Fabric Tips: Sewing Fleece
ZJ HumbachFleece can be a great fabric to work with and in this video ZJ Humbach shares with you why sewing fleece is one of her favorites! At 60 inches wide it’s one of the more cost effective fabrics to buy, it’s warm and lightweight, and has the added benefit of not raveling. This not only makes it easy to work with, but with no need to finish edges it makes it great for whipping up last minute gifts like blankets!
ZJ takes you through other advantages of sewing fleece, as well as explains some of its trickier attributes like whether it has a grain and which directions have the most stretch. ZJ also shares ideas of projects that can be made entirely out of fleece like blankets, sweaters, or toys, and shows some examples of projects that can be accented with fleece.
If you haven't had a chance to work with fleece yet, you don't know all the fun you're missing out on. Fleece is warm, it's snuggly, it feels so soft, and best of all, it's fairly inexpensive, especially if you find a coupon at one of your local sewing shops. You can usually get it for 40 to 50% off. It is 60 inches wide, which also makes it economical because you don't have to buy as much to complete your project. Fleece is extremely lightweight and it's warm.
It will not shrink and there is no grain to it, nor is there a nap. So, unlike flannel, corduroy, or velvet, which are other warm fabrics, you don't have to worry about laying your pattern out directionally, you can lay in either direction and it will come out equally as lovely. However, there still is stretch to it and some things you need to realize. On one edge, there still is a selvage, although it's more fused than a woven selvage. But you will have to be aware of that.
So in that regard, this would be the equivalent of your lengthwise grain, just as in woven fabric. There is some stretch to it, as you can see. The most stretch will be crosswise. And you can see that has a lot of stretch. So when you lay out your pattern, you will still want to consider this as a grain, although in the true sense of the word, it isn't because it's not a woven fabric.
And of course, your bias will have the most stretch. So be aware of that as you're working with this fabric. Back to the positives though, fleece does not ravel. As you can see, this is a cut edge and I can pull along it and it is not raveling. Although the edges do have a tendency to curl.
So if you want to, you can finish the edges and that will help so they don't curl as much. And I find that is particularly a wise idea if I'm doing a project like a blanket. So with that in mind, let me show you a few things that you can do with fleece. There are several wonderful books on the market and Nancy Cornwell is a real expert on the fleece and has come up with some wonderful books just filled with information. The nice thing with fleece is it is wonderful to embroider on, it takes embroidery absolutely beautifully with the right stabilizer behind it.
It's nice for cut out work, just a myriad of different ways that you can embellish on fleece. And, as you can see, you can even make cute and cuddly little animals out of it for children to enjoy. Now, a couple of other things to consider with fleece is, as we said, you could make toys out of it. You can make blankets. This is just a little piece that I picked up.
It's 54 by 54. As you can see, I took a serger and I just put an overcast stitch on it. This was a four thread over-lock stitch and I just made it a little bit tighter than usual, and it gave it a nice, professional look for a baby gift. And this whole blanket cost me $6 so that's a pretty good buy when you look at the cost of going out to buy a baby gift. And, of course, it's been handmade with love.
Fleece is wonderful for outerwear, for hats, but you also can use it for quilting. This was a little jacket that I made for one of our cocker spaniels several years ago and I lined it with fleece. And as you can see, it quilts beautifully. A couple things that I've done is I have taken fleece, I've taken two layers of fleece, I've put a layer of quilt batting in the middle, and gone ahead and quilted it. And it is one of the nicest quilts that my family fights over because it's warm and it's snuggly but it's very lightweight and it was perfect for taking to football games.
You can also use fleece as a backing for quilts if you're into quilting. Just make sure that you remember the stretch direction and put the lengthwise of your quilt on that same lengthwise grain. If you're quilting under your machine, you're going to want to pin it no more than, or no less than the width of your palm apart, or your fist. And if you're using it on a long arm, make sure that you place the selvage along the edges of the leaders to minimize the stretch. You are only limited by your imagination with this versatile fabric.
So if you haven't tried fleece, I urge you to go out and get some. I think you'll really enjoy working with it.
Hi and thanks to Bonnie because I was going to make blankets for toddlers. I will make some for their older siblings now .
Trying to make a fleece jacket/snuggly and wondering what type of snaps you’d recommend (or not?) as I’m afraid it will eventually rip the fabric off. Figure Velcro May not be recommended
Have lots of Fleece and need som ideas! Do have enough for blankets
is there a special type of needle that should be used. I have trouble with it getting caught in the plate when sewing. So what tension is good, stitch length etc.
Thanks for the tips about sewing fleece. I have been using fleece as a backing for 'comfort quilts' to be given to those who are in the hospital or home bound. The softness of the fleece adds the comfort and the other side of the quilt is usually cotton. Binding has been either sewing a 1/2" edge and then trimming with pinking shears or I do 'pillow case' style on the quilt. I use my walking foot when doing the quilting so it helps to eliminate the pulling. Thanks again for this timely info - I had not realized the difference in the stretch!
I am sewing a blanket with fleece on one side and the other side is cotton blend fabric pieced together like a quilt top. I am trying to find tips online to prevent the "stretch" when I am sewing top edges and bottom edging . The fabrics laid out on table in perfect proportion ,the sides didn't stretch out ,but the fleece ended up stretching Longer than the cotton fabric on TOP and Bottom edges
Hi and thank you so much for this tutorial on fleece. You make me want to sew with this now. 😎🌸
1. When I make a double layer fleece blanket I reverse the stretch. I lay the crosswise stretch along the lengthwise stretch which reduces the stretch of the finished blanket. 2. Latest guidelines from pediatric groups is NEVER use fleece blankets for babies or toddlers. You cannot breathe through it hence why it blocks the cold air so well. Our local childrens' hospital requested years ago that we not donate fleece items for the nursery or NICU. The static in the fleece affects the electronic monitors and again cannot breathe through it.
would like to have more tips about actually sewing fleece on my sewing machine. Stitch length, etc. I have not been pleased with the outcome of attempting to sew with fleece and wonder what I am doing wrong. Thanks