Clean and prepare your vintage fabric before sewing.
Material with bold retro patterns and eye-catching Hawaiian prints are reminders of another era. Collecting vintage fabric can be a fun and inexpensive hobby. Sewing with vintage fabric can be more of a challenge than finding it. Vintage fabrics are generally available in limited quantities in varying conditions. With some attention and care, you can turn your antique remnants into sewn treasures.
Instructions
1. Inspect vintage fabrics to assess their condition. Look for damaged or stained areas. Carefully attempt to remove stains by scraping mud with a blunt knife, rubbing blood with table salt and dabbing other stains with gentle soap. Gently tug at the fabric to test its strength. If fabric tears easily, reserve it for delicate projects such as decorative wall hangings.
2. Wash cotton fabrics with gentle detergent and let them air dry. Send synthetic fabrics to be professionally dry-cleaned. Mark any holes and remaining stains with a sticker in a color that contrasts with the fabric. Measure the usable areas of the fabric before selecting a pattern.
3. Look for patterns requiring little yardage and with smaller individual pieces. Vintage patterns are especially appropriate for retro fabrics. Use a design from the 1950s or 1960s to complement your Hawaiian fabric, such as a sarong, muumuu or button-down shirt. Some pattern companies offer reissued versions of their earlier patterns.
4. Lay out the entire pattern before pinning or cutting the fabric. Shift pieces around to avoid any damaged areas of the fabric. Pin the fabric down with straight pins. Cut out the fabric pieces with pinking shears. Reserve any remnants for other small projects, such as patchwork quilts and bags. Cut around and discard areas with stains or holes.
5. Follow the directions in the pattern to sew vintage fabrics into various items. Select a thread color that matches the predominant color of the fabric.
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