Choose the Right Fabric Before Starting Sewing

When you start sewing and even when you are more experienced, the choice of fabric for your project remains a crucial question. Indeed, the rendering of a garment can be very different depending on the fabric that has been chosen, … sometimes for the better but also sometimes for the worse despite the care taken in your making. So, to help you see things more clearly, I have put together the 7 criteria that I review before marrying a pattern and a fabric.

Unless you are a pattern maker, there is a good chance that you will go to a commercial pattern to make your seam.

I strongly invite you to read the modeler’s recommendations. In principle, a list of fabric material from knitted fabric manufacturers suitable for the model is offered in the tutorial / assembly steps. This list was not compiled haphazardly; it takes into account the ease of the pattern, the rendering of the model desired by the designer, the desired stylistic criteria…

One can of course deviate from these recommendations and be more creative; but this requires a good knowledge of the fabrics (composition, elasticity, drape…) and any modifications to be made to the pattern (for example, adding a zipper, choosing a larger size…).

I often divide fabrics into two main groups based on their method of production:

warps and wefts which are fabrics whose fibers have been woven into a well-defined weave meshes which are fabrics whose fibers have been knitted.

The biggest difference between these two types of fabric is their elasticity. A mesh fabric will be able to stretch, while a warp and weft fabric naturally does not have much elasticity (except a little in the direction of the bias). To give elasticity to a warp and weft fabric, we can add elastane fibers as for example in the denim that you will find in my shop. This addition of elastane allows a certain comfort.

In principle, the patterns stipulate the type of fabric needed and the need or no elasticity.