Block Fusing

So you are cutting a pattern. You finish all of the fashion fabric and then it is on to the interfacing. Gotta go and get it out. Cut that too and then painstakingly align to the correct pieces to the fashion fabric– and they seem to never align properly, so you have little bits that need to be trimmed off. This method is ok for a few pieces, but when you have a lot of pieces to interface then it is not efficient. In the garment industry, the ideal way to interface many pieces at a time is by block fusing.

Just a side note- iron on interfacing is know as “fusible” in manufacturing terminology. Interfacing can have many connotations, but fusible is it’s own thing. So when I say fusible, I am referring to iron on interfacing. “Fuse” refers to adhering the fusible to the fabric.

Back to block fusing: a portion of fabric is set aside to be bonded with the same length of fusible. This is done by a special machine that does the same task as an iron would, but on a larger scale. The pieces are then laid out on this block fused fabric and cut out. No messy trimming, no duplicate cutting. This is something I utilize when I have more than 3 pieces to cut that require fusible. Here is how I do it:

1) Cut out all of the pieces that do not require fusible, ensuring that there is enough fabric left over to cut the fusible pieces.

2) Iron on your fusible to the leftover fabric.

3) Cut out your pieces.

Yes, that easy! Now, on a small scale project this can take extra fabric and fusible, but the results are optimal in comparison to individual cutting. You can add just small amounts of fusible to select areas if you want. Play around with the options and see how this technique can work for you.