Tips for Sewing with Minky

Best Tips for Sewing With Minky

 I have made too many baby blankets with minky to count and have wanted on more than one occasion to rip all of my hair out, scream every bad word I know, and throw my sewing machine as far I could see.  I have sworn again and again to never sew with minky, but after a little research and lots of trial and error I have made friends with it and it has even become one of my favorite fabrics.  Who doesn't love the soft cuddliness of dimple dot minky or the plush luxury of rose swirl minky.  I have compiled this list of tips and tricks to help you have a great minky sewing experience.

1.      Pre-wash any other fabric that will be sewn with the minky, since minky is polyester and does not shrink.

2.      Dritz Washaway Wonder Tape or other washable basting spray helps prevent the minky from stretching, sliding, and puckering.  It is my best friend and has kept me from throwing my sewing machine through the window on more then one occasion.

3.      A walking foot is a must!  It helps evenly feed all the layers.  Mine is nearly permanently on my machine and I often forget when I have accidentally switched out feet what a huge difference it makes.

4.      Use a long stitch length (mine is usually at 4). 

5.      Use a good quality needle; size 90/14 Schmetz works well for me.

6.      When sewing minky with another layer of fabric, put the minky on the bottom to allow the feed dogs of the machine to help guide the fabric and prevent extra stretching.

7.      Remember that minky has a nap (direction of the fabric pile) and to position it the way you would like it lay.  

8.      I prefer to cut my non-stretch (like cotton) material to the correct size and leave a little extra minky around the edge or seam allowance and cut off the excess after I sew the seam.  I follow edge of my non-stretch material for my seam guide to allow for any fussiness the minky might have.

9.      DO NOT Iron or microwave minky - it will cause it to melt.

10.      If you are not using any basting tape or spray, then pin every 1”.  Even pinning every 1 to 2 inches can cause the minky to become very fussy and difficult to work with.

11.      I like to use a half-inch seam with minky since it is very heavy (especially when wet) and tends to pull on narrower seams, sometimes even causing the seams of the other fabric to be pulled out.

12. Minky fabrics wash and dry very well but some textured minky will lose its textured look by being dried.

Rose Swirl Minky

13.  If working with a long pile minky, like Rose Swirl Minky, you can always shave down the area in the seam allowance to make it easier to sew.

14,  Minky stretches horizontally across the grain, but has much less stretch vertically with the grain.  I often use this to my advantage and sew my seam with the grain first.

Good Luck with all your Minky endeavors!