More Interfacing Comparisons

You may or may not remember that I posted about Pellon brand substitutes for the Vilene products that I use.  Since talking to the nice folks at the Bosal stand at Quilt Market in May, I've had every intention of doing something similar with their products.  Today was the day.

 

 

I started with the woven interfacings, and I really like Fashion Fuse.  It's a lot like Pellon Shapeflex, and looks a lot like the Vilene medium-weight woven fusible interfacing that I use and supply. 

 

That's the Fashion Fuse on the left (below) with my medium-light, medium and medium-heavy interfacings on the right.

 

Fashion Fuse fuses easily, and although it looks as opaque as somewhere between the Vilene medium and medium-heavy weights, it gives a smooth but slightly softer structure (equivalent to somewhere between the medium-light and medium weight Vilene interfacings). 

 

Whatever, it would be a perfectly fine substitute for medium-light or medium-weight woven interfacing, and would be a good interfacing for hats and bags and purses.

 

There's also a product called Craf-tex, which is similar to Timtex or Peltex.  It would work as an internal textile bag base, fused with interfacing.   

 

If I was looking for something along these lines to use in the body of a bag, I'd probably still go for Fast2Fuse by C&T Publishing.  Above, you can see Fast2Fuse top right and Peltex bottom right, and see the how much finer and more compressed the Fast2Fuse is.  It's much smoother when it's on a curve, and it is fusible on both sides.

 

This stuff intrigues me.....

...but I haven't played with it yet.

 

I had a look at a few fusible battings as an alternative to the H640 fusible wadding that I love so much.  This is Bosal's fusible batting on the top, The Warm Company's "Warm Fleece" in the middle and Victorian Textiles' fusible fleece on the bottom layer.

 

 

The Warm Fleece is very similar to Pellon's fusible batting.  It's a bit like felt, in a thickness that falls between H630 and H640, but it's a bit weightier than H640 and gives fairly solid structure.

 

The Bosal fleece feels a bit smoother and denser than the Warm Fleece and creates a slightly (ever-so-very-slightly..) thicker effect. Any of these would work as an alternative to H640

 

I found the Victorian Textiles batting to be a little loose and light, and is probably best suited to projects where it's pressed only once or with less heat that you'd use on a bag made with cotton fabric.  I found it shrank more easily than the others.

 

There's also a light Fusible batting from Bosal, which doesn't appear to be the case with the other companies.  This lighter weight batting is a good substitute for Vilene H630  light fusible wadding, although it's a denser structure and you'd need to be more careful about removing it from seam allowances where bulk might build up.  I really like it.

 

At Quilt Market in May, I discovered Soft and Stable by Annie.  It isn't fusible, but it has the effect of interfacing and wadding/fleece - the smoothness and the loft - that is so useful in bag-making.  I had every intention of putting it to the test as soon as I got back, but the last 4 months have seen me doing everything but testing it.

 

Has anyone used this... or the Bosal equivalent (which also comes in fusible form)?

 

It has a foam centre and a sort of tricot fabric bonded to both sides. 

 

In the photo below, the Bosal product is to the top and Soft and Stable is below it.  The fusible version fuses nicely and holds a smooth shape.  Using it, you'd have to be sure to remove it from seam allowances and topstitching, edge-stitching and under-stitching would be essential to hold it in place and create sharp, smooth seams and edges. 

 

As a substitute for Vilene S320, the closest I can find is Bosal's Shirt Fuse.  Like S320, it's a non-woven that is embossed with a texture that gives it a flexibility to emulate woven fabric. 

 

It also fuses well and remains flat and stable.  The main difference is that it's much softer (creating less structure) than S320.   In the photo below, S320 is on the left and Bosal Shirt Fuse is on the right.

 

Shirt Fuse would be a good substitute for S320 as a support for a zipper facing, but where the stiffness of S320 is needed, you might have to bring in some bigger guns....like Pellon Craft Fuse or Bosal Dura-Fuse (below).  Neither of these have the embossed texture (and therefore drape like cardboard) but they both have the lightweight, stiff structure of Vilene S320.

 

 

As with all interfacings, the best thing to do is to TRY them.  Test them on scarps of fabric.  Test them in combination with different wadding, fleece and other interfacings to see what they do.  And keep an eye out for new interfacings and support products.  The possibilities are endless and changing.

Comparing Vilene and Pellon Interfacings / Interlinings

Anyone who knows my work will know that I'm an unashamed interfacings geek.

 

I can (and do) bang on at about interfacings at great length and in an excited manner, and have a particular squeal of delight, reserved for those "Eureka" moments when I discover something new that can be achieved with the right choice of interfacing.

 

(Ok, I may be exaggerating about the squeal being exclusive to interfacing... I start throwing around hyperbole when I get excited...)

 

The tricky thing is, that when I recommend an interfacing in a pattern or book project, it's because the properties of that particular interfacing determines the look of the finished project ... but not all of the interfacings that I use are available worldwide (particularly in the USA).  And to complicate matters further, the products that are available as substitutes in other parts of the world (read: USA) are not necessarily available to me here, in Australia.  It's hard to know what to recommend when I don't know what the equivalents are.

 

Of course, there are online resources with substitution charts, but the little that I know is enough to know that these charts are not always reliable, for my purposes (for example, I saw Peltex 71 as a substitute for Vilene S520.  Peltex is simply not going to work for many of the uses that I have for Vilene S520). 

 

In a desperate attempt to give myself an International Interfacings Education (so that I can write an international sewing book), I begged the lovely folks at Pellon to send me samples of what they thought would be substitutes for the Vilene products that I use.  Bless them, they sent this box full.... and I've been playing with it for a couple of weeks.

 

So.. what did I discover?

 

I use three different weights of woven, fusible interfacing, from a soft collaring weight (medium-heavy)  through to a voile weight (medium-light).  Of course, there are other weights of woven interfacing available here - heavier and lighter - but these are the three that suit my needs for most things.

 

Pellon SF 101 (Shapeflex) comes in somewhere in the middle - like our medium weight.  It's a lovely interfacing and is a good all-rounder for bag-making.  If I suggest using "medium-heavy interfacing", you could probably get away with using Shapeflex, but if you have access to anything a smidge denser, I'd give that a go.  If I suggest using "medium-light interfacing", I'm referring to something about half the weight of Shapeflex (more gauze-like).

 

I use Vilene H630 and Vilene H640 Fleece/Wadding all of the time, to create structure in bags and purses.  They're lightweight, fusible and create loft without too much density (which makes them easy on the sewing machine needles), and they can be used in conjunction with other interfacings (read more about that here).

Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece is the recommended substitute for H630, but I think that it's more suitable as a substitute for H640.  It's denser (more felt-like) than both of  the Vilene fleece/wadding products, and the effect on the fabric is much heavier.  It creates much more structure (and thickness) than the light "oomph" that H630 gives to fabric.

You can see the difference a bit more clearly in profile... That's the Pellon fleece between the H640 (back) and H630 (front).

 I'm not sure what to suggest to use as a substiute for  H630 (light fusible fleece).  I'd welcome any suggestions from those of you in the USA (or other non-Vilene H630 territories), if you've found something to do the trick.

Fast2Fuse, Peltex and TimTex are all stiff, compressed-fibre interfacings, of diffferent densities and fusible properties.  Below, we have Heavyweight Fast2Fuse at front, TimTex in the middle and Peltex 71 at the back.

 Fast2Fuse comes in a Regular weight and Heavy weight.  I tend to use the Regular weight on the outside of bags and purses that I want stiffened (often with a layer of H630 between the fabric and the Fast2Fuse), and it's also handy for zipper tabs and some of the fancy new (secret squirrel) things I'm currently working on.  I use the heavy-weight when I want real box-like structure, or stiff bag bases.

I've done a comparison of Fast2Fuse and Peltex before.  For bag bases, Peltex is perfectly interchangeable with Fast2Fuse.  For finer work, I'd seek out Fast2Fuse if I could, and opt for Peltex if that's all I could find (2nd choice).  Peltex has the advantage of being available in both double-sided and single-sided fusible, as well as non-fusible.  Fast2Fuse is double-sided, which isn't always convenient.  Swings and roundabouts...

TimTex is about as thick as Peltex, but slightly denser (crisper?) and not fusible.  You can use it with fusible webbing (Vliesofix/wonderUnder/Bondaweb/Heat'nBond/Steam-a-Seam) to fuse it to fabric, or wrap it in fusible interfacing to make bag bases.

You can see the different densities and thicknesses in the profile shot, below.

Vilene S520 is an easy one.  It's almose identical to Pellon Deco-Fuse. 

Vilene S320 is one of my most-used interfacings, and unfortunately, I can't find an exact substitute for it. 

I love that the embossed surface  of Vilene S320 breaks that 'cardboard' surface effect that most non-wovens have, but apart from that property, it can be substituted with Pellon Craft Fuse.  Like S320, Craft Fuse fuses at low temperature and stays stable, and it gives about the same amount of support to the fabric, and it can be used in conjunction with fusible fleece.

I've only listed Vilene and Pellon products.... but there are other brands out there, and I don't have access to all that are on the shelves in the USA or Europe.

I'd like to open up the floor to any of you who'd like to offer any other suggestions. If you have anything that you feel might be useful, please feel fre to share it in the comment box below...

New things from old things ....and a whole lot of zips.

The Large Tote was one of the first patterns I developed for teaching bag-making, long before I had a pattern range.  I wanted a simple shape that would teach all the basics of bag-making and design variation. 

These are the latest versions, made to demonstrate different interfacing effects and a new bunch of zipper applications.  This one was made with a piece that I made to demonstrate simple embellishment methods at a teacher's conference last December.

Oh, I do like a little zip on the side.  The pocket is for easy-access to phone, train tickets etc, and for a bit of contrast that ties the colour of the embroidery into the overall bag design.

Inside the zippered top of the bag, I've added a zippered divider pocket and an exposed zipper in the facing seam (as in the bags in my book, for anyone who has made those). 

There have been a lot of crossover discoveries with zips and interfacings this week. I've been playing with a few little ideas that have been a-swimming about in my little brain for a while.  My little brain is a-POPPING with lots of new techniques to teach in my Interfacings and Zipper Workshops*.

This is the Large Tote in Joel Dewberry deco-weight fabric.  See that seam and dangling zipper pull?  Yep - another pocket. I also added a non-zippered pocket on the other side of this bag - thinking of a place to pop a book or water bottle.

And did I mention that I've discovered Great New Things with Ye Olde Zipper Gusset technique? Revolution, I tell you, Revolution.

This bag also has a zippered divider pocket (slightly different technique than the other one) and an exposed zipper in the middle of the lining (not visible in this pic).

 I also made a Day Bag (again, using Embellishments workshop leftovers).

 ...with some zippy bells and whistles.

This sewing week has provided lots of little inner-squeals-of-delight and a sense of achievement, but it's also been a necessary sort of think music for me.  In real life, there has been news of future upheaval and out-of-the-blue Complete Rethinking Of Everything.  There has also been news of a dear, dear friend with a huge battle ahead.  I'm reeling, but I'm keeping my focus firmly on where I'm going.  Sewing, designing and planning classes is keeping me upright and moving forward (....and I plan to move forward with a roll of 6mm Vliesofix tape in my hand.  I'm LOVING this stuff!).


Ok, back to sewing....

* The zipper workshop is currently fully booked and has a waiting list.  There interfacings class is headed that way, too. Don't dispair - I'll be looking at my calendar at the next available opportunity and will contact anyone on the waiting list before I advertise the next class.

How to get the best deal and a few bargains

I wish we could offer free shipping.... Postage is going up all the time, and the rates for different regions, parcel sizes and values mean that it's impossible to flat-rate or reduce our postage charges.

So, I have a few tips for you on getting the BEST VALUE....
I pay three lovely ladies to work on each order individually - giving you the attention you'd get if you just walked into your local sewing supplies store. They spend a lot of time packing, weighing, invoicing your order, and then emailing you to personally to make sure you're happy with it, and organising payment. They're happy to discuss your order via email or on the phone and give advice on the products. We also ship things out as soon as payment is received.

We believe that this service makes us unique in the online shopping world - and it saves you the hassle of getting out to the shops (including saving on parking, petrol and hassles with small kids in fabric stores...) but the $3 packaging and handling fee we charge barely covers the cost to me. However, I'm aware that it can be a substantial add-on cost to a small order (say, for one pattern).

Have you thought about getting together with a friend or two - your craft group, perhaps? - and putting in a group order? You will only be charged for one handling fee and your portion of the postage will more than likely be cheaper than to pay for a small parcel.

Or think about what else you might need to complete the project you're working on and make one order rather than two. If you scroll down to the bottom of each age in the shopping cart, there is a tab called "related products"...take a look!

If your parcel is under 5kg and you're within Australia, the cheapest shipping is often via courier flat-rate 1kg, 3kg or 5kg satchel. These days, we're finding courier more reliable than the postal service and insurance is included in the price of the satchel (unlike the infinitely variable add-on insurance with the postal service). It can save you a substantial amount in shipping charges to have your parcel delivered by courier.

To request Courier delivery, make sure you give us a delivery address where somebody can receive the parcel during business hours... perhaps your work address. (You can update your address as you place your order). Then, when you choose your delivery method, choose "COURIER".

While we're on the subject of saving money, we have a few specials on at the moment... like this lovely medium-weight interfacing... I accidentally ordered the wrong code, and what we received is slightly lighter than our usual medium-heavy interfacing. Same-same but different....
The swatch on the left hand side is our usual Medium-Heavy and the one on the right is the new one. The new one is a little lighter, a little more gauze-like (you can see more green cutting board through it in the photo, above).

It fuses beautifully and gives almost the same support as the Medium-Heavy, but it's not what we usually supply. For the sake of consistency in our stock, I'd like to clear this roll at a discount price. We'll deduct 33% from the usual price (making it $7.37 plus GST, per metre).

To order it, just order the usual medium-heavy (HERE), but leave a comment in the comment box with your order to specify that you want the DISCOUNT INTERFACING.

We also received a ridiculously large proportion of grey zips in our last delivery of mixed zips. They are all sorts of lengths but all the same colour - a sort of mid-grey that reminds me of school uniforms. I'm happy to see them go at $4 per bundle of 15 ($3.64 if you live outside Australia). At that price, they are not the least bit precious and could be used for toiles (muslins) or for practising your zipper-insertion techniques. Goodness, you might even sew lots of grey fabric....

You can order them HERE. I've added a "grey only" option in the shopping cart, which will give you the correct discount price.

In these lean times, a few savings here and there add up. I hope these tips help you out....

Combining Interfacings for bag-making

Interfacing is key to creating the right structure in handmade fabric bags. Often, we're using fabrics that were designed for drape or softness, and we need to make them have rigidity or at least a bit more body. For flexible (rather than rigid) structure, the combination of interfacing and wadding can be the answer.

Lighter fabrics need to be "flattened" with interfacing before a "plumping" layer of wadding is applied, otherwise the effect is merely puffy (the fabric is still floppy).

Sometimes this means that you'll be spending at least as much money on your interfacings as you have on your fabric. It really is worth the investment if you don't want to cheapen the look of your good fabric by using inferior support materials. (You can tart up cheap fabric with good interfacing and you can equally ruin good fabric with bad interfacing - the fabric takes on the properties of the support).

Through many trials and errors, I've learned a few interfacing combinations that work for me. I'd really recommend that you try a few as well - the more you test, the more you'll understand, and the better your ability to guess the likely outcome of any interfacing choice in the future.

When I want to add a bit of extra body to quilting weight cotton fabric, I use the combination of either medium-light or medium-heavy interfacing and light fusible wadding. The interfacing is fused in place first, followed by the wadding.


When in doubt, test both combinations on the same fabric....
You'll see and feel the difference and be able to choose which you prefer.

You may prefer the stand-up structure of the heavier (640) fusible wadding - combined with either of the above interfacings, and you may choose different interfacing combinations for different components of the same bag.

Another combination I truly, deeply love.... (I know, I'm gushing again...) is Vilene S320 and H640 (medium weight) fusible wadding.

The Vilene S320 fuses like a dream and gives a really flat finish but remains very flexible.

With a layer of 640 wadding, it holds its shape beautifully, yet is still light and flexible. I tried to show the flexibility in photos, but it didn't show it..... so I did a quick little amateur video (complete with a tripod-bumping incident) to demonstrate.

For the rest of the bag, I used different interfacings in different combinations....

Medium-light interfacing and light wadding on the strap, Vilene S320 (no wadding) on the facing and medium-light interfacing on the o-ring loops.

Of course, all this would be different on a different fabric and bag. It's really a matter of using the interfacing that will create the properties you want on each individual bag bit.

 

Troubleshooting Interfacing...

Interfacing is one of the things that can transform your fabric and make the difference between a home-made "soft bag" and a fabulous "I can't believe I made it" fashion accessory.

It's also something that people find intimidating. A few hiccups and people think it's too hard.

Believe me - it's NOT too hard. There are a few simple rules of thumb and a lot of suck-it-and-see experimentation. There is lots of help available if you need it.

Once you see the effects of quality interfacing applied properly, you'll be thinking "interfacing" as soon as you think the words "make" and "bag" in the same sentence.

The most common problems people have are that the interfacing doesn't stick...
...or that it bubbles in areas where it hasn't stuck to the fabric.


This mostly happens with heavier interfacings, and is usually a result of one of the following -

1. The iron was not hot enough. Most heavier interfacings are designed to be applied with industrial fusing presses so you need to be pretty brutal with the fusing process if you have a domestic iron. Interfacings such as our medium-heavy interfacing need a LINEN setting. I've owned lots of irons and I've observed that some are better than others at fusing. Some are simply not able to get hot enough to fuse some interfacings, even on a linen setting. TIP: INVEST IN A GOOD IRON (and/or an ironing press) and always test a scrap of interfacing on your fabric first.

2. There was not enough pressure on the iron when applying the interfacing or the iron was not pressed down on the interfacing for long enough. Unless you have a fusing press (any domestic ironing press), you will have to press down HARD with your iron to fuse heavier woven interfacings (for 10-20 seconds sometimes.... although start with about 5 seconds and check for scorching. Use a RAJAH CLOTH if necessary) . Press down on the back of the interfacing bit by bit until it's all fused. Don't move the iron over the top as you do when you press clothing.

3. There is a finish on the fabric that repels the interfacing glue. Some fabrics just don't like the adhesive on the interfacing.

This is just annoying. Pre-washing fabric reduces the likelihood of this issue, although sometimes there is an incompatability between the dyes or fibre in the fabric and the adhesive. You just have to choose a different interfacing or fabric in that case. Thankfully, this is rare.

4. Too much steam is used before pressure is put on the interfacing. I know, I know.... I've mentioned before that steam works for interfacing..... I should qualfy that this is only AFTER you've pressed the bejaysus out of it and WHILE you're pressing the bejaysus out of it again. Moisture can occasionally stop fabrics and interfacings from fusing together properly. My rule of thumb: Dry iron first. Steam if the dry iron fails.

5. The fused fabric was moved while it was still hot. Leave the fabric to cool (and the adhesive to set) before you wriggle it around or sew it. The manufacturer's directions often say to leave it for up to 30 minutes.....
so at least let it cool!

6. The wrinkles were not pressed out of the fabric before the interfacing was applied. Simply fixed. Press the fabric first.

The other reason for bubbling interfacing is an issue with light weight interfacing (such as our medium-light woven interfacing, light non-woven interfacing and wadding).

It happens when the iron is too hot. The interfacing shrinks and takes the fabric with it.

There are several ways to deal with this -

1. Some people pre-shrink the interfacing before fusing it to the fabric.

(Personally, I don't bother with this. I prefer to quote Jane Austen - "Why not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparations..."). Pre-shrinking is more important when you're making a garment (which will be laundered) than if you're making a bag or hat. It's easier with sew-in interfacing than with fusibles.

2. Test a scrap of interfacing on a scrap of fabric first, and set your iron accordingly. Most light interfacings will fuse with a wool-cotton setting.

3. If your interfacing has shrunk and bubbled, you're best to rip it off, press the fabric again (using an applique mat to protect your iron or board from adhesive residue) and fuse a new piece of interfacing. If it shrinks after it's been sewn (and ripping it off is impossible), you can minimise the damage but never completely "cure" it. See the demonstration here.

4. Try a different interfacing. For example, Vilene S320 fuses beautifully (no bubbles) if it's stiff, thin structure you're after. Try fusing wadding on the back of it for extra oomph. It's GREAT! (Oops - I'm gushing again....).

 

Edited to add: I've just updated the TIPS AND TUTORIALS page on my website to include this and other recent blog tutorials. If you're not a regular follower, take a peek to see lots more of my freebie patterns, tips and tutorials.