The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Fun with Fabric => Topic started by: Lolli on June 19, 2018, 21:59:45 PM
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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....
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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.
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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 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/9d614208b248df4ccfc565488eaf92de0ff1d0eb.gif) 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 (https://www.knittingmagic.biz/guide-3/images/275_3_3-knit-loops.jpg); 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!
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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.
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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 -<
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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!
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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.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/876/42860390322_fe36cd298b_n.jpg)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1786/42860383832_6a4d611013_n.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/900/42190527284_0939f8543f_n.jpg)
Recently I've been looking at The Swatch Book (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fabric-Fashion-Swatch-Book-Second/dp/1780672330/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1780672330&pd_rd_r=3707ecff-741d-11e8-b25a-8b0828bf1603&pd_rd_w=ilGUN&pd_rd_wg=Lua8z&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=3274180622111699416&pf_rd_r=GEAD94VD2PR5B74WK8NS&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=GEAD94VD2PR5B74WK8NS) 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".
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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
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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
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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. ;)
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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!!!
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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).
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The Stitch Sisters have made a 6 part Youtube video guide to fabrics that you might find useful. I know I did. This is Part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkjQDEYW3Nc)
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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. ;)
@b15erk Me too! I don't always pay attention as to whether it requires a stretch or non stretch fabric either :D
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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
That fills me with a little more confidence in giving it a go, thanks @b15erk. Also looking at clothing labels, a good tip!
I wouldn't recommend doing the burn test in the shop. ;)
Lol lol lol 0_0
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.
I'll have a look for one of those and if I can't find one I'll message you. Thank you for the offer, very kind.
The Stitch Sisters have made a 6 part Youtube video guide to fabrics that you might find useful. I know I did. This is Part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkjQDEYW3Nc)
Excellent, thank you!
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When I was learning to sew it was a case of buying a pattern and then wandering around the fabric shops, several of them on one town, and feeling the fabric, seeing how it draped , how much it screwed up, what it looked like held up, etc and then choosing something suitable for the pattern.
Now alas, it's a case of buying fabric online, and then seeing what it's like and choose a pattern suitable.
I don't worry overmuch about the fibre content, other than knowing that natural fibres are more comfortable to wear in warm weather. Yes, I do pay some attention to the pattern envelope about how much stretch the fabric needs; it can be more stretchy, but not less. And yes, the stretchiest direction should go around the body.
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You can get away with a non-stretch fabric for a pattern that says it is for stretch fabrics if there is enough ease -not just round the body but sleeves and legs (in trousers) should be checked too. My favourite trouser pattern is for stretch fabrics but I regularly make it up in plain woven fabrics with no stretch. My favourite dress pattern (that Mizono one where the model is doing a sort of Sumo pose on the Vogue website) asks for a stretch fabric for the bodice so I just go up a size on the bodice when I use a non-stretch fabric on the bodice.
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Brilliant thank you everyone, you've put my mind at rest. I'm going to give it a go, I've nowt to lose because even if it doesn't work out at least I've had a trial practice ;)
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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.
@Greybird I have just discovered that this is exactly what I have, a woven which has been made with stretchy thread. I'm learning! 0_0
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When you have finished making the dress make sure you keep a sample of the fabric, including a bit of the selvedge, and use it to start your scrapbook/notebook. :snip:
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That's a good idea @BrendaP, I shall do that. It's a very good place to start ;)
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Is a stretch needle needed for fabrics with any amount of stretch and do I need to use a narrow zigzag instead of straight stitch? It is pretty stretchy crossways.
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I don't think you need a stretch needle. These are often recommended for knit fabrics as they have a ballpoint which slides between the knitted stitches rather than cutting through them which can result in holes. There are newer types of needle (which I'm afraid I haven't caught up with yet - I'm sure someone else will explain them!) which might be better.
As far as the choice between straight stitching and zigzag goes, I'd try it on scrap pieces first.
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Microtex does well for most sewing
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Great response @BrendaP with lots of info. I was going to suggest ordering samples and making a reference file. A book is very useful for techniques concerning each fabric but you actually need the fabric to see and feel.
I always find it strange when people muddle fibres and fabrics. I'm often asked for silk when people mean satin.
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I use microtex needles for most fabrics now.
The other thing I’ve found confusing is interfacing. Now I use fusible knit for everything. If using on woven that doesn’t stretch the interfacing doesn’t stretch.
Basically you can make any pattern out of any fabric. The thing to bear in mind though is that if you use fabric that the pattern wasn’t designed, for the look and drape might not be right. Also knit patterns you will have to adjust the ease. The fabric suggestions are just that, suggestions.
If there’s a fabric you particularly like but are worried ask for a sample if buying on line. A problem I found buying in line is quite often the weight or constituent fibres aren’t listed.
Keeping a scrap book is an excellent idea, but I’m not that organised 0_0
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Skipped stitches are a regular problem with knits & ballpoints don't help with that but both stretch & superstretch (HAx1SP) needles have differently designed scarfs & shanks in addition to their ballpoint tip that resolves that.
Your fabric's a woven with a little but not a lot of stretch I think you said, so there's far less of an issue with popping stitches. Straight stitch should be fine (you can always put just a little resistance on the fabric - very little - as it goes through to add a little extra tolerance in the stitching if necessary). Universals will probably be fine or try the microtex if not.