I bought some beautiful fleece at a yard sale last weekend. For $1.00,I got a large amount of fleece and the simplicty pattern for the poncho. She had already cut the poncho out and sewn it. The problem is she sewed it like you do regular material and had over 1 inch of seam allowance. Didn't know this until and hour ago when I decided to finish the poncho. The seam was very bulky,I read the pattern info. Thank God she had not used a tiny zigzag which the pattern info. recommends. I was able to pull it all out without any problem. The pattern info. recommends overlapping fleece which I am going to do. NOOOW here is the question...I have never used material glue like liquid stitch. The pattern info also said you could use material glue instead of stitching. I bought a tube of Liquid Stitch now will that do the job or is there some other special glue to use with fleece?
After I glue it can I sew it without any problem if I want to?? Being this is going to my Girly Girl GrtGrndDaughter Keyli' for Christmas I want it to look as perfect as I can get it. I can see her in this it will set her hair and eyes off. She will be 5 in DEC. I took 2 pictures so you can see. The poncho has a hood. The pattern also has the scotty dog pocket book. I have to find some black fleece or dye some white that I have for that.
Thanks Bunches ahead of time,I know I will get some good input from this board as always when I need the help.

BillsBonBon

Sorry I'm not able to help you but wanted to say great find!

That's really cute!!!

I would be worried if the original owner did not prewash and dry the flannel. Flannel can shrink *ton*! You might want to measure a test piece of the extra fabric, wash it, measure it again, then dry it and measure again. That way you can give your giftee's mother has good information about how to wash the poncho without ruining it.

I am definitely not an expert on liquid stitch, but here goes anyway. I would sew the seam first and then use the liquid stitch to hold the edges down. Liquid stitch is usually used for quick hemming, or to secure an applique patch to fabric; not sure I would trust it for a seam. Flannel normally requires at least a 1/2-inch seam to prevent fraying; I wouldn't go any narrower than that, and I think overlapping an inch would be better.

[quote=Prism99]That's really cute!!!

I would be worried if the original owner did not prewash and dry the flannel. Flannel can shrink *ton*! You might want to measure a test piece of the extra fabric, wash it, measure it again, then dry it and measure again. That way you can give your giftee's mother has good information about how to wash the poncho without ruining it.

I am definitely not an expert on liquid stitch, but here goes anyway. I would sew the seam first and then use the liquid stitch to hold the edges down. Liquid stitch is usually used for quick hemming, or to secure an applique patch to fabric; not sure I would trust it for a seam. Flannel normally requires at least a 1/2-inch seam to prevent fraying; I wouldn't go any narrower than that, and I think overlapping an inch would be better.[/quote\



Hi Prism 99,
Thanks for the help but the it is FLEECE not FLANNEL and this FLEECE is pretty heavy not thin at all. Again thanks for th input.
BillsBonBon

Oh, duh! Haven't had enough coffee today, I guess. I've worked with fleece but never used liquid stitch on it. I still wouldn't trust it for a seam without making a test seam to see how it would hold up to stress. It would probably work well to hold down the seam edges after sewing, though. I have always used a small zigzag to sew seams in fleece. This is because fleece is stretchy and the small zigzag will stretch with the fabric; a straight stitch will be more likely to break if the fleece is stretched (say, by a little girl sitting down on it).

I should add that, for this particular application, I'd probably be inclined to overlap and do a fairly wide and long zigzag stitch on each side. You could try it out on a test strip to make sure it would look okay.

HTH more than my previous comments! :P

Do you a serger you can use? That is the best way to sew fleece seams.

Fleece does not fray. You could just trim the excess if the seams are correct or.... what I often do is fold back the seam and stitch it down. Fleece is a very forgiving fabric, I love useing it! You could also pink it.

No BellaBoo I don't have a serger. Would like one though. maybe one day.
BillsBonBon

When I sew clothing with fleece, I either hand baste all seams or pin every couple of inches, then I machine baste and finally the finishing stitch. It might be overkill, but I usually don't have a problem with things not matching. Hope this helps.

once that glue dries I don't think you'll be able to stitch over it, it gets pretty hard.

I'm not sure how Liquid Stitch will work on fleece, but I have used it to "baste" things and then sewn right over it just fine.

A word of caution.........my girlfriend tried to use it to put patches on her daughters Brownie vest and ended up with it glued to her table! Just a dot...not a lot and cover you work area.

Thank you pocoellie, This is what I am going to do. I believe it is the best way to so it doesn't stretch.
Thanks again BillsBonBon

Thank you, :shock: You just talked me out of it :lol:
BillsBonBon

Between you and Lisa wanna b a quilter, I have been totally talk out of using any kind of glue. I will do as pocoellie says Baste. :lol: :lol:
Thanks
BillsBonBon

Thanks for posting this. I use fleece to make long skinny tubes for my DHs longbows and have learned some great things here. I use the overlock stitch for visible edges and the stretch stitch for seams, but plan to try some of these things.

Here's my two-cents on using fleece: CLEAN YOUR MACHINE OFTEN, IT'S LINTY!!!

Just wanted to add that there is a right and wrong side to fleece. To figure which is which, just stretch the fabric slightly. The fleece will curl to the wrong side.

I've never sewn garments with fleece, tho' I've made a lot of throws. I usually use a short zig-zag stitch, since it does have a stretch to it. Fleece won't fray, so either trim the seams, pink them or sew them down.

What a great amount of info for sewing garments and quilts with fleece, thank you all!!! :D :D :D

I love working with the fleece. It doesn't fray after you cut it out, so you don't have to use a serger for that reason. And like someone mentioned it curls when it is stretched.

All that being said, I do serge the seams after using the patterns reccomended 5/8th seam allowance. Why?? Because it is very bulky and this takes it down to a manageable seam and the finished look is nicer. I sometimes grade the seams, depending on the garment and whether there will be an intersecting seam to be sewn afterwards.

I use a longer stitch length (3) and a denium needle. This stuff is thick! So if you are doing a top stitch, buy a top stitch thread, otherwise is gets burried in the fleece.

Fleece is extremely forgiving, I would not use liquid stitch, and you do not need to ziz-zag use a straight stitch , maybe a 3.0 or a 3.5 length, I usually set my machine tension to 5.5 or 6, Allow the fleece to fold in it natural fashion and don't stretch while going through the needle. Good Luck! I deal with fleece on a daily basis

I made a hundred sets of mittens one year from fleece.
I used the denim sized needle - - ball point, since I assume that fleece is actually a knitted fabric, not woven as cotton is ...
I did use a zigzag for the stretch reason, but held the stitches very close to the edges of the fabric, much as you would if you were using an overlock/serger machine ...
One other thought about gluing fleece, although I think you have wisely decided against it ... I would be concerned that the fleece surface would not be stable enough to hold a glued seam ...
Aleene's did a good job of creating glue for fabric that would withstand washing, laundrying, all sorts of situations, but since the fleece surface is like brushed finish? I would think that you couldn't get the glue to bond enough ....
although <g>
I just received a shipment of wool blanket samples that had been packed up DECADES ago .... clear back to the twenties? If the dates are to be believed ... and it isn't all that easy to pull the paper labels off those old wool samples.
ANd, before anyone decides I need to be informed, a lady stopped by the Post this afternoon and told us to quit pulling off the labels - - she is researching to see if we don't have some collectors' items there ...

use ball point needle and I find my best results as far as thread I use serger thread, Maxi lock works best in my machine in top and bobbin, believe it or not

I Finished the Poncho for my GGD Keyli' I love it,turned out so cute and I know she will wear it out. All I have to do is put buttons and button holes in.
I like it so much I am now going to do one in Camoflage for Her Cousin Erik my almost 8 yr. old GGS. The sizes are from sm to extra large,he will be a large. Going to buy me some Fleece this weekend. EASY Christmas Presents. YEA!!!!
BillsBonBon

Way to go, gramma! <wave>