Repeat Post... Bowing of fabric strips

[karen f.]

I am ready to scream... I do not know what is wrong but my fabric is bowing...

I am sewing long strips of two WOF (width of fabric) 2-1/2 inch wide strips. ( About 80 inches in length)

Yesterday my strips lined up and remained square... today they seem to bow / curve ... at first i thought this was just visual illusion but I double checked using rulers and the fabric strips are bowing as I sew them together...

Does anyone have any idea why?




This is a re-post from Tilde Thread but I wanted to make sure to catch everyone ... not only those that post in Tilde..

[karen f.]

If you sew every other one in the opposite direction it helps with the bowing. so does pinning.

[Betty J.]

I think it probably has to do with fabric stretch as you sew. Lots of things can affect how severe this is--including the weather. If it's a little more humid one day you might have more problems with this. I find ironing with spray starch can help this problem A LOT. Also, a little pinning here and there, but I'm generally not a pinner and the starch and realizing what is happening so you can counter it by the way you handle the fabric helps enough usually.

Hope this helps.

[Betty J.]

The first time I did strips in a class they all bowed!! I agree that if you sew each next strip in the opposite direction it will help. Also have you tried using a walking foot? That works too.

Nancy in NC

[Hannelore N.]

Spray starch your fabrics before cutting. When we do a block exchange I can always tell one friend's block, because it would stand up by itself (heavily starched), and it'll also be perfect. Down side of starching your fabrics: You will have to wash your quilt when it's finished.

Personally I don't mind a little 'movement' here or there. One of the reasons why quilting appeals to be it because fabric is so tactile.

If your pieced strips don't lie perfectly flat, and you don't want to undo the seams and start again, you could try and press them into submission with a steam iron. That quite often sorts out the problem.

Lorchen

[Frances L.]

Anna,
I know that the weather has some to do with it. Also sewing opposite directions can help with that too. I have notes on what to do after the fact. I will try to look for them tomorrow. I've been out all day and just don't have the energy to go up the stairs to the sewing room.
Frances

[Frances L.]

In my online pressing class, it is suggested that you press the sewn strips along a line drawn on the pressing surface. Pressing surface should be hard. you set the seam along the line with the iron, then start at one end and open the fabric with your fingers and follow close with the tip of the iron. I kind of tells the seam how to act. As with all pressing you should wait until the piece is cooled down before moving. I think this method should help your bowed strips. If you haven't sewn them together, try to press along a line with starch or sizing and see if it straightens them out.
good luck and let us know what you come up with. Cheryl

[Frances L.]

I have lots of time to un-sew and fix the bowed strips due to the power outage.. I will re sew them in the morning if power is back on... ( I am still at my DD waiting for it to be restored)

I examined my workmanship on those strips and they left a lot to be desired... I had a lot of pieced strips where I had cut up a fat quarter and sewed the strip end to end and did not do a good job while I was doing it.

To compound the problem one of my strips was cut just a tad smaller in the middle
(slip when I was cutting ???) and so when sewed it together it made everything askew.

I went back to the BARGELLO book and it warned about sewing each row and opposite directions when sewing long strip sets. It suggested I put a small cut on the end of the strip when I finish... just a small clip to help mark the direction of the sewing. The clips will get off when I square up end to start cutting my sub sets.

The upshot is more careful sewing on my part would have avoided the problem.

cut carefully
sew carefully
press carefully...

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP... YOU LADIES WERE DEAD ON AND POINTED ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONS WITH ALL YOUR TIPS......

[Betty J.]

Good luck on your correction sewing. Ya gotta love this site. Being able to put in a question and get back help is one of the best things about this site. Of course, the very best thing is making friends across the miles.