Bags for Quilters :: Fusible Fleece & Thermolam Plus

First, let me tell you how difficult it is to find a photo suitable for an interfacing post! Anyway, last week I shared about the interfacing and flannel method that we use on almost all our bags. There were a few comments regarding fusible fleece, and we’ve occasionally used fusible fleece for our patterns, so I wanted to share a little about it.

First, a quick mention of the difference between Fusible Fleece and Fusible Thermolam:

Pellon 987FFusible Fleece is a low loft polyester fleece. One commenter said she felt the fleece loses body over time. This is because it is not very dense. I especially like fusible fleece for working with really small items, like little pouches, because it isn’t as dense, and there is little room for bulk in those items.

Pellon TP971 Fusible Thermolam Plus is an extra lofty needled fleece, so it is both thicker and denser than regular fusible fleece. Fusible Thermolam Plus is great for larger bags that will be soft without a lot of patchwork, like the Sophie beach bag. Since this bag does not have a lot of quilting and is larger, it is much easier to assemble with a layer of Fusible Thermolam Plus than it would be with a layer of interfacing and one of flannel.

A couple tips for working with Fusible Fleece and Thermolam Plus:

• Set your iron on the medium or wool setting, if you’re iron is too hot the finished items might look creased or wrinkly,
• If your product does look creased or wrinkly after you finish, use a medium iron to press again,
• If you’re pressing a bag or pouch, use an oven mitt on your hand inside the bag or pouch to press,
• For small items, cut the Fusible Fleece or Thermolam Plus to the size of the piece minus the seam allowance, this avoids bulk in the seams.

Here’s a look a the Sophie beach bag, which uses Fusible Thermolam Plus. I hope this has helped you decide if Fusible Fleece or Thermolam Plus is the right interfacing for your project! You can read about our favorite interfacing and flannel combo here, or about ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable here, for more info.

Do you have any more questions about interfacing? Unless there are some other interfacing specific questions, we’ll be moving on to some more techniques in our Bags for Quilters series next week. Let us know what you’d like to learn about.