Here’s an idea given to me by the wonderful Iris of Mistyfuse. One day I was asking whether she knew of a really great lightweight interfacing that wouldn’t add bulk or stiffness to a fabric and she said, “Why don’t you make your own?”
Only she didn’t mean me when she said “you.” She meant you. And you won’t believe how simple this is!
This is a piece of polka dotted quilting cotton. I fused a layer of Mistyfuse to the wrong side of the fabric and then fused a piece of plaid silk chiffon to the Mistyfuse so you can really see it. It’s so lightweight and has such a wonderful hand, I wish you could feel it. I can’t wait to use it someplace!
There are three scenarios where you might want to make your own interfacing. OK, four. (I just thought of another one as I was typing.)
- You run out of interfacing and need some in a hurry.
- You can’t find the right weight of interfacing for your project.
- You’re making something where the interfacing might show. For example, maybe you’re making an unlined jacket with facings or you’re sewing a garment where the facings hang loose.
- You need only a little bit of interfacing and don’t want to buy a larger quantity. (This is the perfect excuse to get a package of Mistyfuse just to have around, isn’t it?)
Using the Mistyfuse, you could make almost anything into interfacing: silk chiffon, canvas, and anything in between. So you can achieve whatever weight or stiffness you need. Which is sort of amazing, right?
But the really cool thing about this is that you can use a pretty, decorative fabric as your interfacing if you want! Like that silk plaid in the photo? How great would it be if your jacket facing accidentally flipped up and, instead of ugly interfacing, people got a peek of a pretty complementary fabric? Keep this in your back pocket. I can almost guarantee you’re going to want to do this sometime.
I’m pretty excited about this, and I really love this product. Can you tell?
Very clever!
Ooooh, now the wheels are really turning. I’m a newbie to the world of apparel sewing, but can’t wait to get more experience. Guess I’m going to have to invest in some fun new products. 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
Liesl, how well does Mistyfuse adhere? My kid ripped out the sole fabric in her summer sneakers and I’m looking for a way to fuse some cotton onto a replacement insole without bulk as the sneaks still fit and look great otherwise.
Is the Mistyfuse double sided? Or did you use two layers of Mistyfuse for your sample above?
Misty fuse is a fusible web, which means its sort of like a very thin web of dry glue. When you head it with an iron it adheres to fabric. I wrote more about it a while ago:
http://oliverands.com/blog/2013/02/customizing-with-oliver-s-raw-edge-house-applique.html
In order to use it you’ll want parchment paper or the Goddess Sheet (which I love, and which is available in the supplies part of our shop, too). I’ve found all sorts of uses for it, like repairing a torn piece of luggage, doing raw edge applique, etc. I hope that helps!
Hi, Liesl — I really like the idea of making my own! Thank you so much for telling us about this product! I wish I could touch it through my computer monitor (as tactile as I am :)), because I am a little bit confused, though. I thought the purpose for interfacing (most of the time) was to stiffen the fabric, even a little bit – depending on the fabric type, to help with buttonholes or to help the exterior fabric lay flat (via facings), etc… Can you give examples for when you don’t want to change the hand of the fabric or add stiffness but need interfacing at the same time?
Ah, I hadn’t heard of Mistyfuse! I made patches for my son’s cords (jeez this kid is hard on pant knees) with Wonder Under today but I feel as though it made the fabric “beefier”… not a loss in terms of what I wanted to achieve, but definitely looking up this stuff for more delicate appliques…
PERFECT!! This is exactly what I was looking for! Googled…How to make your own interfacing, and found your blog! Thanks so much for sharing! I just ordered it on Amazon!! 10 Yards and free shipping too! 🙂 So excited!!!!
Thanks again!
Thank you….. again !