If you love the look of vintage chenille fabric, you can easily duplicate that look for any of your projects. The technique involves layering fabrics, stitching, cutting and fluffing, and the resulting fabric is suitable for garments, quilts, pillows, etc. It’s warm because of the multiple layers, and it’s comfy with a fluffy texture.

Choosing Fabrics

Chenille works best with fabrics that aren’t too tightly woven. Looser weave fabrics, like gauze and homespun, will produce more fringing. Quilting cottons, rayon challis and flannels are also ideal candidates, and each will produce a distinctly different looking fluff. Knit fabrics do not work for this technique. It’s a good idea to pre-shrink your choices first to avoid having the multiple layers shrink at different rates and cause distortion.

You’ll need several fabric layers—anywhere from 4-8 layers, depending on the fabric weight and the desired finished hand. The fabric layers can all be the same, or they can be different, both in color and fabric type.

Stacking Up

Cut the fabrics at least 2” larger all around than the finished amount needed. If you’re making a garment, rough-cut the pattern shapes this amount larger. Smooth the fabrics flat on a surface and layer them in the desired order with the lowest layer face down and the remaining layers face up. Note that if the top fabric is a print, it likely won’t be discernible once the piece is finished; only the bottom layer will be. If you’re making a quilt, the bottom fabric (face down) will become the quilt backing; on a garment, it will be the “lining.” However, some quilters prefer the fluffy side to be the quilt backing as it’s soft to the skin.

If you want a multi-color layer, arrange scraps across the surface atop another fabric layer—just overlap to avoid a gap in the finished pile.

Pin the layers together randomly to help with shifting.

Ready, Set…Stitch

Draw a single line on the top layer of fabric at a 45° angle to one edge. On a garment, the line should be measured from the front and/or back center line, on a quilt or pillow, from the project edge. It’s important that the line is on the bias grain of the fabric.

Set the machine for a smaller than normal stitch length—2.0mm—and sew along the drawn line. Using the presser foot as a guide for spacing, sew parallel lines across the entire fabric piece 3/8”-1/2” apart.

Using a walking foot or dual feed will help keep the layers feeding evenly, but don’t worry if they shift a little, as it won’t affect the outcome of the project.

Cutting Up

If you’re making a quilt, now is the time to square it up and trim off the excess fabric. Do the same for a pillow. If you’re making a garment, lay the pattern over the stitched fabric layers and cut out the shape needed.

Then come the magic—slashing the channels! Without cutting through the bottom layer, use small sharp pointed scissors or a chenille or slash cutter to cut between each line of stitching.

A Slash Cutter, like this one from Clover, is a great tool to use for this step. The Slash Cutter is available at your local retailer or can be purchased on Amazon. (We may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase via our Amazon link).

Once all the channels are slashed, use a large zigzag to stitch around the edges of the piece.

Finishing Up

Once the chenille process is complete, make the project as you normally would. For garments, the backing fabric can act as a lining and seam allowances can be bound or strapped to hide the rough edges. It’s best to avoid the extra bulk of a facing or hem, so bind garment edges instead of conventional construction.

Into the Wash

Throw the finished project into the washer and dryer as you would normally care for the fabric type. Adding a bath towel helps with fringing by providing an abrasive surface during agitation.

When the piece comes out of the dryer, it should be fluffed and chenille-y looking. If it didn’t fluff as much as you’d like, brush the surface with a stiff nylon brush or a chenille brush to add more richness.

Time for Play!

Make some test samples before starting your project:

• Experiment by stacking the same fabrics in differing orders and see the difference in the finished looks.
• Use a different number of layers to vary the fringed looks.
• Stitch different width channels. You can go all the way up to 1” apart, but the backing fabric shows through at the larger widths…not necessarily bad, just a different look.
• Work with all the same color solid fabric for a seriously plush look.
• Change line direction to form a chevron—but keep the lines at a 45° angle to the fabric grain.

~Linda Griepentrog is the owner of G Wiz Creative Services and she does writing, editing and designing for companies in the sewing, crafting and quilting industries. In addition, she escorts fabric shopping tours to Hong Kong. She lives at the Oregon Coast with her husband Keith, and three dogs, Yohnuh, Abby, and Lizzie. Contact her at .

If you’ve noticed the details on your favorite handbag or tote, it’s very likely that the flap closure or pocket is secured with a magnetic fastener. These handy pull-aparts are easy to operate, reliable and they’re compatible with all bag fabrics.

The magnets come in both round and square shapes, in sizes ranging from ½” to 1” and they are available in a variety of colors and thicknesses, depending on the brand.

Purse closure snaps come in four parts—the upper and lower snap sections (male and female) that are visible in the completed installation, and two metal washers that go under those sections to support and anchor the pieces. The washers have slots in them to indicate the proper positioning under the pronged outer sections.

Location, Location

• When applying magnetic fasteners to a bag, be sure to apply the male portion of the snap to the flap lining portion before the bag flap pieces are joined so that the innards are hidden.
• Apply the female portion to the bag front right side before the lining is applied.

Behind the Scenes

It’s imperative to interface the area where the snaps will go. If your pattern doesn’t call for this, simply fuse a 2” square of interfacing to the wrong side of the snap placement area on both sides of the closure areas. A layer of fusible fleece can also be used if fabrics are lightweight.

Use the slotted washer as a guide to mark the slot locations on the interfaced areas (1). There may be a center closure, or multiple closures, depending on the bag style.

Use a seam ripper or sharp scissor points to make very small slashes at the markings through all layers. The slashes should be smaller than the markings so that they fit snugly over the snap prongs. If your fabric is ravelly, coat the slits with seam sealant and allow to dry before continuing.

From the fabric right side, insert the prongs of the appropriate snap fastener half through the slits to the wrong side (2).

To reinforce the closure, make corresponding slits in a piece of fleece, vinyl or stiff interfacing and place the piece over the prongs (3).

Push the washer securely onto the prongs, then bend the prongs inward or outward (4, 5). Note that bending them outward creates a slightly flatter closure since they’re not on top of each other. To get a flatter surface, use pliers or the flat end of a screwdriver to bend the prongs.

If desired, stitch a square or circle around the closure through all the bag layers (6).

To prevent imprinting of the pronged area onto the bag right side after pressing, fuse a small rectangle of fleece over the back of the snap area to cushion it from the outer fabric (7).

Forces to be Reckoned With

Depending on the strength of your magnetic fastener, one half may have a tendency to adhere to the throat plate of your machine while you’re trying to stitch. Simply pick it up off the machine bed and hold that section while continuing to stitch.

These hidden magnetic snap closures can be accented with buttons over them for a decorative look on the outside.

Sew-on Closures

In addition to the pronged closures mentioned above, there are also sew-on magnetic closures. These are applied to the right side of the bag front and to the flap lining. Reinforcing behind these closures as noted above is recommended to help ease the stress and wear and tear from repeated opening and closing.

Looking for something a little more decorative? Some decorative sew-on magnetic closures have leather accents with pre-punched holes for stitching.

~Linda Griepentrog is the owner of G Wiz Creative Services and she does writing, editing and designing for companies in the sewing, crafting and quilting industries. In addition, she escorts fabric shopping tours to Hong Kong. She lives at the Oregon Coast with her husband Keith, and three dogs, Yohnuh, Abby, and Lizzie. Contact her at .