I want to make a skirt out of tissue lame. Is it better to hand sew this or use a sewing machine?

Question

I'm planning on doing a tiered/ ruffle effect, and need to do alot of sewing. I don't want to ruin the fabric as this design will require quite a few yards of fabric. Additionally, does anyone know where to buy a COTTON tissue lame? I know this exists, but have yet to find it. I have only found nylon-polyester blends which ... are polyester- nylon. ICK! Any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

I would suggest wondering over to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php

and asking in there clothing forum, i bet someone will know the answer.

Answer 2

Ive been sewing for many, many years and tissue lame is my number one most hated fabric! I refuse to sew any tissue lame or the so called liquid lame for any reason, either by hand or machine. Once a needle broke when it hit one of those little metal dots, and it broke with such force that the business end of the needle hit me in the face only an inch from my eye.  That might have been tragic!  Since then I only sew with softer foil print fabrics -such as the quilter's cotton mentioned, not the hard bonded metal dots of tissue lame.  Foil print and lame are different fabrics, the foil is heat set on the fabric and it remains soft and sew-able and is quite nice to work with and looks very pretty.  Foil prints are used on cottons, polyesters, rayons, acetates, and occasionally on fancy silks.  I buy mine at a warehouse outlet for evening ans fancy fabrics downtown Toronto, not much of a help, I know.  Stores that specialize in evening fabrics and speciality quilt fabrics might have what you are looking for.

Answer 3

What I think you're thinking of as cotton tissue lame is generally sold as "quilter's lame", and doesn't have much cotton.  e.g.:

http://www.quiltedfox.com/fabricsc2.htm

Miserable stuff to sew, and not as shiny as tissue lame, which is also miserable to sew.

Tissue lame tends to shred under the slightest provocation.  My suggestion is to serge it and back each seam with something like "seamsgreat" or other lightweight stable fabric.  Some people have been known to fuse the lame to lightweight interfacing... that may help your ruffled effect.  Or consider underlining with organza.