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Wool is an incredibly versatile material to work with. This natural fiber is known for its durability and absorbency, which makes it great for outerwear. It can also be thick and fuzzy so it's perfect for appliqué projects where you want to add a little texture. Before you begin, learn a few tips and techniques to make hand-stitching wool easier and more enjoyable.
Steps
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Choose woolen fabrics or worsted woolen fabrics for your project. Wool comes in a tremendous variety of weights, textures, and styles so it's important to find the right one for your project. Woolen fabrics are inexpensive, fuzzy, and easy to felt so they're great for felt appliqué, blankets, or outerwear. For stronger, more durable clothing or upholstery, look for worsted woolen fabrics which have longer wool fibers. [1] X Research source- For example, if you're making a dress or suit, pick gabardine or twill material. For a medium-weight skirt or rug, use flannel or tweed.
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Prewash your wool fabric or felt and air dry it completely. Wool does have a tendency to shrink so it's best to wash and dry it before you cut it for your project. If you're using wool fabric, read the care instructions to see if you can machine wash it on a gentle cycle. If you're unsure or you're working with felt, wash it by hand. Squeeze your fabric gently to remove most of the water and then lay it flat to air dry. [2] X Research source
- Don't twist or wring the fabric or felt because this can damage the fibers.
Tip: To hand wash the fabric or felt, fill a clean sink with lukewarm water and a few drops of gentle laundry detergent. Submerge the material and swish it with your hands before you rinse it with lukewarm water. Then, squeeze the material and lay it flat to dry.
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Use sharp scissors or a rotary cutter to cut the wool. If you're working with woolen fabric, lay it flat and use scissors to cut it according to your pattern. To cut small pieces or woolen felt, lay the material on a cutting mat and use a rotary cutter to create the pieces. [3] X Research source
- If you're cutting really small pieces of felt, use short scissors so they're easy to handle.
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Lay a press cloth over the dry wool before you iron it smooth. It's easy to accidentally damage the wool with an iron that's too hot. If you need to smooth your woolen fabric, lay a dry cloth over the material and use your iron on the wool setting. This setting uses steam so the fibers don't dry out and shrink. [4] X Research source
- If you're using dark wool or lightweight worsted wool, lay the wrong side of the fabric on your ironing board before putting the press cloth on it. This prevents the fabric from becoming shiny.
- To prevent color transfer, use a white press cloth if you're ironing light-colored wool.
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Pick a sharp hand needle that matches the weight of your fabric. Sharp needles are key for stitching through bulky wool fabric or felt. If you're hand-sewing fabric, choose a needle size that matches the fabric weight. For example, if you're sewing a medium-weight woolen, use size 70/10 to 80/12 needles. Heavy-weight fabric needs 90/14 size needles. [5] X Research source
- If you're using embroidery floss for an appliqué project, you can use a sharp hand needle or an embroidery needle depending on which is easier for you to thread.
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Use a medium-weight thread or embroidery floss. Since wool is a heftier fabric than most lightweight blends, choose medium-weight cotton, silk, or wool thread. If you'll be hand stitching wool felt, select embroidery floss so it will show up easily on the felt. [6] X Research source
- Embroidery floss comes in different materials, so you could use cotton floss if you want a thinner design or wool floss, which comes in double strands for a thicker look.
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Make the whip stitch to create an angled edge for the wool. To quickly sew the edges of wool pieces together, stack them so they line up. Bring a threaded needle through the middle of the pieces and up through the top layer near the edge. Then, draw the needle from the bottom up through both layers so the needle comes out about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (0.32 cm) to the side of where you started. [7] X Research source
- As you work the whip stitch , you'll see it form a slight angle along the edge of the wool fabric.
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Work a blanket stitch for a straighter edge. To create a crisp edge that holds your layers of wool together, do the blanket stitch . Stack the edges of your wool and insert a threaded needle between the layers and up through the top layer. Insert your needle from the bottom layer up through the spot you just pulled through. Before you pull the loop tightly, insert your needle through it and pull it from left to right. [8] X Research source
- Starting the blanket stitch in the middle of your wool layers hides the knot.
Variation: To give your blanket edge a different look, make the stitch lengths get larger and smaller as you work across the edge. This makes a graded or scalloped appearance.
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Trim the edges to reduce bulk from the seams. Wool is notoriously bulky, so you might find that the seams of a garment bulge out. To make your seams more flexible, take a pair of scissors and cut the excess fabric to about 1 ⁄ 4 inch (0.64 cm) from your seam allowance. [9] X Research source
- If you're working with a collar or neckline, your patten might direct you to grade the edge. This means you need to trim just the top layer of the seam allowance so you have enough fabric on the bottom to enclose the seam allowance.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do I secure a blanket stitch?Maudy Paden is a Sewing & Alterations Specialist based in Sarasota, Florida. She provides a tailoring concierge service, where she offers in home/office fittings and pick up/delivery for alterations. She has over 30 years of sewing experience. Before starting her business in Florida, she ran her clothing alteration shop for 14 years in Vermilion, Ohio. Maudy has a wide tailoring repertoire; wedding dressings, formalwear, suiting, professional clothing, off-the-rack, ready-to-wear, clothing repairs, and patches all fit her skill set. In all her work, she follows the high-quality standard outlined by the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. She received an MA in Lay Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a BA in Religious Studies from Wittenberg University.Start by aligning the edges of the fabric. Thread a needle with a strong thread and insert it from the back side, leaving a small tail to secure later. Pull the needle through until the knot catches. Then, bring the needle back down through both layers of fabric, leaving a small loop on the edge. Bring the needle through this loop, creating a knot that secures the fabric edges together. Repeat this process along the edge, spacing the stitches evenly to create a decorative border and ensuring they catch both layers of fabric.
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QuestionHow do I secure a whip stitch?Maudy Paden is a Sewing & Alterations Specialist based in Sarasota, Florida. She provides a tailoring concierge service, where she offers in home/office fittings and pick up/delivery for alterations. She has over 30 years of sewing experience. Before starting her business in Florida, she ran her clothing alteration shop for 14 years in Vermilion, Ohio. Maudy has a wide tailoring repertoire; wedding dressings, formalwear, suiting, professional clothing, off-the-rack, ready-to-wear, clothing repairs, and patches all fit her skill set. In all her work, she follows the high-quality standard outlined by the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. She received an MA in Lay Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a BA in Religious Studies from Wittenberg University.Position the edges of the fabric together. Thread the needle with a sturdy thread and insert it through both layers of fabric from the back side, leaving a small tail to secure later. Pull the needle through until the knot catches. Then, working from right to left or left to right, depending on your preference, insert the needle through the top layer of fabric and pull it out, creating a small stitch. Repeat this process, making evenly spaced stitches along the edge of the blanket, ensuring they catch both layers of fabric. Continue stitching until you reach the end, then tie off the thread securely with a knot. This whip stitch method effectively secures the blanket edges together, preventing fraying and providing a neat finish.
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Tips
- Finishing your seams can make them bulky. If you're trying to smooth out your garment, consider leaving the seams unfinished and attaching a lining instead. [10] X Research sourceThanks
- If your wool fabric care instructions say not to wash the wool, get the garment dry-cleaned instead of trying to wash it by hand.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Sewing needles
- Embroidery floss or thread
- Scissors
- Wool or felt fabric
- Gentle laundry soap
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about sewing, check out our in-depth interview with Maudy Paden .
References
- ↑ http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelines/4_225_wool.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/rNreP6sA0JE?t=117
- ↑ https://youtu.be/XsNhfzRwMxA?t=51
- ↑ http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelines/4_225_wool.pdf
- ↑ https://www.joann.com/on/demandware.static/Sites-JoAnn-Site/Sites-joann-project-catalog/-/images/hi-res/project/pdf/PA00220.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Nhvr44hJaws?t=145
- ↑ https://youtu.be/kTDKY_iTn3g?t=69
- ↑ https://sewguide.com/blanket-stitch/
- ↑ http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelines/4_225_wool.pdf
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