There is a reason a well-made jacket front rolls softly over the body instead of standing up like cardboard. The secret is usually the interfacing hidden inside — and for lightweight jackets and coats, one of the best-kept secrets is weft-insertion fusible interfacing. Pellon® 860F Ultra-Weft™ is exactly that: a woven, fusible weft-insertion interfacing designed for traditional soft tailoring and a designer drape, sold on a 20" x 10 yard bolt in white.
What Weft-Insertion Interfacing Is
Interfacings fall into two broad families: non-woven, which feels a bit like paper, and woven or knit, which behave like actual fabric. Weft-insertion interfacing is a woven type with an extra set of yarns (the weft) inserted to give it softness, flexibility, and drape. Because it is woven rather than non-woven, it moves the way your fashion fabric moves — it will never give you that stiff, papery result that screams "homemade."
Ultra-Weft™ is fusible, meaning one side carries a heat-activated adhesive that bonds to the wrong side of your fabric with an iron or press. Its fiber content is 85% rayon and 15% polyester. The rayon component is what delivers the soft hand and fluid drape; the polyester adds stability so the interfacing keeps its shape through wear and care.
What It Is Best For
Pellon developed Ultra-Weft™ for soft tailoring in lightweight jackets and coats — the kind of garments where you want structure and a clean silhouette but still want the fabric to flow. It is a natural partner for fabrics such as lightweight wool, cashmere, camel hair, and crepe, all of which can lose their elegance if paired with an interfacing that is too stiff.
Use it to interface jacket and coat fronts, lapels, collars, and other areas where a traditional tailored garment needs gentle support. Because it drapes rather than stiffens, it is the right choice when the design calls for softness: unstructured blazers, flowing coat fronts, and garments where the fashion fabric's own character should shine through rather than be flattened.
How to Use It
Like any fusible, Ultra-Weft™ is applied to the wrong side of your fashion fabric before construction. Cut the interfacing to match your pattern pieces, then fuse it following the general rules for woven fusibles:
- Test first. Always fuse a sample on a scrap of your actual fashion fabric. Check the bond, the hand, and the appearance from the right side before committing to your garment pieces.
- Press, don't slide. Place the adhesive side against the wrong side of the fabric and press with a hot iron using firm, even pressure. Lift and set the iron down rather than sliding it, which can shift the layers or stretch the interfacing.
- Let it cool flat. The bond sets as the adhesive cools. Leave the fused piece lying flat until it is completely cool before moving or sewing it.
- Consider pre-shrinking. Rayon can shrink, so if your fashion fabric will be washed or dry-cleaned in a way that affects the interfacing, pre-test or pre-treat a sample to avoid surprises in the finished garment.
If you are working with napped or textured fabrics like camel hair or cashmere, press from the interfacing side with a press cloth to protect the fabric's surface.
Tips and Care
Choose Ultra-Weft™ when drape is the priority and firm crispness is not. If you need razor-sharp collars and cuffs on a shirt, a firmer interfacing is the better tool; when you want a jacket that moves with you, this is the one. Match the interfacing color to your project: this bolt is white, best behind light to medium fabrics where a white interfacing will not show through. Always follow the care requirements of your fashion fabric, since the interfacing is now bonded to it — dry-clean-only fabrics stay dry-clean-only.
The 20" x 10 yard bolt format is generous enough for multiple jackets or coats, making it a practical buy if you sew tailored garments regularly.
Shop the Pellon® 860F Ultra-Weft™ Fusible Interfacing 20" x 10 yards Bolt. Color: White. at Linda's Electric Quilters.
