What happens when you combine velvet and knit together?
You get stretch velvet.
Not only does that mean you get comfort and elegance in one fabric, but also some of the
trickiness that go with each type of fabric.
When using stretch velvet, pick patterns made for knits.
Loose, drapey garments with few pattern pieces that are simply constructed are ideal.
Avoid things with complex details or fasteners like buttonholes or zippers.
Tips to know before cutting out your fabric:
Stretch Velvet is considered a fabric with nap so you might consider purchasing at least
a quarter yard extra.
Pretreat the fabric before cutting.
Check the care tag instructions.
Many stretch velvets can be machine washed and dried.
When storing, roll the fabric instead of folding it, with the right side on the inside because
it’s not an easy fabric to press.
Prep your patterns by marking an arrow on them, pointing down from the top of the pattern.
This will help us with the pattern layout.
Velvet fabric has a texture.
You’ll notice by running your hand across it, one direction will feel smoother than
the opposite direction.
Typically, you want the smooth direction to go down the body, but you can do it the opposite
way as well.
Smooth down the body will result in glossier looking fabric.
Rough down the body will result in a deeper color.
Lay out your fabric in a single layer on your cutting mat.
Place the patterns in your preferred direction referencing the arrow on your pattern pieces
to ensure they’re all going in the same direction.
Because the fabric is also a knit, we have to consider the stretch in our layout as well.
The direction with the greatest degree of stretch should be going around the body which
makes it perpendicular to our grainline arrow.
Double check to make sure this is the case with your layout.
Once you have your layout, use fabric weights to hold the patterns and a rotary cutter to
cut them out.
A rotary cutter is ideal compared to scissors because you won’t accidentally stretch the
fabric.
Don’t forget that if you need to cut two from a pattern, to cut one and then flip it
and cut again.
This means you end up with two opposite pieces: a left and right piece.
If a pattern needs to be placed on a fold, instead cut half of it, not cutting on the
side that says place on fold.
Then carefully flip it over and resume cutting, so you end up with a single full piece.
If you need to mark the fabric, use fabric chalk on the wrong side of the fabric.
When pinning seams, use a lot of straight pins or fabric clips.
If you do use pins, keep them within the seam allowance so you don’t risk damaging the
fabric that will be seen.
If you’re worried about the fabric feeding through the sewing machine unevenly, do a
hand basting stitch to attach the two pieces together or use a walking foot.
For a sewing needle, you’ll want to choose something with a ballpoint tip, like a stretch
needle, size 80/12.
For thread, you can use an all purpose.
The presser foot can be a standard one or a walking foot.
When sewing a seam, I do a narrow zig zag stitch or a stretch stitch to allow some stretch
to it.
Don’t start completely at the end of the fabric but a little ways in.
Sew all your seams in the same direction, from the top of garment to the bottom.
If the fabric is being difficult while feeding through the machine, lay a strip of tissue
paper on top of it and this should help.
When finished, just tear the tissue paper off.
To finish the seams, if you don’t have a serger, you can use an overcast seam on your
machine or trim the seams with pinking shears.
For pressing, place the fabric wrong side up on a velvet needle board or plush towel.
Use the steam from the iron or finger press.
If you put a hot iron directly on the fabric, you could damage it so be careful.
If you need to use interfacing, you should use sew-in interfacing.
For necklines, consider doing a knit facing instead.
You can watch our video tutorial if you need help with this.
If your garment requires buttonholes, consider doing thread button loops instead.
Check our video for help.
For hemming, keep it simple.
Finish or pink the raw edge and fold your hem allowance to the wrong side.
You can hand or machine blind hem if you don’t want the hem to show.
Another option is using the twin needle so the hem maintains some of its stretch.
Sewing with stretch velvet feels intimidating but it’s actually more forgiving than woven
velvet and can produce some beautiful results.
If you have tips for working with this type fabric, let us know in the comments below.
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