Burda Style For people who sew

I recently bought some very nice heavy calico fabric to make new curtains (an ebay bargain I’m really pleased with). Normally I would wash or clean fabric before sewing it so that it hangs right and doesn’t shrink etc. when being cleaned later. Does anyone know if the same applies in this case? The fabric is new and unmarked. I am reluctant to dry clean since the idea of the project is to keep the cost to a minimum, there’s 11 metres, and dry cleaning is going to be horribly expensive.

Jan 24, 2012, 01.12 PM by mlakin

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  Jan 24, 2012, 04.03 PMby patti-r

  See page 2 for home steaming:

  http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelines/4_104_preparing_to_sew.pdf

  Let fabric dry for several hours after doing one of the procedures.
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  Jan 27, 2012, 01.29 PMby mlakin

  Thank you for this! Given that there is so much fabric to steam, I think I might just have to pay! It’s a good technique for many clothes though. Perhaps if I dry clean the curtain fabric, I can make a resolution to not dry clean anything else for the rest of the year, and save money that way!
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  Jan 27, 2012, 03.14 PMby sewingfan1

  Does dry cleaning shrink things then? i thought that was one of the reasons some clothes were recommended ‘dry clean’ only, to avoid the risk of shrinkage so I wouldn’t have thought you’d get any benefit dry cleaning your fabric before making the curtains. Sorry if I’m wrong. I’d have thought, if you were thinking you might be wet washing them later on, then for sure, wet wash them before you make them up but I don’t think dry cleaning would affect the hang or shrink the fabric at all. Maybe ask a dry cleaner’s? Or better still, I’ll see if my brother remembers as he used to work with a dry cleaning firm.

  Does this link help at all in the meantime? http://blog.1-800-dryclean.com/2009/11/12/can-dry-cleaning-shrink-clothes/ or this one http://www.calicocorners.com/category/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/fabric+care+instructions.do
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  Jan 27, 2012, 06.17 PMby patti-r

  Dry cleaners will preshrink fabric using a steam press method, they do not usually use the dry cleaning solutions unless requested. Steam pressing helps to tighten fibers and remove some of the sizing from fabrics and helps prevent some future shrinking.

  RTW is usually steamed pressed before item is made. so if dry cleaned the garment retains it’s size & shape.
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  Jan 28, 2012, 02.34 PMby katexxxxxx

  If you want to wash the curtains later, wash the fabric as you want to treat the curtains. Let it do all the shrinking before you make them. Curtain fabric and calico can shrink as much as 10%.