Marking tools and methods

There’s much useful information on a pattern, which it’s good to transfer to the fabric.

There’s a huge range of marking tools and methods. Try them out to find the ones you like.
You may need several, for quick/ slow and for different fabrics.

The important things about marks are :
– they’re clear and easy to see,
– they last until they’re needed,
– then they’re easy to remove.

Easy to see : use contrast colour thread or marking tool (check that it won’t leave a mark).

For the other needs – there are many possibilities.

Here’s a written general post on marking tools and methods from Sew it Love it.
and a video from Professor Pincushion :
first half – which pattern marks to transfer,
second half – marking tools and methods.

Those both show many methods, yet they don’t include some I’ll mention later.
Sandra Betzina suggests markers for specific fabrics in her book More Fabric Savvy.

Test that your marker is easy to remove from your fabric.
Check this with thread marking too. Some threads can leave small fibres which are difficult to remove, such as red on white, or white on black.
Beware pressing before you remove the marks, as heat can fix some of them more firmly.

–

A note on marking pens and pencils, chalk

There’s a huge variety of these, and most people like some and not others, so it’s worth trying several.

Some types to try :
– disappearing markers – many people love these, but I haven’t had luck with them. The ‘wash away’ ones don’t wash away for me, and the air-erasable ones disappear in a few seconds. It’s important to test.

– chalk pencils, chalk dispensers, tailors chalk.
I like chalk dispensers and tailors chalk. Chalk wheel marks disappear quickly. I love tailors chalk but it can be difficult to remove from some fabrics. For some reason the pencil types don’t leave a mark for me.

I admit I use a conventional pencil for marking on the back of fabric where it doesn’t show.

–

There are 3 types of marks you need to be able to make :
– in seam allowances,
– points,
– lines.

– – –

Marks in seam allowances

These are usually shown by notches on the pattern.

‘Snip marking’

Use sharp tipped scissors to snip into the seam allowance, up to half way across, say 1/4″ or 5mm.
(Check it’s not at a point which needs reinforcing or might tear through.)

A note on notches

Some people may be horrified that I don’t mention cutting outwards for the notches.
Dreadful secret – my opinion is that when you need notches you really need them – but most of the time you don’t.

I do check a pattern to see if I need the notches.
Notches are essential when doing fabric pattern matching.
I also find them helpful for matching two pieces of fabric with different curves, as in princess seams.

If you’d much rather take advice from a true notch enthusiast, here’s a post from Deborah Moebes at Whipstitch.

– – –

Marking Points

Shown on a pattern by solid dots or small open circles, sometimes squares or triangles.

Usually marked by pin marking or tailors tacks.
Here’s a photo tutorial by Tasia of Sewaholic patterns with instructions for both.

And here are some extra comments.

Pin marking

Here’s a video from FashionSewing BlogTV..
She does it very slowly and carefully, you may find you can leave out some of her steps.

Those tutorials don’t show how to make pin marks last longer, which is a helpful thing to do.

If the pin marks a point :
use a marking pen/ pencil/ chalk to mark around where the pin goes through the fabric.
Many people mention doing this, but I haven’t yet found a photo.
It’s shown in this Professor Pincushion video at about 8 min 30.

If a row of pins mark points on a line (as when making a dart) :
use a ruler and pen/ pencil/ chalk to draw the line.
I like to have a stitching line when I’m sewing darts, so I do this.

Tailors tacks

I like the method of making tailors tacks which is given at the end of this Sew it Love it tutorial.

She makes long tailors tacks. This is essential. When you cut tailors tacks, they end up 1/3 the length they started. And with longer ends, the tailors tack is less likely to fall out. Making them 2-3” long may seem extravagant, until you find they’ve fallen out when you need them.

Another trick for making sure they don’t fall out is to make them using embroidery floss or basting thread.

–

I think pin marking is good when you’re going to use the marks immediately.
I love tailors tacks – worth the trouble if you want something that will last for some time – but I am a ‘slow sewer’.

– – –

Marking Lines

Several methods

Straight lines

Fold back paper pattern along line.
Use a pen/ pencil/ chalk marker and ruler to draw along the folded edge.

I haven’t found a tutorial for marking lines this way, but here are a couple of tutorials which fold the pattern back for making other marks.
See the second photo in this written tutorial from Sewaholic about marking buttonhole positions.
This video from Professor Pincushion shows folding the paper back to make marks.

Any shape line

Use transfer paper and tracing wheel – see this post which has links to videos.

Couture ‘thread tracing’

Couture methods are slow and careful.
Couture sewing uses ’thread tracing’ to mark all the stitching lines on a test garment.
This method takes 3-4 steps.

Couture patterns are made without seam allowances. That makes it easy to draw the stitching lines, as you just draw round the pattern. Also draw around away from this line if you like to cut out to a marked line.

If you’re using a pattern which includes seam allowances, first mark the stitching lines on the pattern before using it to cut out.

After cutting out, to mark the lines on the fabric :
Lay transfer paper face up under the fabric+pattern.
Trace the stitching lines.

Then remove the paper pattern, and pin the two layers of fabric together again.
Turn them over, so the marked fabric is facing up and the transfer paper is under the other fabric piece.
Trace round the traced marks on the first fabric piece. So both pieces are marked.

Then hand or machine baste over the lines, so they show on both sides of the fabric. Some people sew a row of tailors tacks instead of basting, as individual tacks may be easier to pull out.

For an example, see about a third of the way through this photo tutorial from A Challenging Sew.

I love working to marked cutting and stitching lines. Takes some extra trouble to mark them, but I feel so much more secure when I’m using them.

– – –

There are so many marking methods. You’ll come across suggestions for more as you make varied projects.
It’s a good idea to try different tools and techniques, to find which ones meet your needs and suit your sewing style.

– – –

Links available October 2014

= = = = = = = = = =

Straighten the fabric grain

To get your sewn clothes to hang straight, they need to be cut on the straight of grain of the fabric (here are some notes on how to do this).

But before you can do that, you need the fabric itself to be straight on grain.
Sadly many fabrics are pulled wonky in manufacture, as they’re pressed and rolled onto the bolt.

If you’re buying a fabric with a regular print, I hope you’re able to check it before buying. Sometimes the pattern is printed onto fabric that isn’t straight, so the lines of the print don’t match up with the threads of the weave.
When you cut this fabric, you have to choose whether to go for aligning everything with the print and ignoring the grain, or aligning everything with the grain and ignoring the print. Neither gives the best result.

Getting fabric straight on grain is a 3-step process :
– Find the line of the cross-fabric grain.
– Check whether the cross grain is at right angles to the lengthwise grain (selvedge).
– If not, straighten the fabric.

Most of the points are covered in this written tutorial from Wee Folk Art.

Here are some other useful links.

– – –

Find the accurate cross grain

It’s easy to tell the direction of the lengthwise grain of fabric – it’s the direction of the uncut edges (the selvedges), probably thicker than the main fabric.

More difficult to check where the cross fabric threads are.
You need to get the cut end of the fabric to be along the cross grain of the weave.

Some frequently used methods :

1. Pull a thread

Here’s a video from Fashion Sewing Blog TV.
She makes it easy by using a fabric woven with thick threads.

Some people can do this with fabric woven from fine threads.
Detailed example about one fourth of the way down the tutorial from Wee Folk Art

I confess I haven’t got the patience and dexterity to do this, but it does give a high quality result.

2. Tearing

Tearing across is easy to do with many fabrics, but you have to accept that it may ruin at least inch of fabric. Here’s a video tutorial from Koumori No Hime Cosplay.

3. Careful cutting

With some woven fabrics, I assess the straightness by eye, and if necessary cut across as close as I can to the same thread.
I can tell if my cutting has drifted away from the straight grain, as it’s possible to pull frayed strands from the edge.

This is the method to use if you need to straighten knit fabrics.
Even on fine knits, it’s relatively easy to see the line of stitches across the fabric.
Though most knits won’t fray.

– – –

Check the cross grain is square to the lengthwise grain

So you’ve got the cut end of the fabric ‘on grain’.
Now you want to check whether this cross grain is square with the lengthwise grain of the fabric.
Two easy signs of this.

1. Fold the fabric so the selvedges are aligned and the fabric lies flat

If it looks like this

it’s clear that the ends of the fabric aren’t aligned too.

If you’d prefer a photo of what this looks like in fabric, there’s one a bit more than half way through the tutorial from Wee Folk Art.

2. Align both the selvedges and the ends of the fabric

If the fabric bubbles in the area of the fold, that shows the grain isn’t properly aligned.

Photo from a former free written tutorial at Craftsy.

Either of those symptoms tells you the cross grain is not at right angles to the lengthwise threads.

– – –

Straighten the grain

So how do you straighten the grain ?
Several methods.

1. Pull/ Stretch

The simple but rough method is to pull on it.

This written tutorial from Sew Easy Windows describes several pulling methods.

I do it this way. This needs to be done with care. Keep checking whether you’ve pulled enough. And that you’re not pulling odd bulges into the fabric.

2. Wash and re-press
Washing usually relaxes the wrong pressing.
Tedious, but not an extra step if you’re pre-treating the fabric by washing it anyway.
Do it before trimming to straight of grain along the cut edge, and it will be easy to see if the fabric was not on grain when cut off the bolt, and to assess whether that matters to you.
I find this happens often with quilting cottons. So I now buy 40+” wide fabric at least 4″/10cm more than the instructions, to allow for quite a bit of fabric which is wasted when using a 24″ ruler to cut across the fabric. I recently washed some wide backing fabric, after which the sides didn’t match up by about 6″/15cm. I would have been very upset if I’d bought exactly the same fabric length as my quilt !

3. Blocking
The ‘proper’ method for non-washable fabric is to steam it into shape.
Here’s a written tutorial from The Messy Method.

– – –

Buying quality fabric does make this problem less likely, but it’s impossible to avoid the problem altogether !

Another of those necessary but not very entertaining preparation steps, if you want to get a good result.

– – –

First written October 2014, links checked June 2021

= = = = = = = = = =

Lay pattern on straight of grain

It’s essential to place pattern pieces on the fabric ’straight of grain’.

Resist the temptation to lay the pattern pieces as close together as you can, ignoring the grain lines, to save fabric. A false economy – if you do that the finished garment will sag in odd ways.

The lengthwise grain of woven fabric (the direction of the selvedges) is the strongest direction of the fabric. The fabric changes very little in length in this direction, even when you pull on it.
So the ‘grain line’ on each pattern piece is put in the direction where the garment needs to sag the least.

If you’re cutting from a woven scrap with no selvedges :
– pull on the fabric in both thread directions,
– the direction with the least stretch is the ‘lengthwise’ grain.

Here’s a photo tutorial, second half of this fabric preparation tutorial by Tilly and the Buttons.

Three methods, for placing a pattern piece :
– on a fold,
– on the straight of grain,
– when a pattern piece needs to be cut on the bias (not in that tutorial), it will have a line showing the lengthwise grain. It looks a bit odd, but use it in the usual way.

–

Two types of double headed arrows on pattern pieces. Both show how to use the grain of fabric.

Fold line

Place this edge of the pattern piece along the fold of fabric.
Don’t cut along this edge of the pattern piece.

Grain line

The key steps for placing the grain line are :
Fix one end of the grain line arrow in place.
Measure how far that is from the fabric selvedge.
Move the other end of the grain line until it’s the same distance from the selvedge.
Fix this end of the grain line in place.

[selvedge UK, selvage US !]

That holds the pattern piece securely.
Then you can use whatever method you like to hold down the edges of the pattern piece.

– – –

Written October 2014, links checked February 2019

= = = = = = = = = = = =