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Friday, January 22, 2010

Uggghh---Defective Fabric!!!


I'm sure I'm at the point where I'm just shy of blowing smoke out my ears. For the last half hour I've been in a tug-of-war match with my cotton knit fabric. Just look at it. See it there on the right hand side. See all of those pesky ripples. The fabric somehow is off grain, irregular, and will not lay flat. I'm guessing it's a production defect.  Has this happened to you? What did you end up doing? I have a few ideas but it will involve me losing some fabric width which would make it hard for me do to my dress. This is such a rare occurence and I probably shouldn't be upset. That would be true if I didn't LOVE the fabric so much.
   I've had the spontaneous notion to throw a cute dress together just in time for church on Sunday. I know it's a knit AGAIN but I've already explained my addiction to you so I was hoping you'd let me off the hook. Besides, Sunday will be 75 degrees (yes, Spring temps in the middle of winter---I love it!!!), so a cute Spring like dress is only fitting. Plus I will have my trousers finished and reviewed by next week with my corduroy jacket to follow after that. So no knits for the next 2 weeks (wink)!
  But wrestling with this fabric is making me think that this is a sign to skip the knit dress. But do you know what I say to that? To that I say NEVER!!!! I'm not giving up without a fight!!! Not that easily. We'll just see if I'll be able to make it happen by Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
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4 comments:

  1. Uma Mageswari PreveJanuary 22, 2010 at 5:48 PM

    Hi, I am taking up a course now that talks a lot about fabrics. I do understand your problem. I would suggest that you let the fabric 'relax' by piling them on top of each other for a day. It can also be that when they did the knit, one of the needle was dysfunctional and caused the skewing. if this is so, you can't do anything but to return to the store and inform them. It could be one of the bad shipments that they were trying to clear off.

    I hope the fabric works for you and you can make that knit dress!:)

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  2. Erika MulvennaJanuary 23, 2010 at 2:13 PM

    Ugh! That is sooooo frustrating, especially when you are READY to cut! I have tried a few things that might work for you:

    Get someone to help and pull the fabric from opposite diagonal sides to help get the fibers back in line.

    Hand baste the salvaged edge on what SHOULD be on-grain, then try using a steam iron to help push the fabrics back on grain. Or even throw it in the wash first.

    Wash the fabric, and while still wet, try to lay it on-grain and dry flat.

    Hope you find something that helps out!

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  3. knitmachinequeen (KMQ)January 23, 2010 at 8:26 PM

    I say do not try to straighten the grain. It is what it is. If you try to straighten the grain you'll end up being sorry because it will twist itself back on the grain it is on. Remember jeans that the side seam or inside leg seams end up in the center front of the leg?? That was fabric that was off grain that someone tried to straighten. DON'T DO IT! Try making something else that uses less fabric because unfortunately will you have to sacrifice some fabric to be able to use it.

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  4. Brian RemlingerJanuary 28, 2010 at 5:11 PM

    I agree with KMQ, that fabric is the way it is.. If you've been working at it this hard and it's still like that it's defective. Use it for something else or expect some weirdness in your finished garment.

    ReplyDelete

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