Why I Love Fray Check for Doll And Softie Making

My Pocket Princess Sewing Pattern has a Cotton Hair Applique Tutorial included in it!

Fray Check or Fray Stopper is heaven in a little bottle! Such a simple idea but with amazing potential to us dolly makers.

Brilliant for small doll pattern pieces. Seriously saves on time .. no more fiddly pattern pieces to serge (over-lock) .. and you don’t run the risk of fraying your cotton (especially vintage cottons) using a tight zig-zag. Simply go around the entire outside of your fabric pattern piece and let it dry … :)

It’s fabulous for using on woven fabrics (or delicate vintage fabrics) that would normally need to be serged (over-locked) to get them to stabilize for a doll/softies tummy fabric. Simply go around the entire outside of your fabric pattern piece and let it dry … :)

I use it to stop the ends of my ribbons from unraveling on me. Whether they are used on the outside as ties or bows or the ends are placed hidden in a seam … a dab of fray check and I know that ribbon won’t disintegrate.

And last but not least … cotton appliques can be made in a jiffy! Don’t have Heat & Bond fusible interfacing…. Don’t worry, seal your edges, let it dry, pin and sew in place! Read my Free Cotton Appliques Tutorial.

Always test your Fray Check on a small piece of scrap to make sure it won’t stain your fabric before using it on a big project. 

 Tip: Keep a pin handy to un-clog the tip if you have used it before as it has a tendency to dry up inside it. If you flick the tip of it before closing it up after you have used it (like you see Nurses do to a syringe in a TV show) you will be able to see the air bubbles coming out and the liquid go back into the bottle this helping not to clog. If all else fails cut the tip off and pop a little into a plastic saucer each time, and dip your edges into it that way (waist not want not!)