Does Cork Fabric Need Interfacing? What Stabilizers Do I Need For Bag Making With Cork Fabric?

Hi! I'm Lisa, an artisan bag maker in Andalucia, Spain. I've been asked quite a few times if cork fabric needs interfacing or stabilizers, so I thought I'd do a little video on which interfacings will work and which won't, how to apply them to cork fabric, and the effects you get from each type.
If you love sewing with cork fabric, or you would love to give it a try, then join my Facebook group Oh Sew Gecko - Cork Fabric Sewing Corner, the link for the group is below, feel free to join, share your cork fabric creations, chat, and ask questions. Let's all share and learn together about sewing with cork fabric!
There's lots of information out there about cork fabric, this is my opinion from what I know and how I work with cork fabric, I hope it helps a little!
If you'd like to see my creations, keep up to date with what I'm doing, or fancy a chat, you can find me here:
Facebook Group: groups/corkfabricsewingcorner
Instagram: ohsewgecko
Facebook: ohsewgecko
Cork Fabric from Frame Your Bag, Portugal
Prym Iron
Interfacing used/ Shown:
Lightweight Non-woven Fusible Interfacing
Medium Weight Non-woven Fusible Interfacing
Decovil Light
Decovil Heavy
3mm Fusible Foam
Not shown in the video but I sew on a Pfaff 720 Quilt Expression and
I usually use 90/14 Microtex needles when sewing with cork fabric.

[@olgasilverberg3847]

I wish I could like your video twice 👍 Thank you so much!

[@ohsewgecko]

I'm so pleased you enjoyed it and that it was helpful 🥰🤗

[@totesbydesign]

Thank you so much for sharing. Very helpful!

[@ohsewgecko]

You're very welcome 😁 I'm so pleased it helps 🤗

[@tmb9126]

Thank you!

[@ohsewgecko]

You're very welcome 😁

[@mommabear244]

Good video to see how the cork reacts depending on interfacing. Thanks

[@ohsewgecko]

Thank you so much, I'm so pleased it was helpful 🤗

[@pamelaleitman9305]

Very informative!

[@ohsewgecko]

Thank you! I'm so pleased you enjoyed the video 😁

[@Angela-qg8yg]

What would be a substitute for Decovil light and heavy, not able to find that?

[@ohsewgecko]

Hi Angela 🙋‍♀️ If you're able to get Pellon then Decovil Heavy can be replaced with Pellon 526 and Decovil Light can be replaced with Pellon 525. Hope that helps 😁

[@Angela-qg8yg]

@@ohsewgecko thank you so much

[@cherylberry5982]

Can I use a heat press to put the stabilizer on the cork?

[@ohsewgecko]

Hi 👋 I personally don't have a heat press, so I'm not 100% sure on settings, etc. Maybe do a test piece first just to check the heat and that it doesn't do any damage to the cork, but I don't see why it wouldn't be ok, it should work the same way a normal iron does 🤔
Let me know how it works out! 😁

[@annettepeels1456]

Could you use felt instead of foam? Can you glue it on?

[@ohsewgecko]

Hi 🙋‍♀️ yes you could use felt if you wanted to but depending on the structure of the felt you may find it doesn't affect the cork fabric that much. It's a bit like using fusible fleece, depending on the thickness of your cork fabric, you may find it doesn't really change it unless your cork is super thin. Yes you can glue the felt to the back, use a textile glue or a spray glue, either should work well. Hope that helps 😁

[@anainmazatlan]

Can't hear you 😮

[@ohsewgecko]

The sound seems to be ok, I've just checked it to make sure and other viewers seem to be able to hear it. It's possible your sound might be on mute 🤔

[@moomoo2781]

I have to turn up my sound really far up the scale, when I do it's fine.