sewing 101: marking fabric with thread

sewing 101// marking fabric with thread

Today I wanted to share how I usually mark fabric. There are so many things from patterns that need to be transferred over to the fabric to make sewing easier. Things like: pocket placement, pleat markings, ruffle markings, sleeve ease markings, etc.

I’m doing this example on a welt pocket for the Kennedy Coat (almost done!). Using thread to mark fabric is a great way to mark all layers of fabric easily without ruining your pattern! I’m using a very dark thread so it’s easy for you to see, but I actually recommend a thread that isn’t too different than your fabric just because it can leave behind tiny little fibers that are hard to get off your fabric.

So let’s get started!

Pin your pattern piece with placement onto your pieces.

Then you’ll essentially be creating an “X” over each point that you want to mark. I’m marking the corners of the welt pocket placement/ I’m using the small dashed line for my guide.

You can see the X shape best in this photo below. I always use double thread and try to leave extra at each end.

Mark all four points. It looks a little crazy right now!

Now slowly peel the paper off of the fabric. Clip the threads close to the paper so you get as much thread as you can.

This will leave you with a bunch of threads creating little squares. Your (invisible) marks are in the exact middle of the threads.

Slowly peel up the top layer of fabric and clip threads in the middle to pass the markings to both layers of fabric.

 

I like to use a pencil to connect my points (which is sorta a sewing no-no, writing on fabric with a pencil, but since I know this will be hidden, it’s okay.) You can just sew the points with your machine and skip the pencil, but it helps me. And of course, using a water soluble fabric pencil or pen is another good idea. 

Now sew it up!

I’ll show you how to finish this pocket next week!