Working with PUL

Okay, okay, so I'm terrible. But new habits can be hard to make, you know? Here I am, a month later, ready to make a blog post. I know I promised a Valentine's day post, but seeing as that's over with (ahem, last week), let's just forget I said that. Instead, I'd like to post a tip about working with PUL.

Have you ever heard of PUL? This fabric is really amazing. It's a polyester knit that's been laminated on one side to create a waterproof layer. Isn't that great? It's most commonly used in cloth diapers, but there are so many other uses! It can be expensive to buy and difficult to find, but it's quickly becoming my favorite kind of fabric.

PUL stands for poly-urethane laminate

Here is the back, or the shiny side

If you have some PUL, and have tried to sew with it, you may have noticed how hard it can be to work with. It slips and slides everywhere. But you cannot use pins, because any hole you make will remain in the fabric! And that's not so great when you're making an item that's meant to be waterproof. Another tricky thing about sewing with PUL is if you're sewing with the shiny side up, it will stick to your machine's presser foot, and you'll end up with ripples, stretching, and the whole thing will turn into a big mess. Not to worry, I've got a few tips here for working with PUL, and a fool-proof way to sew a seam without any fuss at all.

Once you get some PUL, make sure you're ready to sew. Yes, that means leaving the pins behind. It also means making sure you have a ball-point needle loaded in your machine. This type of needle will slip in and out of the fabric easily, and that's just what you need with a slippery-yet-sticky fabric like PUL. Another machine-oriented item that people find helpful is a walking foot. This acts just as it sounds. It will literally "step" up and down as you sew, keeping things from sticking. Since I don't have a walking foot, I have gone so far as to lift the presser foot up and down as I worked! I don't recommend that, honestly. I thought I might break my machine! I have also tried using tissue paper over the shiny side, and tearing it away afterwards. While that worked somewhat, I found it to be a bit of a hassle. Here is a fool-proof way to sew with PUL that will actually make your project sturdier and more likely, even more waterproof. The trick is never sew on the shiny side! Sounds easy, right?

When sewing a seam, one works from the inside. The "inside" of a PUL product is that dreaded shiny side. All I do to avoid it is simply fold over the edge. So, instead of sewing together two layers of fabric, there are four. When I want to hide the raw edge, I'll fold twice. In that case, there would be six layers of fabric. This makes the seam very strong and less likely to leak.

An in-depth look at the seam. See all four layers there?

The less passes you can make over the fabric (read: the less holes you poke), the better. I try to sew one-piece projects. Diaper covers, sandwich bags, wet bags, changing pads, shower caps, picnic blankets... you get the picture! Even if you're not sewing for a baby, there are plenty of uses for PUL. Get some for yourself and get sewing some waterproof things!


Next time, I'll make a quick and easy sandwich bag. There are only three lines to sew!