floppy ears ,any suggestions ?
Susan -homedecsewing
| Posted in Quilting and Home Decor on
Good morning, before I start trying to fix, I thought I’d be wise to confer with the smart people that may have a better idea as to make the 5”flange stand up on a king sham. It is a heavy stiff upholstery weight . I am going to try stuffing the hollow edge,maybe unless anyone has any other ideas . So I’m anxious to get some help. Thanks , Susan
Replies
How much do you want it to stand up? If it is heavy, stiff upholstery fabric, it should have enough body not to droop. Have you tried interlining it with a heavier weight iron-on interfacing or other heavier weight fabric? Alternatively, you could make the flaps 3" & they wouldn't be so heavy as to droop.
Good ideas, but its a project that I finished for a wonderful client, and I asked if I could make them 3" and she said ,oh but I like them so big. And so did I as I designed the floppy things,its really stiff already and a velvet that I can't fuse . I am thinking of sewing some cardboard into the seams .Its for the back of the bed. My commercial Phaff will handle it .I'll let you know if it works. they are huge !you can see a picture of them on my website. http://www.homedecsewing.com on page 3 of pics #38.they are hidden a bit.
Thick batting works well to let the flanges stand up. It gets really thick but your Pfaff should handle it just fine.
Dear Susan, I am sewing some purse organizers and the instructions said to stiffen them with stencil plastic. It works well for this size and I believe you could find something similar at Lowe's,in a size that you could cut to size. God bless you Galey
I would really hesitate on the cardboard - what about cleaning and/or washing them, unless you left slits to remove them when necessary. I would suggest that you try the ideas from the other posters first: batting, stencil plastic, stays. There is also the plastic canvas from the craft store (the kind that people do cross-stitch on) that could be considered. Let us know what you decide to do.
you are soo right! I took out the topstitching and put some 8 oz. batting in from the edge a few inches into the inside edge , and re-topstitched thru all layers. The ears are now standing, thanks all, I'm so glad that I asked!
I've never made anything like that but I wonder if perhaps a couple of layers of stiff nylon netting or crinoline fabric would work.....by the way your work is beautiful.
Ok - you are going to get some very good, serious ideas, but the title of your post reminded me of a song - "do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow, can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier......?"
Sorry - just needed a laugh - thank-you capt. kangaroo! Say good-night Gracie........Good-night Gracie! (only the oldies will understand)
Edited 5/3/2007 5:08 pm ET by spicegirl1
Ok spicegirl1, but the song goes do your boobs hang low, lol, at least in my neighborhood. we had 29 kids in our group of 5 houses growing up in the 60's.what a riot we had ,always something going on. That was the song that the icecream truck played,we added our own words. I've got your attention, now any other ideas for me ?Floppy ears ? remember ?
The Captain never did boobs! Try boning?
Aw, I wanted to see a bunny.Marcy
Actually, I first envisioned the bunnies with the big floppy ears, then play-boy bunny ears, never gave a thought to the boob!
Now when I look in the dreaded mirror, that song comes to mind! giggling at my reflection. Great, just great. Now dh knows I am crazy! (Maybe I'll let him in on why I am laughing some day)
I love the bunny song, too, but your title reminded me of a description of Hugh Grant's hair...wasn't one of his characters called "Flopsy" because of it?
For your flange, if you haven't finished it already, you can fuse heavyweight interfacing into it to make it stand up. If you have finished it and don't want to take it apart, try this: on the back side, open up the vertical seam of the flange, and insert folded pieces of tissue paper into the flange. For a softer look, crumple the tissue and lightly stuff the flange.
Decorators often use tissue to stuff valances and ruffles on pieces that aren't going to be laundered very often. You can tack the seam closed again, and then just remove the paper when you launder the sham, then replace it with fresh tissue. Make sure to use white tissue so that any moisture won't transfer color from the paper to the fabric.
My daughter made a hat with a stiff brim. We used a pellon product like sew-in interfacing but much thicker than interfacing and much stiffer. I can't remember if it had a specific name, but we got it at JoAnn's and it worked wonderfully. It might work for your flanges.
Vilene is what we use to stiffen the skirts of Irish dancing costumes - it holds its shape, doesn't cause grief in the sewing machine, is washable. It's apparently the same stuff as is used in automotive air filters. The trick is where to get it. I got mine from a lady in Nova Scotia who sells stuff to people making ID costumes and that's probably your best best. There is an online forum for ID costume makers but I don't have the number offhand. You might try http://www.dance-again.com or the general north american ID forum - http://www.voy.com/60473/ and someone will be able to hook you up.
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