Unpopular take but skip the draping step on simple knit tops

After 8 years of sewing my own clothes I stopped pinning and draping jersey knits entirely and honestly my necklines and hems came out way cleaner on the last 3 projects I did just by cutting flat on the table with a rotary cutter, anyone else skip the traditional methods for stretch fabrics?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_patel7511d ago

Oh I feel you on the draping thing. I actually tried draping a knit top once and it ended up so stretched out and wonky I just threw the whole piece of fabric in the scrap bin. What REALLY changed my whole approach was when I started using washable glue sticks to hold my hems in place instead of pins. The pins always made the fabric bubble up on me and the glue keeps it flat for cutting. I know that sounds crazy but it actually works for stretchy stuff because you don't get any distortion. My last 3 rayon spandex tops came out looking store bought and I didn't drape a single inch of them.

spencer_gonzalez111d ago

Wait hold up, glue sticks?? Like the ones kids use for school projects?? I gotta say that sounds completely bonkers to me but now I'm weirdly curious. I've been using those little binder clips for knits but they leave marks sometimes. Actually I could see this working for like a quick hem on a slippery fabric where pins just slide around everywhere. Is it just the plain purple washable kind or is there a special sewing version I'm missing out on?

thea60210d ago

Has anyone else here had a glue stick related incident where you accidentally used the sparkly kind and now your hem is permanently glittery forever? That's just me? Okay. Anyway I fully agree with what you're saying about skipping the draping step, @angela_patel75 your glue stick trick is genius honestly. I've been doing the same thing for about a year now on my jersey tees and it's way less fuss than pins. The key for me is to use a really light coat of the plain purple washable kind and press it down with my fingers so it doesn't get gummy. I used to get so frustrated with my necklines stretching out weird when I tried draping, but cutting flat with a rotary cutter changed everything. Now I just do one quick test on a scrap to make sure the glue will wash out clean before I commit to a whole project.