Sewing With Waterproof Fabric

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Oilcloth is a great choice for hard-wearing sewing projects and is available in a variety of prints and solids. It doesn’t fray when cut, so hems aren’t required and it’s water-resistant with a shiny and smooth surface that can be easily wiped clean. As well as being great for tablecloths, it works for all sorts of bags, lunch wraps and covers, toiletry cases andmake-up bags, as well as outdoor peg bags, children’s satchels and much more! It is probably too stiff
for clothing like modern rain jacket patterns but would work well for small pet coats if they are lined with a softer fabric on the inside. Oilcloth has a base fabric of closely-woven cotton, it then gets either a clear gloss coating of PVC or is soaked with linseed oil. Both protect the cotton and print, leaving a strong wipe-clean finish, but linseed oil treatment takes much longer to cure.

HOLEY MOLY

Any holes you make in the laminate will be there forever – no pressure! It is best to use quilting clips, bulldog clips or even paper clips to hold pieces in place. If you do decide to use pins, take care to pin within the seam allowance.

STITCH SUCCESS

Use a new standard needle in your machine in size 90 and as long a stitch length as possible such as 3mm. This needle size will be big enough to penetrate the oilcloth and, with the
longer stitch length, should prevent skipped stitches without leaving large unsightly holes in your fabric. Trying to back-stitch at the beginning and end of your stitching can lead to horrible thread nests. Instead, simply knot threads at the start and end of the stitching to avoid this problem.

BEST FOOT FORWARD

A standard sewing machine foot will work for most projects (because of
the small amount of sewing involved), but when stitching on the right side of the laminate, it will not travel well through the machine and you will get uneven stitches. Use a walking foot,
roller foot or Teflon foot if you have one. A walking foot provides a dual feed through the sewing machine, the foot has feed dogs on the bottom to help pull fabric through. A Teflon foot is plastic and should help the material glide through the sewing machine rather than stick to the cold metal of the standard presser foot. You can, in a pinch, add a piece of scotch tape to the underside of your machine with a small cut to let your needle pass through, but remember to remove the scotch tape and clean your foot before returning to sewing with regular fabric! Another option is to use a piece of baking parchment between the fabric and your presser foot whilst stitching, and tear it away when you are finished.

TOP TIP

Some people find oilcloth nicer to handle when it’s been sprinkled with talcum powder on the laminated side. This will help prevent the fabric sticking together in places with right sides facing and under your machine.

HOT STUFF

Do not iron the shiny side of the oilcloth. You can, however, press the cotton side of the fabric if required with a low-moderate temperature setting. It's more about applying weight than heat so keep this in mind when pressing open seams and consider using a clapper instead of an iron. You can also use a pressing cloth or baking parchment on the right side of the fabric as a makeshift cloth, and use the coolest setting on your iron.

Do you love sewing and dressmaking? We have lots more content on CraftWorld, follow the links below!

Beginner's Guide to Dressmaking

Sewing Machine Guide for Beginners

Happy sewing,

Natalie