What is soft, pliable, and waterproof; can withstand fairly high temperatures; and holds up to a lot of use? Like me, your first guess might have been those dang swimming pool noodles you always buy too many of and then never know what to do with once summer is over. But... the real answer is: PUL, polyurethane laminate if you wish to be formal. The broad category refers to any fabric with a polyurethane laminated to a base fabric. Most common is a polyester knit fabric laminated to a thin waterproof, non-breathable polyurethane backing. Originally developed for use in the medical industry, it's very durable and very popular right now for folks making diapers, diaper covers, changing pads, bibs, training pants, and outside the world of babies, it's often used to create reusable sandwich, snack and lunch bags. As with most man-made fabrics, there are some tips and techniques that make sewing with PUL easier.

Your project calls for a panel of fabric two or even three times wider than the fabric you bought at the store. No problem. You're going to sew multiple widths together to get the bigger width you need. But you can't just start cutting widths of your fabric. The pattern isn't going to match up and/or your beautiful design motif is going to end up in the wrong place on your project. Instead of wasting expensive fabric through trial and error, you need to figure out your cuts based on the fabric's design repeat.

For some sewing applications, there's nothing that works quite as well as a metal snap. They're easier to use than buttons and more durable than Velcro. That's why they're used in everything from mountain climbing jackets, to yacht covers, to baby clothes. Just think how long it would take an NBA player to jump up from the bench and get into the game, if he didn't have "quick release" sweat pants with snaps running up both sides. He'd probably fall into the stands trying to pull his sweats off over those big shoes. Installing snaps is pretty simple. You just take a series of tiny metal rings (which can be set up twenty wrong ways and only one right way) line them up within a millimeter of perfection, and then crush the whole assemblage together as hard as you can through several layers of fabric. What could possibly go wrong?

It's something you might not have noticed until you started sewing. The pattern on a printed fabric is not always lined up with the grain of the fabric (the up-and-down and side-to-side direction of the thread -- the warp and weft). Back when all patterns were woven into fabrics this wasn't a problem because the weave was the pattern. But now with most patterns being printed onto the fabric after it's woven, the 'registration' can be off a little. Or a lot. And that can wreak havoc with your sewing.