Sunday 10 May 2015

How to use Bondaweb - Photo tutorial

This tutorial is for my friend Esther! Bondaweb is amazing stuff and enables you to do appliqué so crisp and neatly. So this is a very quick tutorial just to show you how to use it correctly, but the possibilities are endless and can give you such a neat professional finish. (Have a look at my previous post about simple ideas to quickly jazz up a blank T-shirt here
I love using this to do appliqué onto jersey fabrics especially as they tend to move about when you stitch onto them, but doing it this way the Bondaweb holds the design and the fabric in place. Below are two I have just recently done, one inspired by Fi Fi Lapin and the other is just something I drew.



So if you want to know how to use it, click read more!


Apologies about the poor quality images, but I was desperate to do some sewing and couldn't do any in the day as bubba was awake, so I did this in the evening, in the dark of our flat ;-)


On the left is what it looks like up close, and on the right is what it looks like on the roll. You can see in the one on the left that the glue layer has peeled off the grease proof type paper backing. Its the glue layer that fuses to the fabric when you iron it and stabilises it while you cut it out and stitch it to the other fabrics you want to attach it to.


First draw out the image that you want on the smooth paper side of your Bondaweb (draw in a corner or an edge to save the paper! This is something I'm always saying to my students!)
 Be aware that you need to draw the image in reverse as this will be stuck onto the back of your fabric, so things like letters, need to be reversed. Space out the images a little because you are then going to cut out round the shapes you have drawn ROUGHLY, its important that you don't cut on the line you have just drawn and you'll see why later.


Next with your iron on hot, lay the ROUGH side of the Bondaweb down onto the BACK of the fabric  and smooth it on with the iron. Make sure all the edges are smoothed down and stuck to the fabric. 
Allow it to cool completely before the next step!


When the fabric is cool, now cut out the shapes you have drawn with a sharp pair of scissors and this time, cut on the lines you drew. Doing this now means the fabric fibres will be glued together and this is what is so amazing about Bondaweb! It stops the fabric shapes from fraying so you can sew them on neatly. 
Peel off the paper backing. 


Position your cut out shapes with the smooth glue side down on the fabric you want to attach your design to. As you can see in the image I have layered up two bits of Bondawebbed fabric to create my design.


Carefully use the iron to attach the fabric shapes onto the fabric you want to sew it onto. Mind your fingers.


So now your motif or shapes should be firmly attached to the fabric.


Now you can sew it on! I have just used a simple straight stitch to attach this design, but you could use zig zag stitch also.


Here is my little Annabelle modelling the finished dribble bib, and boy does she need a bib at the moment! You can make your own dribble bib with my free pattern here

Hope this helps! if you have any problems or questions, comment below.

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