Thread: Chiffon sewing/cutting question. Photos added

I have a covered bra and belt base that I would like to adorn by cutting up a chiffon veil with paillettes and sequin designs. I am chicken to actually cut the chiffon. What is the best way to go about it, should I use fray check along the cutting lines before I cut, or what?

Novice sewer needs support/encouragement to cut into chiffon!

FrayCheck is an awesome product but it can be difficult to sew through. Depending on how much you apply it could cause a 'raised' area since you will add the chiffon to the belt and bra. This might sound strange but I would probably use a pencil to roughly outline the area to be cut (leaving 1/4-1/3" overage allowance), and run a straight or narrow zig-zag stitch on each side of the cut line. The stitches usually work for me. Plus no waiting for anything to dry or adding another product to the process. Well, assuming you already have a sewing machine. Sorry, just recalled you stated you are a novice costumer. If no sewing machine then FrayCheck (or Elmer's Glue that dries clear, of course), might be a good option.

I'm having a tough time picturing what you're trying to do. If you're cutting through sewn embellishments (e.g., the sequins are sewn on and you're breaking those seams), then you will want to secure the ends of thread that hold the embellishments on. If Fray Check is going to be too gloopy, you can also open the seam holding the decorations on, pick it back enough to have a bit of thread to knot, and then re-sew the decorations back in place later. This isn't really related to chiffon, though. If you had embellished lace or velvet, it would be the same issue.

Some chiffons do have a tendency to fray at the edges, and if you have one of those, it may be useful to treat the edges, especially if they are curved cuts. There's a trick to melting the edge to seal it (Burned Chiffon Flowers), but I usually just take my chances with the fraying, or stay stitch like showtime recommended. If your project allows it, leave enough seam allowance so that if you lose some threads to fraying, you've still got plenty to sew with. It's better to have too much seam allowance than not enough.

It is kind of hard to picture what you are doing, but any hems and seams can be rolled either by machine on a serger, or by hand in order to encase the edges of the fabric are not exposed.

If the the chiffon is too delicate or slick to hold a seam, you can use dissolve-able interfacing. (if its sequined, it probably isn't, but just in case) Fold it over the edges and baste it to the fabric- sew near the edge with a long stitch- and then hem it and then dissolve the interfacing. It will leave the edges a little crisp, but that goes away eventually. They sell it in the notions section, or with the embroidery stuff. I've used it to hem chiffon veils and skirts and it works great.

Thanks for the tips, they are all helpful. I will be sewing by hand. I will try to post some photos so you can get an idea what I'm trying to do. I think it will be great, but I'd heard that chiffon frays a lot when cut and that it is difficult to work with.

Here are a couple of photos of the project. I have a bra and belt base (straps not shown) that I would like to cover using a large purple veil with several gold sequin flower motifs and beaded edging with paillettes. I am open to suggestions how best to utilize the veil to decorate the bra and belt base. I also have fringe, jewels, and gold coin jewelry that I can add to the design as well. I am shy about cutting into the chiffon. It's nice quality fabric, but I've never cut into chiffon before.

I am hoping to get some arm drapes out of the veil as well. I also have a skirt that matches this veil. I'm going for an old-school ornate look.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I will cross post in the What are you working on thread as well.

Do you want to use the flower motifs like appliques, or cover the whole base, leaving the flowers with a lot of their background? It's hard to tell from the second photo how many flowers you have and how far apart they are on the veil. I'm guessing if you cut them out separately (paper-doll style), you will want to do something to secure the edges, since you'll be going every which way with and against the grain. In theory, I think it is possible you could stabilize the edges before cutting with an iron-on interfacing, as long as you don't get the iron too close to the sequins, but tracing the outline in Fray Check is probably easier, and you don't have to worry about a bubble of unattached interfacing under the flower. (BTW, if you use Fray Check, spot test first. I don't know how much a drop of Fray Check will bleed into your fabric, or whether it will sit there like a glop, and you'll want to be able to control the application.)

Preserving the edge trim should be straightforward. If you can't find where they started and ended, you can just sacrifice a tiny spot and cut through, securing on either side. In a worst-case scenario, cut each side as a separate strip so you don't have to deal with the corners. When you detach the edge from the rest of the veil, leave yourself a buffer zone/margin for attaching it to the new garment. There are a couple of different ways to go about it, ranging from obsessively neat (making a true hem) to quick and dirty (leaving extra seam allowance and crossing your fingers that the raw edge won't fray over time). Fray Check is probably the middle solution, not as much work as the true hem, but more likely to hold up over time than Q&D. Do you have a plan, or do you want to talk more about edge strategies?

I was thinking of cutting out enough chiffon, including the sequin flower motif, to cover each cup, rather than making appliques. I will probably cut off the paillette trim first, leaving a generous allowance.

I think I will make paper outlines of the bra and belt and see how I can lay them over the fabric, although the bra is 3-dimensional, of course, so that will be a challenge. There are about 7 of the motifs, I think. I just want to have a plan before I do the cutting.

I don't feel up to trying to do ruching, though I love the look.

I find fray check tends to bleed into chiffon, so if I'm using it on a costume I tend to seal the raw edges with a lighter flame.

If you're going to cover a whole bra cup with one piece then it shouldn't matter if the edges of the chiffon go a bit taut and curly as they will be folded over the back of the cup and eventually hidden by the lining.

Chiffon is surprisingly easy to ruche, so you might want to have a go with some spare scraps, and experiment with pinning it into place