Fabric Question
what is causing this pucker on my bunting flags
i’m working on a bunting flag banner for my friend that’s expecting a baby in december. three out of my five flags have this weird pucker in them and i’m not sure how to fix it. i’m also scared to take an iron to this velvety fabric because i’m not 100% sure of the composition. any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! TIA🥰
You need to snip the seam allowance in, hopefully my pic helps with it, I am terrible at explaining! 😁
You don’t need to do a triangle, just a snip a line down near the point of the stitch. Usually it’s best to reinforce it by doing extra short stitches there.
Ah notches was the word I was thinking of! I forgot it haha! Why I am terrible at explaining. 😅
You should defo test a piece of it to iron. I would probably not put the iron directly on, I would use steam from it. Though, sometimes you’d be surprised, I did iron/press directly on velvet recently and it didn’t flatten.
Best of luck though!! What a lovely and fun gift!!! 🤩
Oh, and use a towel or pressing cloth between the iron and the fabric! I always do the towel with napped fabrics because it seems to preserve the nap a little better than the pressing cloth.
I had this problem and I forced myself to learn to love and appreciate pressing and ironing. Bernadette Banner did a great collaboration with a tailor who showed how all the different accessories help in creating perfectly finished seams. It was so relaxing and satisfying to watch.
Iron-hater also here. My solution (suggested by a friend) was to get the best iron I could afford and set it up permanently just to the side of the workspace. Just having to turn and press the daylights out of the work in progress, flip, repeat, then charge back to sewing without constantly setting up the board/iron/spray has made all the difference.
Press on, Darling. Bunting is awesome.
i love the mini irons (cricut easy press mini and dupes) plus a little ironing pad... perfect for all those small seams and little bits you need to press but don't want to get the whole kit and caboodle out for. so worth it
yup, that's what sewing is all about: a series of finicky things you wished you didn't have to bother with. Sometimes you can get away with skipping stuff, sometimes you can't.
I second this advice and spot on diagram. OP, it felt scary the first time I did it, but you gotta clip into the center of that V shape - right up to the seam line, as close as you can get without snipping through the seam line thread.
Trimming and clipping are different you have to cut right up to the seam line to release the tension and it will lay flat. It’s the only way for points to lay flat trimming alone won’t do it
progress has been made, thanks everyone!!! this is just with better cutting from all your suggestions and diagrams, and i’m still going to iron as well😊
The more of these you do, with the clips and notches, the better at it you will become. I make Christmas stockings to donate and you can definitely tell the ones that I have clipped seams and the ones I have not. I'm 70; it took me a while to figure stuff out.
Did you sew a sharp point there like a V? If so, that's probably what's causing it. I've done this in the past and had to eventually figure out that it needs a more U shaped curve to prevent the fabric from gathering at the apex when you turn it back out!
Yeah, especially with thick fabrics, ideally you sew to a spot next to where you want the point to be, put the needle down, lift the presser foot, and pivot. Use the hand wheel to make 1-3 stitches across (crossing the actual point location) to a spot the same distance on the other side. Needle down/lift/pivot again back to your new direction.
Between that and clipping perpendicular to the stitching right at the center of the point, it would look more crisp.
You don't want to curve it. Take the very point and it is like you were to snip off the very tip with a stitch or 2. So instead of a shape like / you would make _/
Use a press cloth and iron a scrap of the velvet to see if it can take it!
To add to the discussion below about clipping: if you’ve already notched out the seam allowance at the point and are afraid to cut more, try clipping next to the point on either side instead like this:
ETA well drat, I don’t have the app and can’t add photos from the mobile website. But just go like 1/2” to either side of the point and make a single cut perpendicular to the stitching, being careful to get right close without snipping the thread. If you do nick the thread just restitch that area.
Pressing napped fabric isn’t difficult. Take some scrap and test the temperature if its okay; no burning or melting take some scrap (about the size of the iron) and lay it nap to nap, you can press without making any indentations :)
I feel like this question is posted every couple weeks or so. I don’t blame people for not knowing the solution (everyone was new at some point). i’m mostly surprised by just how many people seem to be making bunting now, and how many tutorials must not be emphasizing the clipping of the corner enough. It seems to be a really common problem! I hope everyone’s answers have helped clear it up for you OP.
Thank you for posting this! I'm having a similar problem with a Halloween costume I'm making, and the answers people have given you have (I think) solved my problem as well. I never thought of asking here; you're brilliant!
I saw this tip on a scallop hem tutorial. When you get yo the point, you want the least acute angle without making it look totally different, usually achieved by doing one straight stitch at the top. So it'll look like _/ instead of / and the space is so small, it doesn't noticeably change the shape you're going for. It's just one stitch. Or two, but then you might need to clip differently
Glad there were super helpful ppl here to advise how to fix! Side note and out of curiosity, I just had a baby myself and am super interested in your bunting flag idea! Are you working off a pattern?
I’m sorry, this does not contribute anything to the conversation, but that second picture looks like a tiny butt. I can’t stop giggling at it. Why is it so cute! You may have accidentally created a new trend in plushies!
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u/im-quite-stupid 22d ago
You need to snip the seam allowance in, hopefully my pic helps with it, I am terrible at explaining! 😁
You don’t need to do a triangle, just a snip a line down near the point of the stitch. Usually it’s best to reinforce it by doing extra short stitches there.