The perfect back to school fabric, Laminates!

As you prepare and organize for the Back to School chaos, don’t forget about FreeSpirit 100% cotton laminates like Field Study by Anna Maria Horner. They are perfect for so many projects and with such a large variety of prints available, you can get just the look you want.

While laminates can seem intimidating, there’s no reason to avoid them. Just keep these handy tips in mind:

• When using pins, keep them in the seam allowance. The holes they leave are permanent.  
• Use binding clips, vinyl coated paper clips or even bobby pins to keep two pieces joined together while you stitch. These tools do not leave holes. There will be times when you won’t have a seam allowance to hide holes from pins (topstitching, edgestitching, etc.) and these little tools will make a big difference.
• Do NOT iron. For best results, finger press the seams. If you must press, be sure to iron on the wrong side or use a pressing cloth over the laminate to protect the surface from the iron. Use a low heat to press.
• Use a specialized foot, such as a walking foot, Teflon coated foot or roller foot. If you do not have one, you can put painter’s tape on the bottom of your sewing machine foot. Painter’s tape will not leave residue on the foot and will help the foot glide smoothly across the coated surface.
• Use a slightly longer stitch and a sharp Universal 80/12 or a Microtex 80/12 sewing machine needle for best results.

Our laminates come in 54/55” (137/140cm) widths. Don’t forget to factor this into yardage requirements on patterns that do not specifically state yardage for wide widths.

Looking for ideas? We have a few suggestions.

Heather Bailey’s darling Jack & Jill lunch bag pattern:

   Link: http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/Jack-and-Jill-Lunch-Bags-p/mp005-jj.htm

 

Amy Butler’s Rainy Days raincoat pattern

   Link: http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/patterns_display.php?id=45

For a free pattern to make a laminate garment bag, check out Melissa Peda’s pretty project here.

 

   Link:http://100billionstars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Garment-Bags-in-Laminate.pdf

Be sure to come back next week when we share the love of laminates with a giveaway!