Pile direction and cutting.

[shelly]

Hi,
Can someone help me? I have just started making rabbits again and I'm still a novice. The problem, or one of them , is the direction of the fur pile on the backing fabric. I understand about warp and weft and bias cutting , but on some of the mohair that I have , mainly short dense pile , the fur bends off to one side and it seems impossible to get a true mirror image of the pattern piece I am cutting. Is this normal , is it the quality of the mohair , is it just me ? (hope not , but please tell me if it is, I won't mind LOL). Also is it really the best way to cut the fabric on the reverse where you can't see the true direction of the fur?
Lots of questions I know .
Thanks Shelly.

[Vicky Allum]

Hi Shelly

I joined a couple of days ago. THere are a couple of ways of getting around this problem. You can dampen the mohair with water once you have made you bear or rabbit, comb it in the direction you'd like it to go, then fix it in place (I usually use the elasticy bit fom the top of a pop sock worn round the head like a bandage) and then leave it somewhere warm to dry or you could use a hair dryer on a low temp. The only problem is this isn't terribly effactive on large areas of badly behaved mohair.

The best thing that I can recommend is to cut the opposing pieces at right angles to one another (I've tried to load a diagram but I'm not terribly good with the technical bits). For example if you're laying out the head pieces and put both of the tops of their heads in line with the top of the fabric, one will have the fur going downwards and slightly backward, whilest the other will have the fur sweeping forward. If you turn the second head piece around 90 anti degrees clockwise, the fur should then be sweeping backwards too and the pieces should then look more like a mirror image. You can then choose the direction you'd like for the gusset. I think you can cut with the weave of the backing at an angle so that the pile is in the right direction, I've never tried it though as I would have thought cutting on the bias would allow the head to distort when it's stuffed.

I would say cutting on the reverse is the only way to do it, once you get into the swing of things it will be straight forward. You could try marking the back of the fabric with some dress makers chalk to show you direction while you lay your pattern out.

Hope this helps - in the meantime I'll try to upload my sketch for you.

Vicky

[shelly]

Thanks Vicki,
I agree with you about the bias, I think it would stretch as well. I think I can undertsand about the ninety degrees layout. Thanks for confirming about cutting on the back of the fabric, sometimes you just need to be reasurred that you're doing the right thing!
Shelly.

[Vicky Allum]

You're welcome!

[Chowlea Bears]

Would anything be gained by gently washing the mohair and hanging it up to dry - gently brushing the pile in the direction of choice as it dries? - downwards as gravity brings the water down.

I've no idea if it would work - I'm just thinking................

Make a diary entry folks - it doesn't happen often:D

[Jenny]

I have often washed and tumble dried it!! Sometimes blowdried it too. I always draw an arrow on the back to indicate the pile direction for pattern placement. As far as bias cutting goes I think it only really matters on the head or areas where you would hard stuff. It depends on the backing some are so tightly woven that a bias cut pattern would hardly budge and others ...eg some of the Norton weaves..I line anyway because they stretch a bit whatever way you draw it up.

[Judi Russell]

As mohair is a natural fibre it can be washed and dyed and generally messed about with. You will have difficulty changing the direction of the pile on short mohair, but with the longer pile it is not usually a problem. Just hold a steam iron 'above' the mohair and give it a blast of steam, then brush it in the direction you want it to go. Remember, if it is ratinee or wave, you may well brush that out completely. I have cut out on the bias and it has always been successful, with an A quality backing it does not tend to streach. A tip for cutting out on the front of mohair, use a pen that quilters use, the colour fades and eventually dissapears altogether.
Judi

[shelly]

Thanks Judi, thanks for the tips , they all help.
Shelly

[shebob bears]

Hi Shelly,

Turning the pattern piece 90 degrees really does work. If the backing fabric is a loose weave, I always paint a diluted mixture of fabric stiffener and water (50/50 mix) over the entire pattern piece BEFORE cutting out. If it is painted after cutting out, the mohair at the edges sets rock hard and no self respecting ted wants a punk look round his seams!

It is also a good idea to place the gusset piece on the fabric at an angle that will keep the mohair straight. This again can be painted with the same mixture and any chance of distortion at stuffing time is virtually eliminated.

I recently made a cat using a fabulous synthetic fabric that had a very stretchy backing. This was totally corrected by painting my 'magic mix' on all the pattern pieces first. It does take a while to dry, so allow plenty of time before you cut out the pieces.

Hope this is of help, Shelly. It certainly works for me.

Best wishes,
Sheila
(Shebob Bears)

[shelly]

Thanks Sheila, everyone is being very generous with their help.
Thankyou Shelly.

[shelly]

Hi Sheila ,
I was just re-capping on what you've said above because I am in the process of developing a rabbit and I have found that the pattern has stretched after stuffing. Was this the first idea you came up with for stopping the stretch, or had you tried other methods like a type of interlining, or cotton lining and just found that the mixture worked the best?
Thanks Shelly.

[shebob bears]

I am really surprised, Shelly that your pattern has streched after stuffing! I have in the past tried lining the pattern pieces, but this never worked successfully for me. My 50/50 mix of Fabric Stiffener and water, mixed thoroughly and painted with a stiffish brush all over before cutting out, and left to dry completely (overnight is a good idea) has always been 100% successful. I am making a bear now, and although it is mohair, the backing moves in all directions, and also frays just to make matters worse. So a good dose of 'my mix', left it overnight, and now it is really firm. No fray, and no stretch!!

I suggest you try a slightly stronger mix, and use a little scrap piece of fabric to experiment with. Also, on another scrap fabric, try a 50/50 mix of PVA glue and water, and paint it all over with the stiff brush. Both methods are really good once they have dried completely.

Good luck, Shelly. Do please let me know how you get on.

Best wishes,
Sheila.

[shelly]

Oh, I'd better go and check that I have compared the correct pattern piece LOL. I might have been comparing a smaller pattern with the stuffed one!
Suffering with a virus this week, perhaps my brains not in gear lol.
Thanks anyway Sheila. I'll let you know how I get on.
Shelly