I love oilskin! It is actually nice to work with, looks amazing and pretty much any bag that you make from it will look professional. Also called dry oilskin or oilcloth, it is a fabric that has been long used in the fishing and sailing industries for one major reason- it is tough and water proof! Really tough and really water proof and that is why it is also used to make high end rain coats like the fabulous British Barbour jackets and the like.
It tends to be a bit more expensive than other bag making fabric like canvas or denim but there are a couple of silver linings in even this cloud. Firstly, it it not much more expensive and it is a lot wider than a lot of other bag making fabrics at an average of 59″ across. Secondly, you do not need to go all-out with interfacing.
I love my interfacing and the lighter the fabric, the more likely it is that you will need to use something to beef things up. But with oilskin you either do not need interfacing or, if you are making a slightly larger bag, you can get away with say, foam interfacing which is sewn in just to keep things nice.
I quite often use oilskin for the bases of my bags because it is pretty tough stuff. Fishermen do not tend to go to sea in something that cannot stand up to heavy weather.
We are not likely to be going out in the sort of weather experienced at sea but we can still swipe the ideas – an oilskin base in a bag means that you can sit it anywhere and it will not pick up dirt or moisture like regular fabric. And if it does, it can be wiped clean.
And for those of you who, like me are canvas fanatics when it comes to bag making, you will notice with pleasure that oilskin tends not to fray. It will fray if you push it but it does not have that disintegrate-in-my-hands quality that looser weave fabrics tend to have. The wax treatment plus the fact that the cotton is very close weave helps here.
But there are one or two things of which you should be aware when sewing with oilskin.
Step away from the iron! The fabric will be okay if you iron most brands but your iron will not thank you! The creases and other ‘character marks’, just like linen, are part of the appeal of oilskin. Try to embrace them and don’t fight with the fabric.
I did iron mine when I first started sewing and filled the room with fumes. Took a while to get the marks off the iron too and the heat of the iron transferred the waxy coating from the oilskin to my ironing board and ruined that too. Of all the embarrassing newbie mistakes! Thankfully I know better now!
Step away from the iron (part two)- this is actually a major plus….you can finger press hems and seams and they will stay put. Saves a lot of time too. Simply fold where needed and run your finger along the fold to set it. If you need a sharper crease, use your fingernail. You can see in the photo below, no pins! And that creased hem just stays there while you sew
I actually have a couple of favourite tools for working with oilskin. They are put out by Clover MFG and one is called a Finger Presser, the other is the Roll & Press.
Both are great for saving your fingernails and the Finger Presser comes into its own with hems
While the Roll & Press is perfect for pressing seams open.
I love the fact that just finger pressing gives you beautiful precision
You cannot pin oilskin because it will scar the fabric. If you absolutely have to pin, do it inside the seam allowance if you can. Otherwise, use Wonder Clips (Clover again) and they will help everything to stay put.
Sometimes you can pin. For example, on my latest pattern, there needs to be a closure strap right in the middle of a panel. Clips won’t work so far in and oilskin will laugh at double sided tape or glue. Because the marks will be hidden, This is the sort of time where pins are okay.
I use either a poly-cotton mixed thread or a polyester for strength. It is not an especially expensive brand but it does the job and the seams last longer.
None of your markers will work on oilskin – in fact, if you try, they will probably not work again anywhere! Don’t damage them. Use either your fingernail, a pin or similar sharpish item to make any marks that you might need. I have a Hold-It Precision Stiletto (yep, Clover) which is super easy to hold and makes marks beautifully. You can erase them by rubbing with your finger if they are in the wrong place
Above all, oilskin is beautiful to work with. You can use it in most places where you might use regular canvas or denim. I love the fact that it can be spot cleaned (doesn’t need anything else as a rule) and it ages beautifully. While I was shooting the samples for my latest pattern in the woods, they got a little dirty. Not a problem – these marks will wipe away
I adore the olde-worlde explorer vibe too. Anything to give us that Harry Potter aesthetic in real life has to be a winner!
I have decided to use oilskin in my latest pattern, the Polperro Roll Case. I originally wanted this as an art case for taking my things out into the wild for sketching and I wanted something that I wasn’t too scared to put onto the ground.
But then I thought that it would be a pretty fab case for children too – sticky fingers don’t matter so much! And what about knitting or crocheting things! Or make-up needs!
And the men in our lives would not say no to a practical roll case that was made from something that looks as good as this either!
The Polperro Roll Case is available now! You can buy yours in the shop with this link:
I do hope that I have convinced you to give oilcloth a go. It really is a lovely fabric and worth the outlay. Patterns for all of the bags that you see in this post are available in my shop (button to take you straight there at the top of this post: Shop My Patterns).
See you next time
Hugs, Deb xx