Our tips for sewing with minky fabric will help you to get the most out of your creations.
What is minky
Minky is a polyester fabric with a stretch. Being a knit fabric, it will stretch but it doesn’t tend to fray. This means that you can cut it and leave the edge without it unravelling. The long pile, around 3mm for most minky fabrics, but longer with super plush can be easily shed when first cut. It’s super soft, cuddly, squishy feel makes it ideal for all kinds of baby projects, soft furnishings and tactile creations. On the whole, it is easy to care for and work with, but our top tips will help make sewing with minky a breeze.
Tips for sewing with minky
- Prewash other fabrics, cotton, bamboo or other natural fabrics will shrink when first washed. Minky is polyester and will not, so make sure to prewash other fabrics before sewing to minky.
- Put the minky layer on to the bottom of the machine. This will help to prevent stretching and will make it easier to see what you are doing.
- If possible use a walking foot. This helps to take all fabrics under the foot evenly.
- Decide which direction you want the nap of the fabric on the finished item. Make sure that you cut it so that it will be the right way.
- As it stretches more along the grain, sew with the grain first to make it easier to work with.
- Cut the minky slightly larger than you need, you can trim the seam allowance afterwards. This makes it easier to work with and helping to prevent excessive stretching.
- If you are using a very thick piled minky, shave or trim the pile in the seam allowance. This will make it easier to sew and also make the seams look much neater.
- Use lots and lots of pins or clips. The more you use, the easier it will be to hold the fabric in place. Our clips are great for this.
- If you top stitch around the edge of your finished item, the minky will sit better. It will give a much more professional finish and help keep the fabric where it should be.
- After cutting the fabric, pull at the edges with your fingers to remove any loose fibres before you start sewing.
Caring for minky
- You do not need to prewash minky before sewing. It is always best to wash items before first use, to get rid of any manufactures residue.
- Minky is machine washable either cold or warm.
- You can tumble dry minky on low, but this might cause some fabrics to lose their textured pattern.
- Do not iron minky. It can damage the pile. Heat will remove the dimple dot effect in embossed fabric and can even melt minky.
- Minky fabric is very difficult to dye. Even specialist polyester dies will often damage the fabric, so it is better to purchase the colour you need.
I hope that these tips for sewing with minky have inspired you to get creating. Check out our full range of minky fabrics here.
