I'm sorry, this makes me laugh so so hard.
And there's the ad for Spoonflower......(upper right)
My offgrain cotton twill yardage from Spoonflower was grained up by myself.
I pinned mine to the wall while wet, and let it dry.
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| Yes, I used a level to line it up properly. |
It did not stay ongrain forever, and the pants in this set are unwearable now.
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| What was I thinking with the vest? I couldn't quite get it placed where I wanted it, and it pains me to look at how it visually argues with itself. Don't blame the Folkwear Vintage vest pattern 222 - it's the best out there. |
Their printing process is better on the lighter weight materials, and it's easier to straighten them. Getting them to stay there...working on that.
Remember, if you can't get something to grain up, don't make something you want to last. Unlike my pants, the fabric will try to regrain itself.
It really really really is not worth your time. It will only break your heart.
I'm not even sure I'd notice the grain being off: maybe I've not been unlucky in this area of fabric purchashing or maybe I'm hopelessly feckless and unobservant.
ReplyDeleteBTW my husband just spotted your Dalek dress (on the right) and gave kudos!
Thanks! And you live in the part of the world where you know what that is. It is much prettier today!
DeleteThank you for posting this. Off-grain fabric is the worst - so frustrating!
ReplyDeleteand unfortunately, all too common...
It's so sad, when you find the Perfect Yardage, and it's so far off that it will just bring you misery later. That's when I take a photo and let it go.
DeleteUnless I bought it online (looks down at pants)(wow, that's an impressively torqued seam there....)
Sad sad sad
Modern processing makes it difficult if not impossible to straighten the grain by tugging on the bias. A cotton print for example will be loaded onto a roll, which is then unrolled to go through a wash and dry and back onto another roll. Then it is unrolled again and again as it goes through the printing and pressing processes for each dye color. It is very easy for the fabric to be permanently off grain by the time it comes out the other end. When I prewash I tear each end of the yardage across the grain then fold and surge those two ends together before the fabric goes through the washer and the dryer. Once dry, I cut the stitching off and press the entire piece. Then I fold it along the center grain line by matching the selvedge edges and adjust by shifting the two layers until the fabric hangs straight across the width the straight of grain I usually start in the middle and use a clip or pin to help me hold the straight sections in place. There should be no diagonal wrinkles pointing up to the selvedge edge. After each section is adjusted I lay the fabric out on the table and smooth it out. Use your 6"x24" acrylic on the straightened fold making sure the ruler is lined up exactly with the straight edge and transverses the fabric telling you i If the ruler touches the same points on the print all the way across. If the print is moving "uphill" away from the ruler fabric has been printed on fabric that was getting a little more off grain during the process. If the fabric is printed off grain, you can still use it if you unfold the fabric and cut one pattern piece at at time matching the design
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks! You really hit on the problem with the printing process; it coats the fabric first (pulling it off in the center of the roll - makes a curve in the grain from side to side) and then the printing reinforces that.
DeleteThe trouble remains that no matter how carefully you piece it, the fabric parts are still off grain enough to gradually ruin the article of clothing over time - the fabric will regrain itself. The seams will fight with each other and in some cases tear apart.
I have learned the hard way that it's just not worth my time. It will end in tears, most of them mine.