Hi all. Just thought I would share a few of my “learnings” while sewing this coat with Woodland Clearing laminate fabric.
Don’t forget these hints pertain to sewing on my machine & your machine may produce different results. Make lots of sample stitchings before sewing your fabric.
1. I purchased a Teflon coated foot for my machine. Worth every penny. The laminate did not stick!!
2. Needle – Topstitching #90/14
3. Thread – Polyester top & bobbin. A cotton thread would have perhaps wicked moisture into the laminated cotton a bit more than Poly. I did have to lower the upper tension just a notch.
4. I sewed most seams with a 2.75 stitch length & top stitched with a 3.25 setting.
5. To gather the front & back skirt pieces I set my stitch length at 3.75. I sewed only 2 rows of gathering stitches. One row just a tad outside the 1/2″ seam allowance (toward the raw edge) & the second row 1/4″ in from the raw edge. Do not sew a gathering stitch greater than the seam allowance as the needle marks will show on your finished garment.
6. My buttonhole foot is really accurate but needs the fabric to lay (lie?) perfectly flat. I would suggest that if sewing either view for a girl to sew the Shoulder Flap onto the wearer’s right side. That is the side the buttons are sewn onto rather than the buttonholes. The Flap caused my buttonhole foot to have a seizure & I have one ugly buttonhole. Thankfully the buttonhole is hidden by the flap & the collar.
7. When I used pins I made certain that they pierced the fabric within the seam allowance. I used a lot of pins but also used some fabric glue & green painters tape. Just depended on what needed to be held down to stitch.
8. The laminated fabric I used accepted a hot iron (cotton setting) very well. Just allow the fabric to cool before handling as it became very hot!
9. Sewing on the belt loops was a bit tricky but I changed my needle up to a Jeans Needle & sewed slowly with a stitch length of 3.00.
10. Marking the buttonholes on the laminate was an issue for me. I ended up tracing the Buttonhole Template onto a strip of tissue paper, taped it to the fabric & sewed the buttonholes through the tissue. The tissue came away easy peasy.
That’s about it! I had so much fun making the coat & finding all of the ins & outs of sewing with laminated fabric. It was a breeze & turned out beautifully if I do say so myself. Even the topstitching looks great. I will have to make another Secret Agent rain coat for my youngest granddaughter in the near future as she does not want to wait for her older sister to grow out of her’s.
Cheers, Linda A, Ontario, Canada
