Chiffon, lace, mesh, organza and others, we’ve all been there: you found the most gorgeous sheer fabric, but it’s so slippery and thin you aren’t sure if you will be able to sew with it! Sheer fabrics can be beautiful, but they are notoriously difficult to sew. Don’t worry though, I have 5 tips for you to help you achieve the sheer sewing project of your dreams!
Adjust your tension
Sheer fabrics tend to be quite thin. When you start sewing with them, you will likely need to lower your tension so your sewing machine doesn’t pull them down into the machine. Machine tension is super important if you want your stitches to look nice and even without loops or other imperfections
Tissue paper trick
This is a great trick that can be used to keep your sewing machine from eating your fabric and keep your feed dogs off the delicate fabric you are sewing with. To do this, you will pin a piece of tissue paper to the side of your fabric that your machine will be touching. Sew over the tissue paper along with your fabric, then pull it off after you’re done. This keeps your fabric moving smoothly through your sewing machine.
It’s all about the hem
When you are sewing sheer fabric you won’t want to use a typical hem. You need to choose something that will look nice on the front and the back. I recommend using a rolled hem. If you aren’t able to do a rolled hem, you should use a narrow hem, or when possible no hem at all (some lace or netting fabric doesn’t need a hem)
Adjust your stitch length
Depending on the weave of your fabric, you may want to lengthen your stitches. If you have a very loose weave fabric, or a fabric with lots of holes, like lace, you will want to make sure your stitches are long enough that they are catching the fabric every stitch. Otherwise your machine may get gummed up and your stitches won’t look nice and even.
Lots of pins – or use paper clips or clamps
Sheer fabrics tend to be thin and slippery. Depending on the fabric, you might not want to use pins since this can leave marks in your fabric. Pins might not be very useful if you’re using a lace or other fabric with large holes. Instead of pins you can buy clamps to hold your fabric in place, or you can go for the DIY option of paper clips. Whatever you choose to use, use lots of them.
Measure and pin twice – only sew once!
This one is less of a tip and more of a warning. Sheer fabrics are very difficult to unpick, and the fabric never looks very nice once you’ve unpicked it. Measure, mark, pin (or otherwise hold your fabric in place) then check again. Try to avoid making any mistakes on your fabric. If you do make a mistake though, work very carefully to unpick your threads and don’t pull at your fabric to avoid making marks on your fabric.
