Often I see a fabric and I want it immediately, without any idea of what to make, which is precisely what happened with this gorgeous hummingbird print chiffon. I couldn’t think what on earth I could make with it (chiffon being notoriously difficult to work with) and it was only after much thought that I realised the simplest answer would be the best – just make a plain chiffon scarf.
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I love this print |
I’d
not worked with chiffon before so I was a little apprehensive. As well as the
fabric itself I ordered a specialist roll hem foot for my sewing machine to see
if it might make the job of hemming the edge a little easier. I decided to
order a two metre length of chiffon, and found when it arrived that it was wide
enough to make two scarves, which was a nice surprise. However, I wasn’t at
first sure how to cut the fabric in half – keeping a straight cut for two
metres is difficult – so I did the old fashioned trick of cutting a small way in
and then tearing the fabric in half.
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Full length |
Although
this gave a very even separation of the two halves it did leave frayed edges so
I had to go round both pieces of fabric and trim all the frayed edges off with
scissors to ensure a finished neat hemmed edge; loose threads can also clog up
a bobbin so it’s important to keep fabric well-trimmed. Once the edges were all
neatened I cut a small strip from the end of one of the scarves and
experimented with the roll hem foot.
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Keep your bobbin case/shuttle clean and oiled! |
It
took a lot of practise but eventually I got the hang of it, however, I didn’t
trust myself to do a neat enough job with the special foot and instead reverted
to my normal machine foot and decided to roll the hem by hand, which might give
a larger hem but would be easier to work with and probably give a neater continuous
result.
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I gave up on using this roll hem foot |
Slowly
working the fabric round the machine I was careful to fold the raw edge under
itself to create a neat edge that wouldn’t fray. I found it easier to keep a
slow and steady pace as chiffon is so delicate any mistakes could damage the
integrity of the fabric and leave visible marks.
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Me rolling the hem by hand and feeding it in |
The
finished result was great and I gifted one of the scarves to a friend who said
she loved it. It definitely made me feel more confident about working with
delicate fabrics and is a quick and easy way to make unique Christmas and
birthday presents. Although I gave up on the roll hem foot for this project I will try it
again in the future, maybe on slightly heavier fabrics.
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Finished scarf |
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Detail of hem |
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The delicate nature of the fabric is clear here |
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blog content and photos are Copyright of Charisse Sayers Proofreader &
Copywriter www.charisse-sayers.com I
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