If you want to learn how to prepare fabric for cutting bias garments, I suggest watching this this very helpful video of Charles Kleibacker, Cutting the Fabric, 1979.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BGP68kq_Q0

If you don’t know about Charles Kleibacker. He was an American designer and master technician of clothing cut and hung on the bias. Needless to say, I am a huge admirer. Although Mr. Kleibacker passed away in 2010, his work and legend continues.

Susan Khalje did a great interview with Mr. Kleibacker in Threads Magazine (March 2008, issue 135). Susan is also a wonderful technician and teacher of fine couture methods. I highly recommend taking one of her couture classes. It will change the way you sew. She showed me how to cut and sew my first bias gown using couture methods. I’ve been hooked ever since then.

CUTTING FABRIC ON THE BIAS

Cutting fabric on the bias requires great care, but it isn’t as difficult as people may think. It’s like following a recipe. If you take your time at each step and pay attention to the details, you should get it right. My method for cutting fabric (specifically silk charmeuse) on the bias is similar but slightly different than Mr. Kleibacker’s. Much like making a souffle, there are certain steps you must follow, but there are always ways to make it your own recipe.

1. Start with a high quality silk fabric. I have had good success with on-line purchases from Thai Silks, Mood Fabrics, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics NYC,  and B&J Fabrics . I also like Textile Fabrics in Nashville.
2. Cut or tear the amount of fabric you need for your project, plus 3-4 extra inches
   • I snip my silk charmeuse at the selvedge edge and tear straight across. I know Mr. Kleibacker wouldn’t have appproved, but this works fine for most plain weave 100% cottons and silks and satin weave silks (such as charmeuse). 
3. Wash the silk in the machine on delicate cycle. Hang it to dry or lay it flat. Do not dry silk in a dryer. Silk is pretty durable, but it’s weakest when it is wet.
   • One reason I wash the fabric is because I generally make lingerie that I plan to wash so getting the shrinkage out beforehand is important. If you plan to dry-clean your garment, then a steam-bath as Mr. Kleibacker demonstrated is fine. 
4. Iron fabric on the wrong side with iron set on medium-hot heat (wool setting) and steam.
5. Lay fabric right side up in a single layer on top of a cutting mat.
   • In the video, Mr. Kleibacker is cutting two layers of silk taffeta. I usually work with slippery silk charmeuse, so I prefer to cut one layer at a time. His method is fine when you are cutting mirror image pieces, e.g. pant legs and your fabric is heavier and a solid color with no pattern.
   • If I plan to use French seams in my garment, I lay the fabric right side up. Otherwise, wrong side up is fine.
   • Sometimes I use gift wrapping tissue paper between the mat and silk. This is especially useful in winter when there is more static electricity between the mat and the silk.
6. Line the selvedge edge of fabric with the straight edge of the mat. Use your fingertips to gently coax the selvedge edge into place. It will lay flat and straight but it will take a little patience. Place weights on corners when you get a side completely straight before moving to next side of the square.
   • I appreciate that Mr. Kleibacker was not a fan of trying to true the crosswise grain edge of fabric and strictly focused on aligning the pattern with the selvedge edge of the fabric. I have read of people “truing” fabric, but I have not had much luck doing so. I also have never had a problem with high quality silks. 
7. Lay the pattern on the fabric. Use weights or books to keep in place. Use a ruler and the markings on the rotary mat to make sure your pattern’s grain directional line is parallel with the straight of grain of the fabric.
   • I really like Mr. Kleibacker’s method of leaving a selvedge and crosswise grain edge on his muslin pattern to help with aligning the pattern correctly on the fabric. I have used this method. However, I find an L shaped ruler works great as well in making sure the directional line on my pattern lines up with the grain lines on the fabric and the grid lines on my rotary mat.

     

     

     You can also use a tape measure and check that the distance from various points on the directional line of the pattern are the same distance to the selvedge edge of the fabric. Adjust pattern until distances are all the same.

8. Lay all pattern pieces in the same direction (top to bottom) and at right angles to the next piece as you go around the body. In other words, pattern pieces that will share a seam should be at right angles to each other.
9. Use a tracing wheel and non-wax tracing paper to mark the seam lines. Slide the tracing paper between the pattern and fabric and gently move it around the pattern edge until all seam lines are marked. It is very important to mark the seam lines before cutting. You should never use the cut edge as a guide when sewing bias. A cut edge on the bias distorts and the threads explode at the edge. The edge is not accurate. This is also why your pattern should include extra wide seam allowances (1 1/2 inches).
   • Mr. Kleibacker uses waxed carbon paper to mark seam lines. I have used waxed carbon paper to mark seam lines in the past, and I have even made the mistake of using the yellow carbon paper. He’s right, it will not come out of your fabric. I have also found that white doesn’t come out very well either. I prefer to use non-wax tracing paper. In his example, the pants will be lined and therefore any markings will be covered. I make unlined lingerie garments so wax paper is not ideal for that reason. 
10. Cut the fabric using a rotary cutter.
    • I prefer a rotary cutter to scissors. It is more precise and does not lift the fabric like scissors do. Silk also dulls the blades of scissors quickly. Blades of a rotary cutter are fairly inexpensive to replace.
11. Once the pieces are cut, carefully remove the weights and pattern without moving the cut pieces too much. Thread trace the marked seam and stay-stitch armholes and necklines.
    • Depending on the garment and my experience making it, I may skip thread tracing and will just go straight to pinning pieces together and immediately hand-baste the pieces together. If it is a complicated garment with many pieces, then thread tracing is good way to ensure that your chalk lines don’t fade away before you have time to construct it. I also generally stay-stitch on the machine instead of by hand.
12. When hand basting seams, follow Mr. Kleibacker’s method of overlap basting in the video.
13. Check the fit.
14. When satisfied with the fit, you are ready to sew the garment with the machine.