Masterclass: Sewing With Sweatshirt Fabric
Sweatshirt fleece has a smooth jersey rib on the right side and soft brushed fleece on the wrong side. It’s soft, heat-trapping and moisture-wicking, which makes it perfect for sewing casual clothing and activewear. The good news is that sweatshirt fleece not only makes super snuggly garments but, thanks to its low stretch percentage and stability, is a fairly easy fabric to sew with.
Preparation
Consider buying slightly more fabric than the pattern suggests, as sweatshirting is prone to shrinking.
Like all knit fabrics, pre-wash your sweatshirt fleece for shrinkage. We advise washing it separately as it can produce a lot of lint! If you notice that your fabric has shrunk significantly in your pre-wash, you might want to add extra length to sleeves and hems to accommodate further shrinkage.
Although the weight can vary, sweatshirt fleece tends to be on the thicker side, so check that your machine can cope with several layers of thick fabric if adding pockets or cuffs.
Stroke your sweatshirting up and down. If it feels different going in each direction, use a nap layout to ensure all your pattern pieces face the same direction on your fabric.
Stitching
If you are using a regular sewing machine, use a walking foot to help feed the fabric layers through the machine evenly and keep finger-pushing the fabric behind the foot to prevent stretching. Sew the seams with a zigzag stitch and use the triple stitch on stress areas such as crotch and underarm seams.
Use a ballpoint needle with a slightly rounded tip that won’t snag the knitted structure of the fabric. Increase your stitch length and width to accommodate the bulky fabric. Test your stitch settings on small swatches to find what works best for your fabric before starting your garment.
Go slowly when stitching multiple layers to avoid breaking your needle. If your machine struggles to get started over a bulky area, prop some folded scrap fabric under the foot to give it a lift up to meet your project.
You can leave seams unfinished, but a zigzag stitch will prevent the fleece from shedding.
Aftercare
The fleece can clog up the inside of a sewing machine or overlocker, so use a lint brush to give everywhere in your machine a good clean.
Keep your finished garment away from the tumble dryer!