How to Mend or Sew a Gauze Skirt or Clothing
Express your inner peasant by mending or sewing a gauze skirt or clothing. Gauze is a type of cotton fabric with an open weave often used for peasant blouses, cheesecloth and baby slings. It is lightweight and easy to wash, but it can over stretch, making it difficult to sew or mend. As long as you take the right precautions, gauze can be mended or sewed by even beginner sewers for skirts and other types of clothing.
Things You'll Need
- Gauze
- Fabric steamer
- Paper pattern
- Straight pins
- Fabric shears
- Jersey needle
- Sewing machine
- Tissue paper
- Sewing needle and cotton thread
Instructions
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Wash the gauze in cool water as a pretreatment before using it in a sewing project, such as a skirt. Gauze has a tendency to be flimsy and washing it helps preshrink it. Allow the fabric to air dry.
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2
Examine the gauze to be sure which side is the correct side because it can be difficult in sheer-type fabrics. Steam the fabric if it becomes very crinkly as this gently softens the fabric into staying flat. Carefully pin the pattern onto the gauze using straight pins.
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Cut along the pattern using fabric shears. Hold onto the fabric firmly to prevent over stretching. Insert a jersey-type needle into the sewing machine, which is well-suited for gauze. Pin the skirt together so it is ready to be sewn.
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Sew the skirt or clothing using a sewing machine. Hold the fabric together so it does not get stretched. Use a straight stitch on all the seams with your machine. Sandwich the fabric between tissue paper for curved areas, such as a neckline or a shoulder, to prevent the seams from puckering.
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Hem a gauze skirt by rolling the bottom edge approximately 1 inch. Stitch a straight stitch carefully along the bottom of the skirt.
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Pin together small tears in the gauze to mend it. Thread your sewing needle with cotton thread. Knot the ends of the thread and starting sewing from the wrong side of the fabric. Sew the tear one-quarter inch from both sides of the tear using a simple running stitch. You want to use as little stitching as possible so it doesn't show up as much.
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Sew torn seams by gathering the fabric as evenly as possible to prevent puckering. Sew roughly 1 inch around the torn seam to hide the mended area. Add patches underneath the clothing if necessary, and match the fabric and color as best as you can.
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Tips & Warnings
Gauze skirts can be hemmed with a serger to form a thin hem.
Consider adding a trim to gauze hems to add firmness to the flimsy fabric.
Bias tape is another option when handling gauze fabric as it can be used along seams or the hem.
Try fusing interfacing on the gauze before cutting into it.
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
