iron on bonding fabric / fusible interface :(

[sheepstache]

I got some of this:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermoweb-Medium-Iron-On-Fusible-Interfacing-White/dp/B001C205PA/

I had a couple projects I thought would work better with iron on than sewing. The front of my workpants was wearing through so I stuck this on the inside. The back of a collar was fraying so I covered it with this. And I used it to attach a patch to an elbow from the inside. All of them seemed firm but then fell off after two washes.

So my question is did I do something wrong, like, is this something likely to happen if you don't iron properly? Or is this just the wrong product for my purposes? And if so what would you recommend instead?

Thanks! I hate clothes shopping so I'm trying to learn more repair craftiness.

[deborah]

Iron on interfacing is used to INTERFACE. Generally collar, cuffs, button holes and buttons, around the neckline... Anywhere you need added support.

For instance, you cut out 2 collar pieces plus one piece of interfacing. Remove most of the seam area from the interfacing, iron it on to one collar piece, and then proceed to put together the collar. The interfacing ends up not showing at all because it is inside the garment. And, when you think about it, it is actually sewn on as well.

So, unfortunately, you are probably not using it in the way it is intended, and it is always intended to be sewn in. That said, it can be rather tricky to get iron on interfacing to properly iron on. Instructions must be followed, otherwise it unsticks fairly quickly.

A good sewing alternations blog is http://geniecentre.com/ (lots of free stuff)

Workpants - I would have patched with similar fabric (from an old pair of workpants?). Fraying collar - cut another collar piece and attach it right side to right side of the front of the collar, with a very small seam, fold it out, and hand sew to the bottom at the back. Will make the collar slightly smaller. Elbow - patch with leather, a similar fabric or something completely different (both elbows), to make a feature of it.

[sugarsnap]

What you are looking for May be called wonder under. It is used to "glue" two pieces of fabric together. For heavily washed items I use wonder under and sew the pieces together.

I agree with the previous poster about the better fixes.

[mskyle]

There's also this type of iron-on patch that might be more the kind of thing you need, though I'm not sure how well they hold up in real life.

[misschedda]

There's also this type of iron-on patch that might be more the kind of thing you need, though I'm not sure how well they hold up in real life.

I've used these before to patch holes in kids' uniform pants. Not the prettiest but they worked great!

[deborah]

+1 for an iron on patch or wonder under (or similar) - although both these really should be sewn around the edges and make the garment a lot stiffer (although steam-to-seam lite is a lighter version of wonder under AND it sticks before you iron, so you can get its placement exactly right first).

[sheepstache]

This stuff said it could be ironed-only or sewed, that's why I was surprised how quickly it gave up.

The collar I actually already took off and switched around so that the fraying is on the backside. The instructions I used (http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/how-to-repair-a-frayed-shirt-collar/) actually recommended iron-on interfacing over the frayed area just to keep it from fraying more.

The shirt elbow I didn't explain right I do have a piece of patch material and was just using the interface to attack it to avoid visible stitches. And I wanted to use it to save a couple of other shirts where a large area has worn too thin or old  to hold a patch, like, the fabric coming apart (that's for sentimental reasons not cheapness). Same with the pants where something I was carrying it was wearing it from the inside and an iron-on was the only way to reinforce from the inside (although, for workpants patching on the outside is totally acceptable too). So I'm looking for something that can reinforce. I'm concerned if I sew, the place with the stitches won't hold them.

Thanks for the website and wonder under rec. I think wonder under is just the double-sided version of what I used though it's good to know it's  a recommended brand.

Update! A friend used something like this and I asked her what it was. It's called Stitch Witchery. Anyone have experience with it?
Hm, but apparently it only comes in strips.

[GizmoTX]

Stitch Witchery is used to hem or bond facing edges by heat fusing with an iron instead of or before stitching. I've also used a product called Badge Magic that doesn't use an iron to stick two fabrics together; this was originally intended for scout badges & uniform insignia.

Iron-on patches do have a tendency to come unglued if they're in a high friction area.

[deborah]

I have looked at the site. I agree with most of what was being done, but WHY did she put the interfacing on the outside? She had the collar off. The inside was available. She could easily have put it on the same fabric on the inside. Note that she used knit interfacing (the one you had was for wovens, and so had less give, and retains the hand of the garment - the garment doesn't feel any stiffer) I would have done a bit of darning as well.

As she says, turning the collar (the technical name for what she has done) is pretty stupid, as the cuffs are almost certainly frayed, and the shirt is usually about to tear because the fabric has reached the end of its life in numerous places.

Stitch witchery is the same thing as wonder under - different brand, steam to seam is also just a different brand (but it sticks like post it notes as well). Most have a "lite" version that gives a softer hand. Some of them come in strips for sticking up hems as well as sheets. I don't know of any that just come in strips.

They are not a double sided version of what you used. These products are basically just a sheet of glue, whereas interfacing has a fabric component as well (the actual interfacing).

As I said before, I am not sure you ironed it on properly. These products can be rather tricky - the wrong iron setting and it doesn't stick, too much and the product changes consistency (sort of melts) - you really need to carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions.