Sewing Difficult Fabrics: A Case Study Using Japanese Double Gauze

When I teach sewing, one of the things I try to emphasize is the importance of sampling. As an experienced seamstress, at minimum I like to run a piece of scrap fabric through my machine before I start a project just to check that the tension is right. But if I’m when I’m sewing difficult fabrics, sampling and other sewing skills become even more important. In this article, I’ll give you my best tips for tackling a tricky fabric and walk you through how I applied this to a recent project.

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Understand Your Variables

You may not realize it, when from the moment you decided to sew something, you are making all sorts of decisions. And each one of those decisions impacts the end results. We all put a lot of thought into the sewing pattern and the fabric, but what about all the other choices? The type of thread, interfacing, closures, and other little details can all make a big difference in how your final project turns out.

Then there are all the machine parts and settings! The first thing I do is check my needle. I want to make sure I’m using the appropriate size and type and I also want to check the needle for any damage or burrs. To do this, first I visually inspect the needle, focusing on the sharp tip. If it looks bent or misshapen in anyway I discard it. I’ll also run my finger down the side of the needle and discard it if anything feels off. If I’m working with something really delicate, I’ll often just use a new needle anyway.

I also like plan out what sewing machine feet I’ll be using. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’d rather have a bunch of different presser feet than a computerized machine that has a thousand pre-programmed stitches. If you have a foot that will help you make your sewing neater in any way, don’t hesitate to use it.

Last, I look at my machine settings. I use a fairly simple machine (Janome HD3000), so there aren’t many things to consider, but the available settings can still make a world of difference. I don’t mess with the tension until I start sampling, but I may adjust the presser foot pressure. I’ll reduce it a bit for thick and heavy fabrics or increase it for lighter fabrics. At this stage, I’ll also plan out my stitch lengths. Most fabrics are fine at a 2.5mm stitch length, but I’ll go down to a 2.0 for very fine fabrics or up to a 3.0 on heavy weight materials.

Always Sample

Once I think I’ve got my feet and settings squared away, I’ll start sampling. Testing your fabric, thread, sewing methods, etc on small scraps is so important. First, because it lets you see if everything is working as it should be. But also because it lets you decide if you actually like the choices you’ve made before you sew the whole garment. Maybe your seam finish is too stiff and you switch to a different one. Or you realize that you actually want a slightly smaller stitch length. If you sample, you can make these changes without ripping anything out of your actual garment peices.

I’m pretty casual about my sampling most of the time. If I’ve already cut out my pieces, I’ll use the most awkward scraps for sampling. Generally, I try to sample at least 5″ of any seam/fabric combination I’m working on, so I cut pieces that will accommodate that. I also make sure I’m using the exact brand and style of thread that I’ll use in my final project. However, if I have that thread in an alternate color I’ll use it so that I can better see any errors.

I start by testing a plain seam on all fabric combinations that I’ll using. I want to check that the stitch length and the tension are right before doing anything else. Next, I’ll check my seam finishes and decide if I like them or not. Last, I’ll sample any tricky bits of sewing. On my Clyde Work Pants I ended up changing the waistband construction because I didn’t like my sample. And when I was sewing one of my dissertation dresses, I sampled tricky bits like the piping, a tiny welt pocket, pintucks, and self-covered buttons with a corded fabric loop. By the time I got to sewing the final dress, I knew exactly how to set up my machine and manipulate my fabric to get the best results.

Research Solutions

Rarely have I run into a fully unique problem when I’m sewing. Usually, there is someone out there who has encountered the issue before. Sometimes, you’ll find you need to buy some sort of tool to solve the problem (again, there’s often a presser foot that can make life easier). However, more often I find that the solution to my problem is cheap or free. For example, if I’m using a lightweight fabric and it keeps getting pushed down into my machine at the start of a seam, I place a little piece of paper at the start of each seam and it fixes the issue.

If I can’t find a solution to my problem through quick google search, there are plenty of other places to check. The r/sewing subreddit is always a good place to start. Just make sure to search the board and check the sub rules first before posting a question. This keeps the sub useful for everyone.

I also find Threads Magazine a good place to find tips for sewing difficult fabrics. They also have a reasonably active forum, but the achieves are the most useful resource. If you do a lot of garment sewing, it may be worth paying for a subscription to the their digital back catalog. However, I’d check to see if your local library gives you access first!

My most use resource, however, is my collection of sewing books. My colleague Sharon Czachor recently released the third edition of her sewing textbook (Amazon/Bookshop), which our college (and many others) use as the textbook for their sewing classes. Even as a sewing teacher, I find it useful to have a general reference text like that on hand to refresh my memory from time to time.

I also find specialty sewing books to be useful. Clair Shaeffer’s Couture Sewing Techniques (Amazon/Bookshop) is one of my favorite go-to resources for advanced and unusual sewing techniques. While the word “couture” may seem intimidating, I find the techniques to generally be pretty accessible to the home sewist. The main reason these aren’t commonly used in modern sewing isn’t that they’re too difficult, but because they take a lot more time than industrial-style sewing.

If you find yourself frequently needing advice on sewing tricky fabrics, I’d look into purchasing reference guide specifically for fabrics. Claire Shaeffer’s Fabric Sewing Guide (Amazon) or All New Fabric Savvy: How to Choose & Use Fabrics by Sandra Betzina (Amazon/Bookshop) are both great options. These are the sorts of books that you’ll find useful for decades.

Consider Hand Sewing

If you’re sewing for yourself or otherwise doing custom/small scale sewing, hand sewing can be your friend. Yes, it takes longer than machine sewing…but only if the machine sewn seam comes out correctly the first time. I find that if I have to carefully seam rip, re-pin and re-sew a seam, I usually haven’t saved any time.

At this point in my sewing career, I hand sew my zippers in place most of the time. There are exceptions (like when sewing a fly zipper into a pair of pants or if I have to do an invisible zipper) but generally, I prefer to sew them in by hand. Partially, I like hand sewing my zippers because the end result is a little softer and more flexible than machine sewing. But more importantly, a hand sewn zipper always looks good on the first try. Because I’m going so slowly, I can adjust the fabric as I go, so any seams meet perfectly and I never have any inadvertent tucks.

Many of the couture techniques in the book I mentioned above involve significant hand sewing, making it a good starting point. I also like Hand Sewing Clothing: A Guide by Louisa Owen Sonstroem and The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking by Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox.

Basting is Your Friend

Whether I’m hand sewing or machine sewing my final seams, I find hand basting to be one of the best ways to ensure that your sewing turns out nicely every time. While hand basting can get complex (I once learned a 4 step method for hand basting to sew velvet), essentially, you’re just sewing your seam in place using large stitches. This works better than pins at keeping your fabrics aligned and in place. As a bonus, basting stitches won’t damage your needle when you sew over them like pins do.

The thread you use for hand basting is also important. Ideally, it is a little bit fuzzy so it has some grip to it. This helps to hold the layers while you’re sewing the final seam. The best hand basting thread also is going to be pretty weak. It needs to hold up during the sewing process, but it should break easily when you want to remove it. This is especially important if you happen to sew through your basting with the final thread. The basting should always break without pulling your final stitches out of place.

I generally use this Italian basting thread (I think this is the one). I bought one spool of it years ago and it’s lasted me through countless sewing and quilting projects. However, in a pinch, I’ll sometimes grab any old/worn out/thin thread. As long as it easily breaks when I pull, but stays in tact when sewing, it will work. Look through your stash for old serger cones or use a single strand of some of that ancient embroidery floss so many of us have inherited. Generally, any color will work. Just be careful if you’re sewing something really light and make sure the dye from the thread doesn’t transfer with the heat/steam of pressing.

Case Study: Sewing a Simple Tee with Japanese Double Gauze

The idea for this post came what was supposed to be a quick, easy project. I was going to sew a simple, woven tee but ended up choosing a pretty tricky fabric.

About the Japanese Double Gauze Fabric

Evaluating the Pattern and Fabric Together

Once I realized that this fabric would need extra attention, I took a moment to think about how this fabric and sewing pattern would work together. The fit of the tee was loose and the pieces were simple, so I wasn’t worried about the waviness of the fabric getting in my way during cutting.

There weren’t many seams, so even if I chose a more time consuming construction method, this would still be a quick project. The center back was longer than the front, so I knew I wanted to make sure the center back seam was neatly finished. I didn’t want a messy seam allowance to show as I was moving around.

I also saw that I would have to sew both horizontally and vertically across this fabric. Because of the ridges, the horizontal sewing would be more of a challenge than the vertical seams.

Last, the bias neckline facing was supposed to be cut from the primary fabric. That was not going to be a good choice here. So, I would need to look at my stash for a replacement.

Cutting the Fabric

Seam Finishes and Sampling

I started out by deciding not to mess with my presser foot pressure, as the double gauze didn’t feel particularly thick or thin under the pressure foot. I went with a standard 2.5mm stitch length. While the weight of the fabric felt like it might be happier with a smaller stitch, I wanted to minimize the odds of the machine stitches catching on the fabric to form inadvertent pleats.

Then I moved on to needle size. This was a bit tricky, as the individual layers of the double gauze are quite thin, but layers together they were thicker. So, I started by testing out the lightest weight needle I was considering (a 70/10). It sewed nicely with only minimal tension adjustments, so I decided to move forward with it.

Next, I moved on to testing sewing techniques. I was most concerned with seam finishes, because both layers of this double gauze liked to fray. I tried pressing the seams open and using a machine overcast seam, but I could not manage to get a balanced tension and a it looked terrible. I then tried hand overcasting, but that also felt clumsy. The slight miss match inherent in the layers of the double gauze just did not work with those finishes.

So, I went the opposite direction and tried out a flat felled seam. The fully machine sewn variation was a little too stiff for my taste, so I tried sewing the second row of stitching by hand. This let the fabric drape much more fluidly and was less likely to produce puckers on the horizontal seams. So, that’s what I decided to use.

I also tested out the neckline finish. I used the piece of fabric I’d cut from the inside of the neck of my blouse to test the sewing. I was expecting this part to be a real challenge, but I got a nice result on the first try. It helped that once again I used a combination of machine and hand sewing. The machine stitches were great for attaching the bias to the neckline an then understitching the facing. But using hand stitches to sew the bias facing down to shirt allowed me to make that seam invisible from the front, and adjust the bias tape for the smoothest fit.

Sewing the Blouse

Sewing the actual blouse was uneventful. Because I’d already tested nearly everything, I just had to focus on execution. The only real problem was that my machine wanted to eat my bias strip when I went to sew the ends of the neck facing together. I solved this by placing a piece of paper underneath to sew that bit. While this can make your needle dull faster, it isn’t a big deal for a one inch section of fabric.

Also, I say I tested nearly everything, because I had neglected to test the hem finish (oops). However, by the time I got to that step, I was familiar enough with how my fabric would behave that I wasn’t too concerned. I used two rows of machine basting to give myself guidelines for where to fold, then hand basted the bottom and sleeve hems in place. Then I used a slip stitch to invisibly sew the hem in place.

Wearing the Finished Blouse

Conclusion

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How do you feel about sewing with difficult fabrics? Is it worth the effort or too much of a pain? Let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram!