Because it’s technically a knit, it doesn’t fray. This means you don’t need to worry about finishing edges or seam allowances, or even hemming, which can really speed up the construction of your garment.
For the knitted wool to become “boiled”, it is placed in hot water and agitated to shrink and compress the fibres. This makes the resulting fabric much denser and bulkier, with natural water resistance, breathability, and a soft handfeel. It is much less stretchy and more stable than the original knitted fabric.
If it’s your first time sewing with a heavier wool fabric, boiled wool can be much easier to handle and get a pleasing result.
There are lots of great patterns designed specifically for boiled wools. Tessuti are well known for their range. The Unlined Raw-Edged Coat by The Maker’s Atelier and the Muna and Broad Mallee Jacket are just two other options. I’ve tried a couple of boiled wool specific patterns from Schnittquelle, but these are not for the faint hearted- the instructions are in German, very brief, and even Google Translate was a bit stumped on some of the abbreviations and terminology.
We did this blog post last year on winter coat pattern suggestions, and you might also find some ideas here.
Some tips for a better finish:
If your pattern has unfinished edges, consider your approach to cutting out. You don’t want visible, jagged cut marks. Think about using a rotary cutter, or drawing around the outline of your pattern pieces directly onto your fabric before cutting out with scissors.
You might need to alter the way you add notches and pattern markings to your piece, especially of these marks then become visible on the outside of the garment. Tailors tacks or chalk may be a better choice than snips in the seam allowance.
Rather than using the traditional method of placing your fabric pieces right side together and then sewing the seam, you might prefer to overlap the seam allowance on the two pieces you are joining. Two lines of stitching, close to each edge of the seam allowances, will minimise bulk, avoid the need to press the seam open, and stop the seam allowances from flapping about.
If you do go the traditional route of joining pieces, at the bottom of the seam, trim the seam allowances at a 45° angle so they don’t peek out at the bottom of the garment. You might also like to topstitch each seam allowance down to prevent them from moving around.
If leaving the edges unfinished isn’t for you, remember that any hemming or edging is going to create lots of bulk due to the thickness of the fabric. An option is to use a bias binding for a neat edge finish without the bulk.
We hope these tips are helpful!
