How to Sew With Fleece

Sewing fleece is easy and many beginners find that this is one of the best fabrics to start with. If you make minor mistakes when you sew fleece, it's not as noticeable as it is when you use other fabrics. With a bit of minor adjustments to your machine, you will be sewing fleece in no time at all. Read on to learn how to sew with fleece.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Find the "nap" of the fabric. Fleece has a noticeable nap that you can find when you use the "pet the cat" method. Simply run your hand along the fabric and see which way the fleece's fuzziness naturally goes. It's best to sew your garments with the nap down.

2. Change your sewing machine needle if you are using particularly thick fleece. If your fleece is of average thickness, there's no need to change it.

3. Change the length of your stitches. Because fleece is much thicker than cotton fabrics, you should set the length of your sewing machine somewhere between a medium and basting stitch. Test on a small piece of fabric before working on your main piece.

4. Loosen the pressure foot on your sewing machine. This helps the fabric to not bunch up. If you still have problems getting the fabric under the pressure foot, use a seam ripper to gently push the fabric down and under the foot.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean your sewing machine frequently when sewing fleece. Fleece creates a lot of fabric dust that can easily clog your machine and affect its performance.
• Don't use an iron on fleece fabric. It will easily melt, leaving a big iron mark on your fabric.