Show woman s world new techniques are required for sewing plastic materials calta fi ITH plastic mm film and plastic W WITH coated fabrics its easy to achieve all sorts of smart effects for the home using them you can make things that have a smart appearance pe arance and are easy to clean with these fabrics appearing in stripes checks florala and plain designs find it easy to turn out attractive curtains tor for the kitchen and bath bedspreads shower sets chair covers and other ho household accessories that can be kept fresh and stainless with a swish of a damp cloth it if they need more attention you can even launder them periodically in in lukewarm suds even even beginners can achieve the ultimate in thrifty home decoration with these newest of fabrics after a few shortcut short cut decorating lessons at a local sewing center find too that many of these new fabrics come in color coordinated arrays so you can mix stripes florala and plain designs for any sewing project youve set tor for yourself there are just a few things you should remember when sewing on these new fabrics it will require some adjusting to learn how to stitch most efficiently but actually an easy matter to learn even if youre an amateur at this sewing business adjust sewing machine for Mit stitching ching when using either plastic film or plastic coated fabric for such projects local sewing center instructors recommend the use of a size 11 needle tor for the sewing machine thread the machine with mercer iced thread and regulate machine tor for a slightly longer stitch light plastic fabrics are ideal tension and light pressure also are recommended for plastic film stitching when using plastic film for shower curtains and matching window curtains its a good idea before cutting desired lengths to hang the fabric over an open door with ends balanced evenly on both sides you then can smooth out the wrinkles with the balls of the fingers or the palm of the hand avoid fingernail contact however the use ot of weights rather than pins on the cutting table also is a t big help when working with plastics you can fill small sacks with beans or borrow marbles from the youngsters lor for this purpose use a pencil to mark off heading hems tor for curtains or follow pattern markings do not use tailors tacks under any circumstances you can easily keep the pattern pieces together with ordinary paper clips and thus avoid tearing the fabric tubes or rolls of wrapping paper come in handy too for you can roll roil each cut section over it in the opposite order to the sequence on the construction chart of the pattern this will keep pieces from becoming wrinkled as well as giving neatness and orderliness to your work pinning and basting are considered nonessential non essential when sewing with plastic film another thing you wont have to turn under raw edges as the fabric does not fray always finish edges plain or pinked with the pinker attach ment on the sewing machine tips to slake make sewing easy its easy to achieve smart decorator finishes such as ruffling gathering and binding on these fabrics with attachments of the sewing machine such as the binder and gathering foot the fine hemmer and edge attachments can readily be used also it if the plastic film becomes soft and moist from humidity brush a 1 i for making shower sets bit of talcum powder lightly ovel the edge to be inserted into the sewing machine attachment if the film seems tough from cold brush a very thin film of oil along the edge of the fabric with the finger tips one drop of oil is sufficient when a great deal of ruffling is necessary as in curtain making its advisable to pass a inch strip of very fine emery cloth between blades of the from back to front should there be any inclination to skip gathers the emery cloth will provide a gripping surface tor for the blades since continued contact with plastic film sometimes causes a waxy or oily deposit to interfere with the drive of the blades ifan if an oily condition develops when using plastic film simply dust very lightly with talcum powder it if waxiness appears use emery paper on the underside of the gathering foot plain fabric binding may be used with plastic film and this is simply treated as in average sewing when plastic binding is used cut binding inch in width and insert in the outside slot of the binder since plastic film does not fray it is not necessary to fold the edges under as in fabric binding |