The variety of types of matter sometimes really strikes an inexperienced observer. It seems that it is almost impossible to distinguish, for example, barge fabric from the same grogron, unless with a certain skill in choosing materials for sewing. But if desired, and in such subtleties can be understood. Fortunately, chiffon is much more famous than these exotic fabrics. Light chiffon dresses, airy scarves, translucent blouses cannot but attract attention. And, probably, each representative of the beautiful half of humanity at least once in her life thought about purchasing clothes and accessories from this material that give romance to any image. Chiffon is a great opportunity to emphasize women's fragility and defenselessness with stunningly beautiful gizmos.
A bit of history
The first mention of this amazing fabric dates back to the second or third millennium BC. In those distant times, the Chinese believed that such material was ideal for creating clothes for royal people. Chiffon is a kind of silk, lighter, airier, thin and, importantly, capricious in sock, so even in rich Europe, where he got only in the eighteenth century, only very wealthy people could afford dresses from this fabric.
The technical revolution of the twentieth century allowed to significantly reduce the cost of the material, which made it much more accessible to ordinary people. Today, there are several varieties of chiffon, each of which serves to create stunningly beautiful elements of clothing.
pros
Of course, most often chiffon is chosen as a material for sewing because of its beauty and lightness, but there are still a number of advantages of this fabric. Due to its lightness and airiness, it dries much faster than many other materials and allows the body to breathe, in addition, it drapes very well, which allows you to play with the uniform and hide all the imperfections of the figure. In combination with leather, knitwear, fur, it will look very advantageous, much better than tired classic combinations of fabrics. It should be noted and the strength of some types of chiffon.
And cons
But there are a number of disadvantages. For example, it is very difficult to sew clothes from chiffon on your own: it just crumbles. Colors have the ability to fade in the sun, and improper washing (in a car, for example) will very quickly cause a thing to lose shape. Some note that sometimes the tissue grows moldy.
Care
Caring for this airy material is very simple: wash it only with your hands at a low temperature (it is unlikely that the fabric will painlessly transfer water warmer than thirty degrees) with detergent for delicate washing. Iron through gauze (it is better that the chiffon is still moist) at a temperature of one hundred and twenty degrees.
These simple rules will help to keep chiffon clothes and accessories for a very long time.
Hand made
Despite all the variety of assortment in stores, sometimes it’s very difficult to find a blouse of the desired style or a scarf of some unusual color on hangers. And then some, the most desperate, come up with the idea to sew the necessary piece of clothing from chiffon with their own hands. In fact, it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. You just need to take note of a couple of rules.
Firstly: it is best to start with shreds. No one can guarantee that the sewing machine will not damage the fabric, and many types of seams are not suitable for light fabrics such as chiffon.
Secondly: an outline is needed - it will be easier to connect the parts of matter with it. To seal the sections, you can use gelatin solutions or, if the fabric is light, starch, simply apply the liquid with a brush along the edge of the fabric and iron it through the paper. It is best to sew in small stitches. In no case can not be scribbled across the pins - holes can remain in the chiffon. To avoid this, you need to put thin paper under the material.
Third: the transparency and lightness of the fabric can play a trick on sewing clothes. To prevent knots from being seen on the tucks, for example, you need to remove the upper thread from the machine itself, thread the lower thread in its place, placing it from the needle (in the opposite direction). The seam will not go apart - it is performed with one thread. And when working with the neck of the product, it is better to avoid stitches that will be visible through the fabric.
Fourth: even using patterns, chiffon does not always produce what you need. Stitch trousers on one side from top to bottom, and on the other - from bottom to top. So the thing will look neater. Sometimes when working with light tissues there is a problem of fitting the sleeve. Correcting it is very difficult, so it is best to use the interesting technique of joining a sleeve of chiffon with a knitted strip.
A little more about the seams
Chiffon is a very, very capricious fabric that requires thin sewing needles and a backing, for which plain paper is also suitable. The seams for processing the material depend on what is sewn. For example, for a simple skirt or shirt, you can use an overlock or a zigzag for a cut, which is then bent and simply sewn on a typewriter.
A skirt sewn along the oblique will look much more profitable with a hem trimmed with a small zigzag. And for lush outfits you will need a slanting trim, which will make the cut of the product heavier and prevent it from gathering in unnecessary folds. For processing inline, an elastic line is inserted into the zigzag line (the method mentioned just above).
Some can not do without an elegant French seam - far from simple, but very beautiful. For him, the edges of the fabric are folded first inside out, are sewn together with a seam up to 5 mm wide, the allowance is cut, then the product is turned out so that the front sides of the fabric are touching and a new seam is made.
Another interesting option is the Moscow seam. The edge is bent in two layers, both folds are swept.
Seams can not only decorate clothes, but also hopelessly ruin them, so in no case should you forget about accuracy.
Continuation of hand-made
But we must not forget that this fabric is used not only for sewing clothes and accessories, but also for jewelry. Chiffon flowers will be a great addition to an elegant dress, and they also look very good as independent attributes of the interior.
Of course, you can easily buy ready-made roses and peonies from translucent material in various stores, but making them yourself is easier than ever.
To make, for example, roses you will need matter, a lighter / matches / candle, a needle, threads and beads for decoration.
It all starts with the manufacture of the base. We must not forget that chiffon is a very whimsical material, so you need to work with it carefully. Five-leafed flowers of different sizes are cut out, and the more there are, the more magnificent the rose will be.
When the "petals" are ready, each "flower" is slightly fused over the flame. It is best to do this on a candle - then both hands will be free. As a result, the edges should wrap a little inward, but in no case darken.
After a thread is passed through all the petals (it is possible through the centers of the five-leafed leaves), all layers in the center are fastened with beads used for decoration.
Ready flowers from chiffon need to be shaken a couple of times to make them more magnificent.
Conclusion
Silk fabrics are universal. Elegant, transparent, lightweight, they are well suited for sewing charming clothes and accessories, which, if properly maintained, will last a very long time.