Don’t know if anyone can help me. I am trying to cut out some shapes from silk chiffon - flowers/butterflies etc. Trouble is it is so sheer and slippery it moves about all the time. I have tried pinning it to paper which sort of works but is very labour intensive. Just wondered if anyone had any magic tips - preferably using something I may have to hand! Tall order but always worth asking on here as you are all so helpful 
I use temporary fabric glue for slidey fabrics Roz, it holds as long as you need it to then sort of evaporates.
This is the one I’ve found best
or you could try starching the fabric first
Thanks for your help.
Donna @RedDragonDesigns - that looks good but I was hoping for something easily accessible plus due to RM not allowing flammable liquids through their system this is now sent by courier which costs as much as the product!
Eileen @EileensCraftStudio - I tried that but it doesn’t stiffen it up enough.
However - happy to report I think I may have found a solution - will share it with you if I manage to cut out my shapes successfully 
Off to give it a try
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Well it seems to have worked - I sandwiched the chiffon between tissue paper and then laminated it. The chiffon needs to be a bit bigger than the tissue paper so it is held firmly by the laminate while you cut the shape _ the tissue paper stops the laminate sticking to the bit of chiffon you want to keep. Heres a photo of the result - the coloured bits are chiffon. Now got to see if my idea for attaching them to a scarf works!
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Could you invest in dies and a die cutting machine so the dies cut down into the fabric.
I could but I’ve spent far too much money recently! Not sure how it would work on silk either.
oh well done 
and we have the same pen
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I’m addicted to pens - have lots like that!
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Snap me to and I love fountain pens as well.
I see you’ve managed to cut your shapes very successfully, so you don’t need what I was going to tell you but this is the standard dressmaking reply. What you need are very, very, sharp dressmaking scissors and to cut your chiffon slowly without lifting the fabric from the surface (as far as possible). As long as the fabric stays flat it will stay true to the shape of your pattern, but the secret is to cut smoothly and slowly and the scissors must be sharp. That is why dressmakers freak out when some muppet uses their scissors to cut paper (naming no names…).
Love Sam x
I hear what you say Sam @SamanthaStanley and that is fine for larger pieces but pretty well impossible not to lift the fabric when cutting shapes that are only a few cms in size and have all sorts of curves etc. Thanks for taking time to respond though.
Hi Roz!
That is where the sharpness of the scissors comes in! If the scissors are sharp and the blades meet all the way to the points with no gaps, then it is possible to cut applique shapes from very small pieces of fabric. Having said that-your method seems to be working well so don’t change it 
Dressmaking scissors are very expensive and if you don’t intend to use them all the time it’s not worth the investment.
Love Sam x
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