Fabric Selection, Preparation and Tracing
Fabric Selection, Preparation and Tracing tests the sequence before a stitch is worked: choosing a suitable ground, preparing it, and transferring the design without damaging it.
Choosing the fabric
- Match needle and thread to weave: firm cotton cambric and voile for beginners, silk dupion and raw silk for formal work, organza and chiffon with a backing, casement and even-weave (Aida, matty) for counted work.
- Loose weaves need a backing or stabiliser; heavy embellishment needs a firm ground so the article does not sag.
- Check thread count, drape and shrinkage before cutting.
Preparing
Wash and press new fabric to pre-shrink; straighten the grain by pulling a weft thread; cut with the grain, adding 1.5 cm seam allowance and extra for a frame.
Tracing methods
- Light box or window: design under the fabric, traced with a water-soluble pen or fine chalk pencil; best for light, thin fabric.
- Dressmaker's carbon: carbon face down on the fabric, design on top, traced with a hard pencil; test first, as it stains.
- Pricking and pouncing: prick holes 3 mm apart along the design, place on the fabric, pounce white talc or chalk powder through the holes, then join the dots with tailor's chalk - the standard method for dark or heavy fabric.
- Running-stitch tracing: stitch along the design lines in contrast thread and work over it - used for sheer fabric.
- Mark centre lines and grain before placing the motif.
Worked example
A design on maroon silk: carbon smudges and a soluble pen may not show, so prick the design, pounce with white talc, join the dots with a fine chalk pencil and remove dust with a soft brush. Work the embroidery, then brush off the chalk rather than washing the silk.
Traps
Forgetting pre-shrinking, tracing off-grain, leaving soluble pen in sunlight (it sets), using graphite carbon on white fabric, and cutting a motif with no seam allowance.