Friday 15 March 2013

Preshrink before use!

If you plan on washing or laundering your project you should always preshrink the fabric before using it, this will avoid any issues with fit later on.

It is important to know how much the fabric will shrink (if it does). There is nothing worse than buying the recommended amount of fabric for a project and then to find you don’t have enough.

The best way to tell how much a fabric will shrink is to test it first.

  • Start by cutting out a 4” square from the fabric at one corner (do not include the selvage)
  • Mark an arrow pointing down the lengthwise grain with a permanent pen. This will allow you to gage which way the fabric is shrinking more, if it is the length or the width. (Fabric usually shrinks more on the length that the width)
  • Really wet the square and then iron it until it is fully dry.
  • Now remeasure the square of fabric to see if there has been any shrinkage on either the length or the width.
  • If the 4” length has shrunk by quarter of an inch, then the yard of fabric will shrink by two and a quarter inches.
  • You will need to buy extra fabric to allow for this.....  


There are a few points to remember when preshrinking fabric!

  1. If the project is to be laundered after you have finished, you must launder the fabric in the same manner before cutting out. Use detergent and fabric softeners normal.
  2. Be careful to watch for colour run and dye bleeds as this could stain under and over garments later. So wash the fabric and check for colourfastness. If the colour bleeds, you may want to wash the fabric a second time.
  3. Do not over-crowd the washing machine and remove the fabric after the wash to avoid wrinkling and fabric wear (pilling)
  4. Serge the edges of woven fabrics to prevent them from raveling in the wash.
  5. If the fabric is dry-clean only, you can steam-shrink it with a very good steam iron. Just use steam and don’t touch the fabric with the iron surface. Hold the iron about 1” above until fabric becomes damp. Let the fabric dry naturally.
  6. Home furnishing fabrics usually have a stain-repellent finish on them and cannot be washed. You can steam-press to get the shrinkage.
  7. Pre-shrink all the components of your project (just in case)
HAPPY PRESHRINKING!!!!

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