Schweitzer Fachinformationen
Wenn es um professionelles Wissen geht, ist Schweitzer Fachinformationen wegweisend. Kunden aus Recht und Beratung sowie Unternehmen, öffentliche Verwaltungen und Bibliotheken erhalten komplette Lösungen zum Beschaffen, Verwalten und Nutzen von digitalen und gedruckten Medien.
A new title to add to the well established and highly regarded Professional series. Aimed at those who already have basic skills but are now thinking of doing an intermediate course on the subject or starting up their own business, this book offers expert advice on all aspects of soft furnishings.
Whether you hope to develop your passion into a rewarding career or simply want to add finishing touches your own home, this book will show you how
to produce schemes and specify effectively for them. Colours and fabrics are all covered, along with window treatments, chair coverings and household linen.
Create bright, fresh items for your home and be inspired by the beautiful projects featured, all broken down into easy-to-follow steps: chairs, tables, beds, curtains and window treatments are all considered.
As with all the books in the series, a basics section at the front takes you through all the essential techniques, which are clearly explained and illustrated with step-by-step photographs.
Life as a soft furnisher will be made so much easier with two main pieces of equipment: a cutting table and a sewing machine. There is a large choice of machines available, but don't be dazzled by all the fancy stitches and computerization as you may never need them. Think carefully about your specific needs and choose one that best suits your budget.
Like many of my students, my love of soft furnishings started at home with my sewing machine on the dining room table. However, when working on large projects I found it difficult working on my knees on the floor. A bespoke cutting table is very useful but if you can't afford one or don't have the room for one, invest in a 15 mm thick 240 × 120 cm (1/2 × 8 × 4 in) sheet of MDF (Medium-Density Fibreboard) which can be placed over an existing dining or kitchen table. Cover it in a plastic-coated fabric to protect it. It can then be stored against the wall when not in use and brought out when needed, providing you with a large working surface. If you are fortunate enough to have a designated workroom, then this MDF top can easily be transformed into a workbench with storage underneath for your fabrics and linings.
Please do not rush out to buy the 'all-singing, all-dancing' expensive sewing machine. As a soft furnisher you won't need one that has hundreds of fancy stitches. What you will need is one that has a good stitch quality, that can take the thickness of fabrics that you may be required to use, and that has a selection of feet you'll find useful.
I recommend a machine that will enable you to lift the presser foot that extra bit higher, in order to take a curtain heading containing lining, interlining and heading buckram, doubled up as it would be for a hand-stitched curtain heading. Always try out the machine before you purchase it, and take along your own samples, as the samples provided tend to be dress-weight fabrics that are too thin and won't give you a realistic idea of the machine's capabilities.
Sewing machine feet
Sewing machines often come with a range of feet and accessories. I prefer a machine that will allow you to use the larger thread spools and that has a good 'walking foot' attachment. A walking foot allows equal pressure on the fabric as it moves under the presser foot and will help alleviate the problem of the fabric slipping, which is particularly important when using silky, shiny fabrics or when you are trying to pattern-match long lengths of fabrics. A walking foot attachment is essential when doing large areas of quilting.
Other useful machine feet are:
Sewing machine needles
The purpose of the sewing machine needle is to penetrate the fabric, by moving the yarns apart without damaging the fabric. The needle has a long groove on one side, which aids the thread through the yarns, and a small notch, called the scarf, just above the eye of the needle on the other side. This aids the passage of the rotary hook when forming the bottom thread stitch.
Always check that you are using the correct size needle and thread for the fabric you are sewing. The finer the needle, the less damage to the fabric, but if too fine it will blunt and break. Check and change your needle regularly; a blunt needle often causes missed stitching.
Use sharp needles for all woven fabrics and ballpoints for knitted fabrics:
Lightweight fabrics:70-80 (10-12)
Medium weights: 80-90 (12-14)
Heavy weights: 90-100 (14-16)
MACHINING TIPS
Never push or pull the fabrics through the machine. Instead just guide the fabric, allowing the feed mechanism to take the fabrics through at its own rate. On standard machines, the fabric in contact with the feed mechanism will be taken through faster than the top fabric. This can be a problem when sewing different weights of fabric together. In this case, place the lighter weight fabric underneath and gently apply pressure to this fabric so that both go through at the same rate.
An overlock machine neatens the raw edges of fabrics, using either a three-or four-thread stitch. This machine is particularly useful when raw edges may be seen or for neatening raw edges on cushion covers. Although not essential - as a good zigzag stitch will suffice - it is a very useful and efficient machine.
Once you start to produce work on a professional basis, you may wish to invest in an industrial sewing machine that is built for continuous use. If you go down this route, take your time and do your research to find a machine that fits your requirements as well as your budget. Although more expensive, I always recommend an alternating compound feed walking foot machine.
SEWING FAULTS
Here are a number of common faults that can occur when using a sewing machine and their possible causes.
Thread breaks
Needle breaks
Irregular seam
Poor fabric feed
Missed stitches (the looper does not catch the needle thread):
There is a huge array of sundry equipment available to the soft furnisher. Some items are a must-have, whereas others look great but are of little use. The following are those I find most useful:
I recommend glass-headed pins about 45 mm (1 3/4 in) long that are thicker than normal dressmaking pins and can be seen easily, so as not to be left in the fabric by mistake. When pinning fabrics together, pin at right angles to the edge, this way the fabrics are held firmly, avoiding the problem of the fabric slipping or moving.
You will also need a range of sewing needles. I recommend:
TIP Always take pins out as you machine up to them. Although it is possible to machine over them when they are placed at right angles to the edge, you will damage the machine's needle, or even break it, if it hits apin. This causes damage to the pins and will blunt or break the needle. A blunt needle may cause the sewing machine to miss stitches and may also cause damage to fine fabrics.
Again, there is a huge array of scissors available, but I recommend:
Always mark fabrics on the wrong side, as markers never really erase well. I prefer to use pencils and a fabric eraser:
Thimbles are always useful, but I prefer to use soft patchwork thimbles as you have more control in your movements.
Also useful to have in your sewing kit...
Dateiformat: ePUBKopierschutz: Adobe-DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Systemvoraussetzungen:
Das Dateiformat ePUB ist sehr gut für Romane und Sachbücher geeignet – also für „fließenden” Text ohne komplexes Layout. Bei E-Readern oder Smartphones passt sich der Zeilen- und Seitenumbruch automatisch den kleinen Displays an. Mit Adobe-DRM wird hier ein „harter” Kopierschutz verwendet. Wenn die notwendigen Voraussetzungen nicht vorliegen, können Sie das E-Book leider nicht öffnen. Daher müssen Sie bereits vor dem Download Ihre Lese-Hardware vorbereiten.Bitte beachten Sie: Wir empfehlen Ihnen unbedingt nach Installation der Lese-Software diese mit Ihrer persönlichen Adobe-ID zu autorisieren!
Weitere Informationen finden Sie in unserer E-Book Hilfe.
