All about interfacing
Sunday, February 14th, 2016
When to use interfacing
Need some extra stiffness in your garments? Interfacing is probably the answer. Whether it’s giving some strength to a buttonhole, reinforcing your jersey fabric to help keep its shape or adding stiffness to a collar, adding a little interfacing will always do the job. It can also be used to retain your garment’s shape if you don’t want to add weight or stiffness. Any fabric cut on the bias can stretch a little when you sew it, but adding a little interfacing helps give some definition.
How to choose interfacing
There are two main types; fusible and non-fusible. Fusible interfacing is applied using an iron to the ‘wrong’ side of the fabric, whereas non-fusible is sewn into heat-sensitive fabrics that can’t be ironed or fabrics with a loose weave where the adhesive in fusible interfacing would weep through to the other side.
Once you’ve decided on the type you then need to choose between woven, non-woven or knit interfacing. Non-woven is the most popular because it has no grain. Woven interfacing has a grain – similar to fabric – and so the interfacing should be cut according to the grain in line with the fabric. Knit interfacing has some built-in stretch and is used for interfacing knits and jersey fabrics.
The final decision is the interfacing weight. There are three choices; light, medium and heavyweight. The simple rule is that weight of the interfacing should be roughly equal to, or a bit lighter than, the fabric.
Working with fusible interfacing – easy peasy
Put your fabric on an ironing board with the right side facing down.
Place the fusible side of the interfacing on top of the fabric. The fusible side has a roughness to it, while the non-fusible side is smooth.
Put a damp cloth onto the interfacing (otherwise you’ll end up with the interfacing stuck to your iron) and then place a hot iron on it for 10-15 seconds (depending on the weight of your fabric). Don’t move the iron on the fabric or you’ll end up with a glue-ey mess.If your interfacing is bigger than the iron plate, lift up the iron and apply it to the rest of the interfacing separately.
Know this:
- Adding an extra cloth underneath the fabric protects your ironing board cover should the interfacing move.
- If you do get interfacing on your iron unplug it and allow to cool. You should be able to peel off most of the interfacing.
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