How To Sew Long Strips Of Fabric Together
When sewing long strips of fabric together, you will often face the challenge of keeping them straight. Yet, you want your ultimate piece to look elegant. If you don’t know how to keep your long strips of fabric straight when sewing, you never get that elegant finished look you are going for.
Can You Sew Long Strips Of Fabric Together?
Contents
Sewing long strips of fabric together is easy. The most important factor to consider is the direction in which you sew the fabrics. Alternate your sewing direction with each additional strip to keep your sewing straight.
Steps To Sew Long Strips Of Fabric Together
The following instructions will help you organize and sew together your long strips of fabric to an elegant finish.
Method 1. Strip Piecing
Step 1. Cut accurately. If you want to have a fine finish when you sew long fabrics together, make sure that you cut your fabrics accurately. Cut each strip that you will sew together on a proper working surface. Make sure that the strips you intend to sew together are all straight.
Step 2. Prepare the fabrics. Wash them properly if need be. Also, make sure that you iron them to keep them free of wrinkles which may cause confusion and end up with crooked fabrics.
Step 3. Make sure that all the strips of fabric you want to sew together are the same length.
Step 4. Hold your first two pieces of fabric strips together with a needle or needles from the top to the bottom before you sew. This will help you to confirm that your fabrics are the same length and that they are straight.
Step 5. Sew along the edge of the fabrics leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance.
Step 6. When you have finished sewing, leave a pin or clip at the end of the strips where you finished sewing.
Step 7. Press the seams of the sewed-together fabric strips to open.
Step 8. Place another fabric strip onto the sewed-together strips. Having marked the point at which you finished sewing the first strips together, start sewing from the opposite side. This helps you to keep your sewing straight.
Step 9. Repeat these steps for every additional strip of fabric. You will have an elegant finished look at the end of the process of sewing the long fabrics together.
Method 2. Diagonal Joint
Step 1. Layout your strips perpendicular to each other on your working surface
Step 2. Where your two fabric strips meet, mark a diagonal line from right to left. This is where you will sew the fabric strips together.
Step 3. Trim off the small part of the fabric at the corner that is above the diagonal joint line.
Step 4. Press the seams open and straighten your fabric.
Step 5. Repeat this process for every additional fabric.
Method 3. Chain Stitching
Step 1. Layout all the fabrics that you want to sew together.
Step 2. Pick two pieces of fabrics and place them together one on top of the other and pass them through the sewing machine.
Step 3. When you finish sewing the first pair, stop the sewing machine but keep the sewed fabric strips on it.
Step 4. Take another pair of fabric strips, one on top of the other and bring them to the sewing machine right next to the first pair of fabric strips and sew.
Step 5. You will now have your fabric strips sewn together to any length you would like.
Step 6. Make sure that you pull on the fabric strips gently if you have to. This prevents them from unraveling as you don’t have a backstitch to hold the thread onto the fabrics tightly.
Chain piecing is a timesaving method for sewing long strips of fabrics together.
Method 4. Stash and Stitch
Step 1. Stack all your long strips of fabric together on top of each other with the right sides up.
Step 2. Make sure that you don’t have any two similar fabric strips stacked together.
Step 3. Cut your stash into two and shift one piece of the stack to a different position.
Step 4. Sew the stash together on a sewing machine and you will have your long strips of fabric sewn together. This method is fast and time-saving.
Why Sew Long Strips Of Fabric Together
When it comes to sewing, different people do their sewing differently. When you have many sewing projects, you tend to find yourself with lots of leftover fabric strips. You may find them useful in other projects or decide to throw them away when decluttering your workspace.
Here is why long strips of fabric are sewn together by different sewists.
1. To make quilt bindings
The diagonal joint method of sewing long strips of fabric together is the method used to make bias strip bindings for quilts. It produces neat and beautiful bindings.
2. To make patchwork.
You can sew your long strips of fabric together and then cut out small pieces and shapes to make patchwork for your sewing projects.
3. Proper management of leftover fabric.
When you sew together your leftover pieces of fabric, you can fold them easily. They will also occupy less space, especially if you do most of your sewing from home.
4. Saves you money and time.
When you have strips of fabric sewn together already, you don’t have to go to the craft shop every time you need to carry out a small project. You can simply pull out your fabric strips and cut out a portion of the fabrics for your project. Saving you money and time it would have taken you to go to the store.
Tips To Remember When Sewing Long Strips Of Fabric Together
When you are preparing your fabric strips for sewing, make sure that they have their right sides up. When sewing, your fabric pieces must have the right sides touching even when they are stacked on each other.
After you have finished sewing the fabric pieces together, remember to press open the seams. This helps to keep the fabric strips straight without any bumps or bulk in between them. When working on the seams, make sure that they are all open in the same direction.
Also, always remember to start sewing your next strip from the opposite direction of the previous fabric strip. This helps to keep your sewing on the fabric strips straight.
How To Sew Straight
Whether you are sewing long strips of fabrics together or are making a quilt, or a simple dress, you need to learn how to sew straight. Sewing straight makes your final product neat and appealing.
Being able to sew straight also ensures that people can see you as an expert. When your sewing is shoddy, you can’t charge your clients high rates.
To help you sew straight, here are some tips. First, mark the line you want to sew on. Every sewist must have a pencil or pen. Bring your marked fabrics to the sewing machine and sew on the marked line.
Also, make sure that you sit up straight while sewing. Your sitting posture goes a long way in helping you become a better sewist.
Remember to sew slowly whenever you feel like you are losing direction. Concentrate and stay in control of your sewing machine and your hands.
Can You Join Fabric Strips Without Sewing?
Yes, you can. A knot is an easy and most convenient method of joining fabrics without sewing. To make a neat knot, cut a small buttonhole in the fabric strips.
With the strips stacked with the right sides up, pick the bottom part of the fabric on the top, pass it through the buttonhole from the bottom and pull. This forms a firm knot to keep the fabric pieces together.
Conclusion
You can sew long strips of fabric together in different methods. Fabric strips are useful in many sewing projects. And, in many of these projects, you find that you will have to sew them together. You can use the above methods to always have a ready batch of long fabrics sewn together.
Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
- How To Hem Chiffon With Tape - January 21, 2024
- How To Fix Ripped Jeans That Ripped Too Much? - January 9, 2024
- How To Make Pants Waist Smaller Without Sewing? - January 8, 2024
