The Sewing Place

Fabric Confusion

Lolli

Fabric Confusion
« on: June 19, 2018, 21:59:45 PM »
I have some fabric that my DD chose for me to make a dress for her. I bought it two years ago when I was even more inexperienced than I am now (I still don't know what I'm doing)  -< and I'm not even sure it's suitable for the job. I bought it from Abakhan's but can't remember what it said on the label. It seems heavyweight to me and it stretches one way. I'm not convinced it's the correct thing to use but I'm going to try anyway.

My plight is....I have no clue about different fabrics and need some serious lessons. I know the basics like cotton, lycra, chiffon, denim, taffeta but I read all the time on here about knits, wovens, Jersey amongst many others and I'm completely lost. I have The Sewing Book by Alison 'whatshername' which shows samples of different fabrics but I still don't get it fully. How can I learn more to the point that when I go to a shop (especially Immanuel's where there are no labels) I can look at fabrics and know what they are? There's so many different fabrics, I want to learn more about them and what they can/should be used for.

Tamnymore

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2018, 22:13:20 PM »
All patterns have a list of recommended fabrics on the back which is a start. It is possible to use a stretch fabric where a non-stretch is recommended but you can't usually get away with a non-stretch when stretch is recommended.

If you visit a fabric shop where everything is labelled up that might give you some ideas. You can do a 'burn test' on a wee snippet of your fabric to tell you if it is all natural fibres or not.
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Greybird

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2018, 22:46:51 PM »
I'm sure someone will explain it better than I can, but mostly the terms refer to the construction of the fabric. A knit fabric is made up of knitted stitches - just like a knitted jumper only much smaller. Jersey is another name for the same thing. The yarns that are used to make it and the makeup of the stitches will give it different properties. A woven fabric is made on a loom with a warp thread (along the length of the fabric) and a weft thread over and under it from side to side.It is usually non stretch, but may be made with stretchy thread which will give the finished fabric stretch without being a knit.

WendyW

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2018, 22:53:10 PM »
There's so many different fabrics, I want to learn more about them and what they can/should be used for.

This is one area that I think self-teaching info is SEVERELY lacking. I've searched for books and online info, and it all comes up short. Fabric is such a tactile thing, putting into print would be difficult, and it would be a fairly limited market for all that effort. The best I found was a small, thick volume I ran across at Half-Price Books. It gave details about just about every fabric known to man- origin, uses, laundering- and had little tiny 2" photos that were totally useless! The quest continues....

tumblina

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 22:59:55 PM »
And to make matters worse, a lot of fabrics are the same "type", but have totally different properties. Think of denim - you can get some lightweight enough for heavy shirts, some with so much stretch to make very skinny jeans and some so heavy and non-stretch as to make indestructible utility coveralls. Mostly I've given up on the names and go by feel - hanging it up with about the same amount of gathering (if any) and see how it hangs.

BrendaP

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2018, 23:12:10 PM »
I know the basics like cotton, lycra, chiffon, denim, taffeta but I read all the time on here about knits, wovens, Jersey amongst many others and I'm completely lost.

You seem to be muddling fibres with types of fabric.

Cotton is a fibre and can be woven or knitted into all sorts of different types of fabric from the finest lawn through to the heaviest canvas, or somewhere in between if it's knitted.  Cotton is a natural fibre obtained from plants  (it's the fibres from the boll which protects the seed heads.  Linen too is a plant fibre, but comes from the bast fibres which support the stem of flax plants.

Other natural fibres are wool which grows on sheep and silk which is the fibres unravelled from the silk worm when it goes into the chrysalis stage of its life.

Acetate rayon and viscose rayon are man-made fibres, regenerated from wood pulp and other plant material.

Polyester, nylon (polyamide) and acrylic are synthetic fibres made from oil or coal.

Lycra (and Elastane) are brand names for spandex, which is a synthetic rubber fibre which added to other fibres make fabrics stretchy, the more elastane/Lycra the stretchier the fabric is.  2-5% for most woven fabrics just to make wearing and moving about easier, up to 20% or more for the very stretchy stuff used for sportswear.

Woven fabric has one set of threads running the length of the fabric and another set of threads going over and under those across the fabric.

There are two types of knitted fabric; weft knitting which is essentially the same construction as hand knitting, though usually very much finer than you could knit with a pair of needles, and warp knitting which can only be made by machine and consists of multiple lines of chain stitches which are linked together.

Jersey is a weft knitted fabric, and can be made of wool, cotton, silk or synthetics.

Denim is a specific type of woven cotton with dark (usually blue) warp threads and softer (usually white) weft or filler threads.  Used for jeans.

Chiffon is a very fine, floaty woven fabric (difficult to sew!) and can be made of silk or a synthetic fibre.

Maybe you could start a scrap book to collect as many different types of fabric as possible ( ask for as many samples as you can when ordering something else).  Make a note of the fibre content as well as asking/researching the name of the fabric.  If you use a particular fabric make a note of how it sewed and how it wears.

It takes time to learn all the different names, not helped by the fact that different people retailers use different names for the same fabric and/or the same names for different fabrics!  I thought I knew most of them but when I came back to sewing 3 or 4 years ago after a longish break I found there were some fabrics I'd never heard of.  Ponte being one of them!
« Last Edit: June 19, 2018, 23:14:40 PM by BrendaP »
Brenda.  My machines are: Corona, a 1953 Singer 201K-3, Caroline, a 1940 Singer 201K-3, Thirza, 1949 Singer 221K, Azilia, 1957 Singer 201K-MK2 and Vera, a Husqvarna 350 SewEasy about 20 years old. Also Bernina 1150 overlocker and Elna 444 Coverstitcher.
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.

Lolli

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2018, 23:24:48 PM »
Wow @BrendaP, it's very intricate, much more than I thought! No wonder I'm confused  :o A trip to a fabric shop may help distinguish some from others, that's something I should do. I'm too specific on things and hung up on 'facts', probably need to chill out and do as suggested....go by feel and see how it hangs.
Thinking about that now, I've got an awful feeling about the fabric I already have, I don't think it's going to work. I will give it a go though, I've got it so may aswell....I don't have the knowledge to know what else I could use it for!  :S
I suppose all this will come with time and experience.

Lolli

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2018, 23:30:43 PM »
Just to add, if I'm going to try using this one way stretch fabric for the dress, I'm presuming I use it in the same way as when making a leotard.....with the stretch going around the body?

In future I will pay more attention to the fabrics listed suitable on the back of the packet  -<

tumblina

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2018, 23:32:03 PM »
If your gut is saying it won't work, listen! If you want a dry run to check the pattern for fit or construction, go ahead (knowing that the next version will still need tweaks due to different fabric). But if not, keep the fabric for a little longer and see if it eventually speaks to you about what it'll work for. It's usually the head scratchers that I end up wishing I had more of, as I all of a sudden come up with 3 awesome uses for it!

Marniesews

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2018, 01:18:35 AM »
This is one area that I think self-teaching info is SEVERELY lacking.
I agree with that, it's something I still feel uncertain about after many years of sewing unless I've used the fabric previously myself. Moving to sewing lycra 4 years ago I realised just how many types of different knit were out there of which I had no real understanding as far as sewing them was concerned. There are a few YouTube videos describing different sorts of knit and books that go into considerable detail but, without fabric swatches it can be hard to match what has been read to what has been seen on the roll (or described online) as fabrics frequently aren't always that well labelled/described.

I've found this book to be full of useful information on the character of different fabrics together with suggested application of and sewing methods but no swatches. Being American there are some differences in the names of some fabrics so that can be a little confusing on occasion too. I have thought that I should spend some time gathering a sample book myself to go with it....when I have the time & inclination - not happened yet. This was very expensive new so it was a birthday present. Even used copies are still around £30 although the 1st edition is now routinely under £7 or less on eBay albeit with postage between £5-£20 as it's invariably sent from America.







Recently I've been looking at The Swatch Book which has 125 swatches of fabric. The latest edition is over £110  -< but the second edition is available around £40. Still undecided on that one although I suspect it could be less than it might cost me getting my own samples and these are undyed – "the fabrics are in their raw state, before bleaching, dying or finishing, so that their properties can be observed without the distraction of colour or pattern".
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

Lolli

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2018, 08:47:04 AM »
A scrap book of swatches is a good idea, if I start one now I might have some sort of clue in another 10 years lol.
I'll give the dress a try with the fabric I have, as @tumblina says, if it doesn't work it's been useful as a toile. I might not even get past the stage of placing the pattern pieces on the fabric yet, as it stretches one way I'm going to have to be careful of placement and might not have enough. This is typical of me with a new project, never make things easy for myself  :S

b15erk

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2018, 08:59:36 AM »
Lolli, you may be surprised!  I never knowingly use the recommended fabrics for projects.  As long as they have the required drape, nap etc, I use what I like.  Sometimes it doesn't work, but I put it down to experience.  ;)

Have a look at your RTW clothes to get an idea of fabric content and weight, the information should be on the inside lable.

Jessie
Jessie, who is very happy to be here!!  :),  but who has far too many sewing machines to be healthy, and a fabric stash which is becoming embarrassing.

Ploshkin

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2018, 09:22:00 AM »
Quote
If you visit a fabric shop where everything is labelled up that might give you some ideas. You can do a 'burn test' on a wee snippet of your fabric to tell you if it is all natural fibres or not.
I wouldn't recommend doing the burn test in the shop. ;)
Life's too short for ironing.

Tamnymore

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2018, 09:31:09 AM »
Haha @Ploshkin ! No burn tests must be done over your (stainless steel) kitchen sink with only a tiny sliver of fabric and lots of water nearby. I did see the guy in the Fent Shop in Macclesfield do a quick burn test once in the shop though!!!
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Kwaaked

Re: Fabric Confusion
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2018, 09:52:40 AM »
With burn tests, burn what you know first to get an idea of how it burns and smells.  This will give you a good basis to perform them on things you don't know.

Get an education pack.  This shows weaves (types) of fabric and what they are made of (fiber).  Fabric Mart has them, but I'm sure they can be found in the UK.  If not, I can find my test from college and message it to you, so you have an idea of what to look for at least.

Knowing what kind of fabric is on the back of an envelope will help you figure out what can work instead.  An example of this would replacing cotton sateen in a pattern.  It's a medium/heavy weight fabric.  The definition of it is a satin weave, usually a 4 in 1, over a yarn (in this case: cotton).  Twill is similar in type, but simply is just a variation of the weave.  But since we know it's a stable woven in a medium weight, you can also look for similar fabrics: very light weight denim, light corduroy, jacquard, brocade, gabardine, peach skin and generally suitings of all kinds.  Some of these may change the drape slightly (even a light weight cord or denim will be slightly stiffer then sateen) but still usable as long as you understand HOW the fabric works.

Even being unable to see the fabrics in person, there are several sites online with multiple pictures that can be used to learn about the fabrics.  Fabric mart has close ups and draped on a chair and Emma one sock has detailed descriptions as VERY good pictures.  Plus you can make your browser/phone magnify the page to see even more, much like an electronic prover.

And...you really want to learn fabric at the knowing it's fine china level, get a linen prover.  They still make them today and antique ones aren't hard to find either.  This is a pocket sort of microscope that is meant to count the threads in a swatch of linen.  But...it will look at any fabric close up and help you understand the fabric in your hands (and if you get crazy...help with pattern matching).