How to sew with plastic
Handle lightly. Hang the length of plastic over door and smooth out gently with your hands before laying out or cutting. Use temperature to make plastic more manageable. Warmer temperatures make plastic more pliable, soft, stretchy and moist. Colder temperatures make plastics stiff and tougher to work. Use no pins, basting or tacks.
- Don’t press or iron.
- To combat dampness brush talcum over it.
- To overcome toughness of plastic due to colder temperatures touch the edges of plastic with fingertips that have been gently dabbed with oil.
- Use weights to hold pattern pieces in place.
- Use a grease or erasable marker to trace and mark the plastic.
- Paper clips and tape may be beneficial.
- Roll pieces on paper tubes in the opposite direction from that to be used in assembling them.
How to lay out plastic
Plastic doesn’t have grain so you may place pattern pieces onto plastic in anyway you choose if the color is plain. For printed designs, lay pattern pieces in the direction which preserves the design.
Stitching
- Use a fine needle (size 9-11).
- Use nylon or mercerized thread.
- Use light tension and light pressure, and
- Set the machine to the longest stitch suitable for the type of sewing being performed.
