Sewing Stretchy Fabric

Tips from the ThriftyFun community for sewing stretchy fabric without warping.

Use Tissue Paper

Have you tried sewing with tissue paper? Sandwich the fabric inside the paper, the feed dogs will not stretch the paper. Once the seam is sewed, you just have to rip the paper off. You only need a narrow strip, maybe 2 inches wide.

By Lois

Stretch The Fabric While Sewing

Be careful. If you don't stretch the fabric a bit while sewing, you will find that the stitches break when the fabric stretches while being worn.

By Sue

Adjust Pressure

You should be able to adjust the presser foot pressure. Check your machine manual. For lightweight fabric - more pressure and for heavy fabric - less pressure. Play with different settings to see what works best. A teflon coated presser foot will also help some fabrics glide through easier. Also try lightly steaming and pressing the seam after sewing to shrink the stretching back to normal. Sometimes this helps with certain fabrics.

By Michelle

Use Ball Point Needles

Make sure you are using a ball point needle and loosen the tension of your pressure foot. Tissue paper also helps.

Helpful Tip: Make sure the package says ball point needles. I once asked the sales person to give me needles for stretch fabric. She gave me universal needles. My daughter made it for the last dance to her Jr. prom because I had so many problems trying to sew with the universal needles. After the event, I purchased ball point needles and they glided through the material like silk. That was an experience that both my daughter and I will never forget.

By Joanne