Submitted by Christine
Ashley
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Tips for Sewing with Minky
Comments
I often times sew with glittery fabric or sequined fabric. Any tips on how to get through this fabric easily and not gunk up the needle? Thanks
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If you have a serger it’s is a time saver and it never puckers. I round my corners to make it easy to serge. I sew with right sides together and leave a space to turn inside out. I’ve made 5 or 6 blankets this way. I don’t do much for quilting on the blanket once it is serged. But always use a walking foot with the longest stitch.
I’m getting ready to see a minky blanket. What size needle and type of thread would you recommend; also would you use a long basting stitch to sew it together with?
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Not sure this is where to ask my question but I have lovely table cloths my mother embroidered with cross stitching. I treasure these but I do not use table clothes any more. I do not want to cut them up to make into something else. Could they be made into quilts? Where can I get ideas?
How do I sew pants with a RIP on the crotch
How to sew fur
I’m making baby blankets using satin ruffle on the edges. My serger gathering foot barely creates any gather so I end up pulling a thread and pulling the gather by hand. Any suggestions?
Dear Lori,
Thank you for your patience. In response to your question-
Depending on the brand/type of machine you are using, you could consider getting a ruffler attachment as this may help you better create the look you are wanting.
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Cheers,
Ashley
National Sewing Circle
I found it very helpful to use basting spray.
This is a wonderful idea. I have had many questions in the past, and never been able to get direct answers. I hope you keep this going. (No questions now)
How do you he T-SHIRTS? I am on the short side & t-shirts are always too long. I’ve tried hemming by hand & with a double needed. They always look terrible & I end up getting rid of them or using them for rags. Thank you for your time.
Currently making a throw quilt with 13 stars. I have tried to cut everything perfectly and see it perfectly but it’s not coming out perfectly. Any suggestions on cutting? Piecing stars?
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for your patience. In response to your question-
Here are some tutorials that should help you with accurate cutting and accurate piecing:
https://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/video/make-accurate-cuts-012117/
https://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/article/precision-quilt-piecing-part-1-squares/
And there are link to more Precision Piecing articles at the bottom of this link.
Cheers,
Ashley
National Sewing Circle
To keep from the seams from puckering, lengthen your stitch. Try putting minky in the dryer for about 15 minkies before cutting, it really helps with the shedding. Also, have a mini vac handy and vacuum the edges after cutting.
My friend is trying to make a double sided minky blanket. She has used a walking foot, 90/14 needle, even tried stabilizer and she is still having problems. Please advise.
To keep from the seams from puckering, lengthen your stitch. Try putting minky in the dryer for about 15 minkies before cutting, it really helps with the shedding. Also, have a mini vac handy and vacuum the edges after cutting.
Help! I’m having lots of issues with puckering when sewing different layers of Minky together. For example, sewing a low pile printed Minky layer to a high pile Minky fur layer. My walking foot isn’t helping. I pin a lot and go as slow as possible, and with or without the walking foot, it still puckers! Any advice on what I should change to make the layers lay flat?
Try lessening the pressure of the presser foot.
Sometimes when it’s set to put a lot of pressure on certain materials, it can Grab by the feed dogs and not move through evenly.
Ive learned, like top tension, different fabrics need tension adjustments.
Same is for the presser foot pressure.
What is a good Canadian site to order minky material?
I bought an elephant quilt kit a couple years ago and one of the tips was to use fabric adhesive. That did help a lot.
Actually I have a question, need help on how to fabric with fur on the inside, do I cut the fur where the seam to be sew? Any suggestions would be great.
Hi Anna. With minky you do not need to trim the fur from the seams. However, if you are talking about sewing with a fur of faux fur that has a longer pile, yes it is helpful to trim the fur from the seam allowances prior to stitching to eliminate bulk.
Hope this helps!
I took a minky class from Connie Palmer and we put the sticky Saran wrap on the fabric before we cut it and it really cut down on the amount of fuzz that occured
I’h Very old school. We were taught to cut the furry fabrics from the wrong side only. The base fabric gets cut, sliding the scissors between the hair fibers. Then you pull the cut pieces apart. This leaves VERY few loose “hairs” and a clean cut edge.
You may need to hand baste the pieces together to keep them from sliding. Once you decide that this is something you LIKE to do you will find it more enjoyable and relaxing!
My issue with kinky is the shedding. I have like 6 beautiful colors, 2 yes each, and I got it to make small baby blankets but after cutting one out, I had that stuff everywhere and I mean everywhere. Are there any tips for cutting it without such a mess? Help please!
Hi Brenda. One thing that can help reduce the shedding when it comes to minky is ensuring you have a super sharp rotary cutter or scissors. You can also have a lint roller near by to immediately get any stray fibers after cutting.
Hope this helps!
Also putting it in the dryer for a few minutes before cutting cuts down on fuzz
Whenever I cut minky or any fur-type fabric, I mark the pattern on the wrong side of the furry fabric and use an Xacto Knife to cut only the woven part of the fabric. I then pull the pieces apart and no shedding since you never cut the actual furry part, just the backing.
Minky only shedd’s when it’s cut. I get the shop vac out, and after every cut (keep the ruler in place too) I vacuume … a lot less mess..
I want to use minky to back a dbl bed quilt. How wide can I find minky material to avoid too many seams in backing? Do you recommend an online fabric supplier I will be satisfied with quality etc?
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your patience. In response to your question-
I believe Minky fabric only comes in the standard 56-60″ width.
Cheers,
Ashley
National Sewing Circle
I have bought it in 90 wide at several places.
How do you press seams open on minky when it melts when you iron it?
Hi Kathy. You will need to use a press cloth or other layer of fabric between the minky and the iron.
Hope this helps!