The magic of Stitch-n-Steam

Yesterday I showed you to finish up the ellie mae tote bag using leftover pieces from another quilt project and HeatnBond fusible fleece as part of the lining.

My version of the ellie mae Pretty Pieced Purses pattern

Today I’ll show you another very versatile product – Stitch-n-Steam by Unique.

The package contains 1 piece of polyester fabric 18″ x 62″. Stitch-N-Steam is a steam activated product, designed to add texture to fabric. After steaming, fabrics will shrink approximately 30%.

Stitch-n-Steam by Unique

Before using the Stitch-N-Steam in a project, I wanted to do some test samples just to see how this product works. I chose small pieces of a variety of fabrics – cotton, part of a pre-printed panel, a pre-printed stripe, multi-colored stripe fabric and a piece cut from a wool sweater. The squares are about 10″ but you have to remember that they will shrink about 30% and will be about 7″ when finished.

Fabric samples ready to stitch on Stitch-n-Steam

When using Stitch-N-Steam, you start by cutting a piece the same size as the fabric you want to texturize. Pin the Stitch-N-Steam to the wrong side of the fabric, then start stitching a grid. You can stitch on the Stitch-N-Steam or on the fabric you want to texturize. You can draw a grid as a guide for stitching or just use the width of your sewing foot or a design line on the fabric as a guide. You’ll get the best results by stitching lines about ½” – ¾” apart. I also tried a variety of threads – light-weight, heavy-weight and variegated. Metallic thread would also give a nice effect. You can use a straight stitch or a simple decorative stitch like a serpentine stitch.

Here are some of my stitching samples.

Stitching completed on fabric and Stitch-n-Steam

Stitching completed on Stitch-n-Steam and part of an old wool sweater

After the stitching is done, you apply steam from your iron to the Stitch-N-Steam and then the magic happens! Don’t let your iron touch the fabric – just hold it about 1″ above the Stitch-N-Steam and watch the texturizing appear.

Hold a steam iron over the Stitch-n-Steam and it shrinks to create a textured fabric.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you some ideas for using Stitch-n-Steam and texturized fabric in a project.

This is part 4 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 3: Finishing the ellie may tote bag

Go to part 5: Using Stitch-n-Steam texturized fabric in your projects

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4 comments

Pam August 21, 2018 - 12:22 pm
Oh what fun! Thanks for introducing this. I can see all kinds of uses in art quilts, bags, and garments!
Jean Boyd August 21, 2018 - 1:08 pm
It's a great product. Hope you enjoy using it!
Gloria Sund March 18, 2018 - 4:48 pm
I have used Stitch-n-Steam and it is amazing. I was surprised the first time I used it, how simple it was to use.
Linda Cartweight March 15, 2018 - 11:03 pm
This is an awesome product. I need to find some.
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