects really ARE out to destroy humanity (she laughed at me, the evil woman). The slipperiness I can live with ... that was expected. It was the fact that I could cut a piece of fabric ... lovely clean cuts with smooth edges ... walk away from it for a few minutes, and come back to find the edges fraying like crazy without even being handled. It also introduced me to another sewing first ... using wide zigzag stitch on the hem, with the edge perfectly centred as it fed through the sewing machine, and having sections of it come out the other size with the stitching somehow having having passed through the top layer and only existing in the bottom on. Sort of the thread equivalent of walking through walls. I'd originally bought the stuff with the notion of using it for yet another Miyake twist-front top (because the reversible fabric would have resulted in a garment that was half red-on-black and half black-on-red) ... now I'm SO thankful that I changed my mind because this cloth and that pattern would have resulted in the sewing machine and I making a mutual suicide pact.
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After about 30 trial-and-error attempts, we have FOCUS! (more or less) |
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Doing my best to show the split 1/4-circle cuffs (this fabric is a little too stiff for them to be properly rufflelike, but I like 'em anyway) |
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One more shot, to be sure I have one that turns out. |
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The fabric from hell. All that fraying is just from the simple act of clipping cuffs to sleeves in preparation for sewing ... I'd just trimmed off all the dangles produced by handling during hemming before this. The person who invented fabric clips deserves sainthood ... pins just fall out of this loose, slippery weave. |
