Since I was so busy with con crunch I didn't really post progress photos from Jolyne and Jotaro, so I'll be starting to post some WIP breakdowns with useful tips and tricks I learned along the way! Buckle up for a long post below!
Here's an overview of the applique process for Jolyne. The main techniques I learned from a spandex applique tutorial by Spandex Simplified which you can find in my Linktree. I started by planning and drawing all of the applique designs on my sewing patterns, experimenting with a couple different scales of the grid and spiderweb design until I found something that looked proportionate to me and the artwork. This also allowed me to pre-plan for the pattern matching of the grid on the seams of the pants and top. Additionally, the top applique pattern is designed to hide the bust dart seams so it has a visually seamless appearance. The darts are curved rather than angular to avoid a pointed shape with the excess fabric cut away and stitched in a lapped seam style to reduce bulk.
After finalizing the applique patterns in paper, I used chalk tracing paper and a tracing wheel to transfer them to the white holographic spandex. Basically for each blue garment fabric piece, there was a corresponding white piece of the same shape that I then cut the applique designs out of. I couldn't get a rotary cutter to behave for cutting the applique designs out since the spandex was slippery, so I found it worked best to just cut the designs out with a sharp pair of fabric scissors.
Odif 505 temporary fabric spray adhesive is the BOMB. I just got it from my local Joann store, but if you can't get it the Spandex Simplified tutorial compares other adhesives you can try. Basically instead of using Heat-n-Bond like for regular applique, you spray the back of your spandex applique piece and then stick it onto your base fabric. Make sure to ventilate your workspace and wear a respirator, the fumes are not good! The Odif is temporary and can be repositioned, which I had to do quite a bit especially on the pants with a ruler to get all of the grid lines perfectly straight and positioned. You can always spray a little more on your piece and try again if it loses tackiness. I also had to go back and pin down all the areas that felt loose to prevent the design from shifting while sewing.
After your designs are temporarily glued on, use a small zizag machine stitch to stitch them on permanently. From a distance the zizag is nearly invisible, and more importantly it can stretch. I used Sulky rayon thread since the shine helped it vanish into the shiny spandex. The worst part of the applique process is doing trial and error tests to find the perfect machine tension and stitch size. I recommend cutting a sizable test version of one of your applique designs, and keep playing with machine settings until you end up with pucker free results. Then don't dare change your machine settings until you're done. I usually take pictures of my machine settings to document for later in case I need to remake something. The process is such a pain but so worth it!
This post is already way too long haha. I'll post some more stretch sewing tips I've learned in the future though since it's an entirely different beast from most stitching. Let me know if you have any questions!
