Sew Faux Fur
Sewing Tips
Different faux fur fabrics create different sewing conditions, some of the ideas or tips below should help you create a very nice seam.
The main difference between sewing regular fabric and faux fur is that the faux fur has an additional dimension. As you sew it the pile will tend to shift. The best suggestion is to sew in the direction that the pile lays. Use lots of pins, I recommend using longer than size pins which you can buy at any well stocked fabric store.
It's a good idea to mark reference points five inches apart along the edge of your fabric. When you pin the seams, match the reference points using lots of pins. This will help to give you a great seam.
Very often unruly fur gets in the way of making a clean seam, use a damp sponge to moisten and brush back the fur out of the way of a seam. Some of the fabrics and furs will stretch more than the others; one of the industry tips is to use a self-adhesive ribbon tape often called a stabilizer (masking tape works also to some degree). The tape is applied to the edges of the fabric and you sew through it to create a flawless seam.
Adjusting the thread tension or maintaining any kind of thread tension on a home machine can be difficult when sewing two layers of faux fur. This is often due to a tension release mechanism built into your sewing machine, every time you lift the presser foot it in turns releases the thread tension for easier removal of the item being sewn. So when sewing very thick materials such as fur the presser foot is held up high enough to trigger the tension release. In these scenario we often loop the thread around the sewing machine handle or some nearby object a couple of times to add additional tension.
Hope this helps you and as always you can contact us directly by using the "Ask Leena" form for additional help or to submit ideas.
