Prompted by a comment on another thread (and not wanting to hijack that thread I thought I would start a new one) just wondered if anyone could help with a chiffon query.

I have a couple of dresses with many layered strips of chiffon for the skirt. The dressmaker sort of singed the edges to finish them but over time some of the pieces have started to catch and run a bit. Any tips on what to do to chiffon to stop it running. Does it need to be properly finished? I guess getting someone to do this would cost a lot since there are many many pieces of chiffon and so many edges to do rather than just the one bottom edge of the skirt. I am no good with a sewing machine myself but I am worried the skirt will end up shredded.

Any tips or help much appreciated

Eek! I hate working with chiffon cos it frays so much, but am about to tackle it again. I will definitely be using a rolled edge hem on my overlocker (serger).

Sounds like your skirt is more complicated. Perhaps a narrow zig-zag on a sewing maching? I wonder whether there's some sort of fabric glue you could use to seal the edges?

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Katz

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"Fray-Check" (it may not have the second "C" in the name.. I'm not near my sewing supplies right now) would work. It might be a bit tedious, but you could use a thin paint brush to apply this to the edges of each "strip" on the skirt. Depending on the color and quality of the chiffon, it MIGHT make the edges ever-so-slightly darker than the rest of the strip, but that could look like it was intentional. Make sure you allow plenty of time to do this, the Fray-Check needs to dry overnight.. and if there are layers of strips, you would want to do one layer at a time so they don't glue themselves together. The good news though is this doesn't require sewing and you could easily do it yourself. I would put a little bit of the liquid on something like a plastic or paper plate or a piece of aluminum foil, dip the paint brush into it and do a few of the strips at a time. Let them dry slightly, then do the next few.. until you've gone all the way around. Obviously if there are layers of strips, start with the ones that would be closest to your legs, then work outward.

I second the Fray-Check suggestion for this particular problem. It would be really hard to machine-finish all those strips, especially since the skirt is already constructed. Ideally, if you were going to do that, the sides would have been done first, before the strips were cut apart to make the layers. Even better would have been to use mesh or glissenette instead of chiffon, since it doesn't need to be finished.

OH, how I hate chiffon! I only work with it when I feel I need punishment!

The reason I hate chiffon isn't because it frays, but because it shifts and squirms under the foot of the serger so much. In order to get a decent hem, I have to jump through a lot of hoops!

The Fray Check idea is good. It comes in a little bottle with a very narrow applicator tip, so you can apply it quite thin and even, even without a brush. I have an old nail polish bottle that I cleaned out and put the fray check in, so I use a brush also. If you make any mistakes, rubbing alcohol will clean it off. Once it's dry, you can trim the frayed bits off, and it should look fine

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BuggieMom
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Thank you for all the suggestions. I will try the Fray Check - sounds like a good idea!

I made my wedding gown from taffeta and chiffon. I didn't even try to edge the chiffon skirt - I took it to the tailor I worked for and had them finish it with their serger. (They also did the zipper - another thing I dislike in sewing.) If you apply spray-starch and let it dry, the fabric's much easier to handle and it doesn't shift under the presser foot as much.

Be stingy with the Fray Check - it dries hard and very "crisp." Use less than you think you need. You can always go over it after it dries if you didn't use enough.

Never use it on the inside seams of a bodysuit, lol. OUCH! (Voice of experience talking - I had to trim every seam. The scratchiness was awful - I had welts!)

If it's just one or two spots on the edging, clear nail polish will do in a pinch.

That's a great idea - I've always squeezed it out of the eyedropper-like bottle. No wonder I've always felt it went on like hot glue. Thanks for the tip.

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I was going to say fabric glue, but Fray-check is the same thing, I think.

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

It takes lots of practice and is only good on synthetic chiffon. If you're using real silk chiffon, go the starch route and sew hem it but if you've got polyester, the couture technique, as profiled in Threads Magazine by Kenneth King a few years back is to cut out the pieces with a stencil cutter. (Hot knife) It cuts and burns and seals the edges. That's probably how it was done in the first place on your dress, and as the burnt melted edge rubs off, it will unravel. I've used it to make sheer jackets to clean up the seams.

A similar product is called Fray Block. Both are available at fabric stores. I prefer Fray Block, because I think that Fray Block doesn't leave the fabric as stiff and scratchy as Fray Check, but ymmv (your mileage may vary).

oh man do i DESPISE working with chiffon!!!! I hate the way it slips around.....so I usually take it somewhere for hemming (for skirts/dresses, I let it hang about 2-3 weeks).

When I was in school (back in the horse & buggy day) we had to do our sewing by hand before we graduated to machine and had to hem chiffon by hand.

I love my serger for this...when I actually have to do it. which I avoid at all times possible. I have at times resorted to using iron-on/wash away stabilizer before serging. As a last resort. I did wear an outfit in which I did not hem the chiffon overskirt (no time to take it to get done). No one noticed but me, I took it to the tailor later.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

You could zig-zag them with a broad, 1mm long zig-zag stitch. Or you could zig-zag the edges by hand if you have no sewing machine.

If the chiffon is synthetic and you're bold enough - a brief run-over the edges with a burning lighter will melt the outer edges and stop it running. Make it brief so it only melts, not catches fire though.

You could dip the edges with clear nail polish. That will stop it running too. Won't really be very washable after that though, only in cold water.

Maybe a soldering iron would give more control. It should work although I admit I've only soldered with one.

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I tried zig-zagging today, as skater's coach asked if a shredded hem was a possibility (to which I emphatically answered NO! , I hate working with chiffon).

Of course it bunches up, and any points are near impossible without a good stabilizer. Not my idea of fun at all. Still, I may have to persevere. If I were doing a standard hem I'd be fine with the overlocker - once I convince my overlocker it can do it, though it might take some experimentation.

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !

Here's how I work with chiffon on my serger...

Spray or liquid starch the lower part of the skirt. Doesn't have to be board stiff, just enough so it quits shifting so much. Then, I stay-stitch around the bottom where I want the hem, about 1/4" from the bottom edge, the idea being that this line of stitching will be encased in the rolled hem later. Then as I run it through the serger, I hold the stay stitching tight, in front of and behind the needle as I guide it through. In that way you are pulling on the thread, not the fabric, and you have something stable to hold on to. This is the only way that I can coax a hem into chiffon. It is not a perfect, fail-proof technique, but it gets me through. I do hate working with chiffon and avoid it like the plague!

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BuggieMom
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Some people are like a Slinky...not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs....

Hey that sounds like it's worth a try next time because I completely abandoned my last attempt at a chiffon skirt after two failed attempts!

Nicki

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