Just SEW You Know.....                                         written by Amy Smith

Q:  I have a lovely piece of wool which I plan to use to make a jacket.  Can I wash this or must it be dry cleaned?

A:  Traditionally, wool is dry cleaned.  However, rules are made to be broken!  If you are still looking at a piece of uncut fabric, and you wish to make this garment washable instead of dry cleaned, you may pre-wash the wool in COLD WATER.  I would not recommend putting the wool in the dryer, but rather hang or lay flat to dry, depending on the weave of the fabric.

After the wool has dried completely, you may prepare the wool, then cut your pattern and construct your garment.  Remember that if you plan to use other fabrics such as lining, trims, etc, they must have the same care compatibility as the fabric.  So, if you have decided to make your wool jacket washable, be sure to use washable lining as well!

I will often experiment with my woolen fabrics.  I am currently working on a project with wool gabardine that I have washed several times in HOT water, and dried in the dryer.  In doing so, I have changed the hand of the wool entirely and created felted wool.    Before I washed the wool, the fabric was quite thin, suitable in drape for pants or a skirt.  After washing and drying with heat, the wool has thickened up to a blanket like texture.  I constructed a jacket out of this fabric.   An added benefit: because the wool is now very dense, I do not need to worry about treating my raw edges.  The fabric will not ravel in this new, dense and felted hand.   This is where the fun started! I used exposed seams and created decorative felting and embellishment on the jacket after construction. I used the new Janome Xpression to do the felting... it was SEW much fun,  I can't wait for winter so I can wear it!  

 Q:  I have a pattern that calls for Stretch Knit Fabrics Only.  Why can't I use a woven fabric in place of the knit fabric?

A:  Patterns are designed with a specific amount of “ease” factored into both the design and the overall fit of the garment.  A pattern that calls for stretch knits will use a different formula for “ease” than a pattern that calls for woven fabrics.  So, if you make up a pattern in a woven fabric that was designed  for knit fabrics, the finished garment is going to hang quite differently on the body, and will probably look and feel very uncomfortable.  (That is, if you can even get it on your body!) 

Unless you are very adept at pattern alteration and pattern design, I would suggest that you heed the fabric recommendations given to you by the pattern companies.