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Sewing with cork

Cork is quite the dream fabric!

It's incredibly strong, it's naturally water resistant, and so it's the perfect fabric for making things like wash bags, the base of bags or things that you like to wipe clean. And, on top of all of that, it's sustainable!

Here are some of my tips for working with cork.

Fraying
Cork doesn't fray, so it makes it an ideal fabric for decorative effects like appliqué, or cutting with tools like pinking shears. It also means you don't have to finish the seams.

Ironing
You're going to need to iron your cork, and you need to iron from the wrong side – ironing on the front could cause the cork to warp. Cork has a fabric on the back, making it ideal for ironing. If you do need to iron from the front, test on a small scrap of your chosen cork fabric first. If you need to get rid of any wrinkles on the cork once it's made into the finished item, just use a waft of steam from the iron rather than placing the iron directly onto the fabric.

Stabilizing
You can use fusible stabilizers, wadding/batting and fleeces with cork, but make sure you iron these on from the wrong side of the cork. This means you'll need to place the iron directly onto the interfacing; make sure you use a gentle touch as you do this, lifting the iron up and down several times and blasting steam with each downward application.

Needles
As for needles, you can use a regular universal needle – you don't need anything like a leather needle. If you're sewing through lots of layers, and cork and interfacing are included in these, you may want to use a denim or jeans needle. This is very strong and can punch its way through thick or layered fabrics.

Sewing feet
You should be able to use your standard sewing machine foot, but if you do find the cork is sticking to the bottom of your foot then try using a walking (dual/even-feed) foot or non-slip foot. This will help the cork glide under as you sew.

Cleaning
I wouldn't put cork fabric into a washing machine, but as it is water resistant, you should be able to wipe it clean.

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