Interfacings, Where Art Thou?

I am in danger of making myself a Flintstones wardrobe—the same patterns over and over again—but I think that’s okay. That doesn’t seem to me to be much different than a capsule wardrobe. I made another rayon batik top, one that I absolutely love.

I got the fabric at A Clean Stitch in Missoula the last time I taught there. This will work nicely with a pair of navy blue pants (the Rose Pants!) or capris.

I am not going to start the Lou Raincoat until July as I have too much going on between now and July 4. I might knock out another Scout Tee from the purple chambray I bought in Spokane but that will be it. By the time I get the raincoat done, it will be time to think about cool-weather projects.

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When we were at The Pink Thread in Coeur d’Alene, I checked out their selection of interfacing and found one I hadn’t seen before, Pellon 281. It is not on my master list of Pellon products. Is it a new offering? The Pellon website has this description:

Pellon 281 Woven Stretch Fusible is a lightweight, woven, two-way stretch interfacing. It is sheer and silky, offering a luxurious hand and soft support in blouses, dresses, lightweight outerwear and lightweight suit fabrics. Woven Stretch Fusible fuses easily to hard-to-fuse fabrics such as rayon and acetate. Great for both lightweight and midweight fabrics.

I think it will be awesome for facings on these rayon batik tops. I had already fused interfacing to the top I just made, so I haven’t had a chance to try the Pellon 281 yet. I bought three yards. It’s only 20" wide.

While I was on the Pellon website, I ran across two other new-to-me interfacings. One is SF568. The description says:

Pellon® SF568 Lightweight Shape-Flex® is a lightweight woven, fusible interfacing and part of our popular regular Shape-Flex® interfacing line.  It provides lightweight, yet crisp support for collars, cuffs, yokes, pockets, facings, and other detail areas of a garment. It can also add body and permanent stability when used as a backing for needlework and punch embroidery. Lightweight Shape-Flex® is intended for light woven and knit fabrics.

I am excited about trying this one if I can ever find it. Shape-Flex 101 (SF101) is great for many projects, but it is too heavy for some things.

And the last one is Pellon 460, which sounds like it would be great for activewear:

Pellon® Stretch Fuse™ is a lightweight, multi-directional, stretchy fusible interfacing perfect for fabrics of all kinds. It provides soft and supple results, while maintaining body and shape!  The protective liner aids in the fusing process with stretch fabrics.

Unfortunately, an internet search for online retailers carrying either SF568 or Pellon 460 isn’t yielding much. I tried to order some of the SF568 from one of the online retailers and got an e-mail saying they didn’t have it in stock. I have an order in for the Pellon 460—the retailer’s website claims it is in stock, so I guess we will find out.

I sent an e-mail to Pellon customer service asking them what is going on with these two products. This is not the first time I have tried to order a Pellon product only to be told by the retailer that it isn’t in stock and/or they can’t get it. I wish these companies would stop teasing sewists with unicorns that don’t exist.

If I were in charge of Pellon, I would do the following:

  • Simplify the naming system so it makes sense

  • Make up comprehensive data sheets for each product like Vlisilene does (the European interfacing supplier) that show usage, temperature settings for fusing, etc., and offer them as downloads on the Pellon website.

  • Figure out a way to educate consumers about the products, whether that is with updated YouTube tutorials, brand ambassadors, posted information in big box stores like Hobby Lobby, or something else. (I would sign up to be a brand ambassador! 🙋🏻‍♀️)

  • Replace the ubiquitous nonwoven interfacings (ick) at all big-box retailers with the higher-quality specialty products.

Let’s hope that these three interfacings are new products and that Pellon is making a step in the right direction. I think they got lazy when they were able to sell their products through Joanns and now they have to up their game.