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Before you print on any fabric, you should first make sure that it is "true". This means that the warp and the weft are running perpendicular to each other. If they are not, then your print will become distorted after several washings, and the whole look will be ruined. SOLID COLORED FABRIC. Always prewash your fabric, and work with a small amount at a time. Try to keep it under a yard. Starting with the selvage edge, fold the fabric in half and mark the fold with a pencil in the selvage. Now, at that mark, follow a thread across to the opposite side and make a mark at the edge. Do the same with the other two edges of your fabric. Using a dressmakers board and pushpins, center your fabric on two perpendicular lines and pin the fabric to the board at the four pencil marks.
If the fabric resists lying flat, remove it from the board. You will have to mist it with some water and pull it diagonally to make it lie true. Then press with an iron. Return it to the dressmakers board and pin to check it. Repeat if necessary. PRINTED FABRIC A print will not need to be trued up the same way. When fabric is printed in a mill it is run through machines which often pull the fabric a little out of line. So the print does not always run true to the threads of the fabric. The most noticeable changes usually occur close to the selvage edge, so avoid using that part of the fabric, if possible. Since you will be printing on a print, you need to follow the print across, instead of the thread.
Choose a row of print near the middle of your length of fabric. Lay a long metal ruler across, and position it over a line (line XX) in the dressmakers board. Use pushpins on either side to hold it in place. Next, align the print to the ruler. Insert pushpins at the edge of the fabric, and in a few more places along line XX. Then, turn the ruler perpendicular to line XX, and position it over a line on the board.(line YY) Align a central column of print to the ruler, and pin as before. Smooth out the fabric and press with an iron if necessary to make it lie flat. You should be able to lay down the ruler at any line on the board and see a straight column or row of print lined up to it. Place additional pushpins where necessary to keep the fabric from shifting. Or, you may use tape around the edges, if you prefer. This is a Reprint from
Creating Your Own Fabric. Copyright 1990 Antonette Cely |
