Taffeta

[sewingmom]

I am making a corsett out of taffeta. The first seam that I sewed apeared a little puckery. Are there any rules about sewing on taffeta? Should I handle it the same as I would satin?

[sewingmom]

No Answers?

[pucktricks]

I've never sewn with it before, but maybe put tissue paper under the seams? I have nothing to back this up with, so it may be completely wrong, but that's what I thought of. I figure at the very least my answer will get this bumped up so you get a more knowledgable answer.

Ticia

[sewingmom]

Thanks Ticia!!!!

[Pudge99]

Been years since I sewed with taffeta but I do remember puckery seams. I think I just left them puckery. I have a book................but have no clue where it is. I really need to clean my sewing room again.

[neefer]

Is it polyester taffeta?

[Upholsteress]

Gee its been so long since I worked with such lightweight fabrics... I can't remember what taffeta is! If its what comes to mind (very thin, sheer and shiny??) ... a very fine needle and silk thread may help with runs and big holes... as for puckering... try your walking foot? the tissue backing (stabilizer) is a nice idea! Play with your settings on some scraps until your are happy with the results. experimenting is often the best way to find a solution. Good luck kiddo...

[MartySews2]

When sewing on taffeta, use a sharp needle size 60/8 or 70/10 and a very lightweight thread. You can use polyester or cotton covered polyester but be sure it is lightweight. A serger really helps with the raveling but use a lightweight serger thread. Use weights or super fine pins or an adhesive spray on the pattern when cutting out. A rotary cutter & mat helps. Hand basting with 1 inch seams is recommended to control slippage. Remember that using a steam iron may spot the fabric. When pressing use a cool iron or medium heat & a press cloth. Stitch length should be around 2-2.5mm (10-12 stitches per inch). A roller foot will help & using a small hole needle plate helps to keep the fabric from sinking. Also stitching on tissue paper helps. Most taffeta garments have to be dry cleaned. This is paraphrased from the book "Sew Any Fabric, pg 89" by Claire Shaeffer. Hope this helps.
Marty

[sewingmom]

The taffeta is Polyester, I am using a 70/10 microtex needle. The taffeta is almost a medium weight. Not as thin as a batiste and not as thick as a twill. I have discovered it is easy to melt with the Iron. It hasn't water spotted, perhaps because I washed it before cutting. I knew how it would be treated after it one use. I hope it works out nice enough for her to sell on e-bay when she is finished with it. ( In my dreams). Thanks Marty for loooking it up. Cheryl, it is that stuff that we had before nylon that sings when you walk as the fabric rubs together. little girls party dresses were made out of it when I was a child. I don't remember it puckering when Momma sewed it on her old Singer.

[plrlegal]

I actually would use a 3-3.5 mm stitch (8-10 stitches per inch on my Pfaff 4.0) and a silk wrapped polyester thread. Taffeta is one of the fabrics that if you use small stitches on it, it will tend to pucker, especially with polyester thread that has been tightly wound at high speed onto a bobbin. Polyester thread is one of the threads when tightly wound a high speed onto a bobbin will stretch and then when it is sewn into a seam will shrink back to its original length, thus causing the puckering in garment seams. If it is at all possible, you should wound polyester onto a bobbin at a lower speed to prevent stretching.

Patsy