Fabric Crash Course
When I was new to sewing, the thing that confused the heck out of me was fabric. So, for all new to sewing, here is a crash course in fabric. Fabric is the most critical part of your project. If you find a fabric that doesn’t 100% meet your needs, or you can tell it’s poor quality—put it down. It doesn’t matter how cute or inexpensive it is.
Fabric has two things you need to know about: fabric fiber and fabric structure. The fabric fiber is what the fabric is made of. The fabric structure is how the fabric is constructed. The fabric structure determines the best use for your fabric (whether you use it for leggings or a handbag). Let’s recap:
Fabric Fiber: What is it made from (cotton, polyester, bamboo, etc.)
Fabric Structure: How it’s constructed (knit or woven)
Fabric fibers can be made into either fabric structure, meaning you can find a cotton woven fabric or a cotton knit fabric
FABRIC FIBERS
Fabric fibers are what the threads of your fabric are composed of. There are animal, plant, and synthetic fibers, which each have different characteristics. There are oodles of fabric fibers, but here are the ones you will most likely encounter. Many of these fibers are blended.
-
These fibers are made from the hair of various animals.
Silk is made from the silk worm, and known to have a cool effect.
Wool is made from sheep, and known to be warm.
-
These fibers are made from plants.
Acetate is made from wood pulp, and its known to be shiny. Typically combined with another fiber.
Bamboo is made from bamboo (as the name suggests), and is known to be lightweight and soft.
Cotton is made from the cotton shrub, and is known to be lightweight and absorbent.
Flax is made from the flax plant, it’s used primarily to make linen (which is exclusively woven) and known to be lightweight and absorbent.
Hemp is made from Cannabis, and is known to be strong and durable.
Lyocell is made from the eucalyptus tree, and is known to be soft, lightweight, and absorbent.
Modal is made from the beech tree, and is known to be soft and lightweight.
Rayon is made from wood pulp, and is known to be soft, lightweight, and absorbent.
-
These are man-made fibers, and are not typically environmentally friendly.
Acrylic is made from petroleum products, and is known to be lightweight, warm, and dry quickly
Nylon is made from petroleum products, and is known to be lightweight, durable, strong, and dry quickly.
Polyester is made from petroleum products, and is known to be lightweight, durable, strong, and dry quickly
Spandex/Lycra/Elastane is made from petroleum products, is elastic, and is known to be strong and lightweight.
Rayon is made from wood pulp, but is chemically converted so it is a semi-synthetic. It is known to be soft, lightweight, and absorbent. However, it becomes weak when wet.
FABRIC STRUCTURES
The most common fabric structures are knits or wovens, which is what we focus on.
Knit fabrics are made by knitting, which interlocks threads together in a looping process that provides stretch. It is more flexible and by far the most popular fabric group in commercial fabric today. T-shirts, leggings, jackets, and sweatshirts are all made from knit fabrics. The face side (aka the right side) of a knit has 'wales' (left image below), while the back (aka the wrong side) has 'courses' (right image below). This is how you can determine a knit fabric's right and wrong sides.
The left image shows the face side of a knit (the wales), and the right image shows the back side (the courses).
-
Jersey which is a lightweight knit, that can be made from various fibers. There is a definite right and wrong side, with the face having wales and the back side having courses. Buying a jersey with about 3-5% of Spandex is ideal for kids clothing. Can be made into: T-shirts, tank tops, lightweight crews and hoodies, lightweight pants, leggings, hats.
Interlock (Double Knit) is a fabric that takes two layers of jersey, and interlocks them together on the wrong side. This makes it so the front and back of this fabric look the same, and makes it a heavier weight than jersey fabric. The edges of the fabric do not curl, and it is by far easier to work with than jersey. Buying an interlock with about 3-5% of Spandex is ideal for kids clothing. Can be made into: T-shirts, tank tops, lightweight crews and hoodies, lightweight pants, leggings, hats.
Brush Back Fleece is a medium to heavy weight fabric, that gets brushed on the backside so it has a soft and fuzzy texture. This is the fabric you find in sweatshirts and sweatpants. Can be made into: Jackets, crews, hoodies, and sweatpants.
Double Sided Fleece is a medium to heavy weight fabric, that gets brushed on both the front and back side so it looks the same. You find this primarily in sleepwear. Can be made into: Jackets, crews, hoodies, sweatpants, and pajamas.
French Terry is a light to medium weight fabric, that has loops on the back side. This is the fabric you find in lightweight sweatshirts and sweatpants. Can be made into: Jackets, crews, hoodies, and sweatpants.
Ribbing is a medium to heavy weight fabric, that is used in neckbands and hems. It looks the same on both sides, with distinctive vertical lines. It stretches very well and has excellent resilience (it stretches back without getting warped). Can be made into: The neck and hem bands of any garment. Make sure to match the weight of your ribbing with that of your fabric to ensure they work together.
Woven fabrics are made by weaving fabric threads over and under each other—like a basket weave. There is hardly any stretch from side to side or up and down. However, you will have stretch when stretched at an angle (from corner to corner). This is called the bias. As a general rule, woven fabrics do not stretch, so you cannot use woven fabrics with a sewing pattern made for knit fabrics (it will simply not fit). Woven fabrics look the same on the face and back sides.
The left image shows the face side of a woven, and the right image shows the back side (they look the same, structure wise)
-
Quilting Cotton is a light to medium weight fabric, that gets brushed on both the front and back side so it looks the same. You find this primarily in quilting (thus the name). Can be made into: Jackets, crews, hoodies, sweatpants, and pajamas.
Flannel is a light to medium weight fabric, that has loops on the back side. This is the fabric you find in lightweight sweatshirts and sweatpants. Can be made into: Jackets, crews, hoodies, and sweatpants.
FABRIC WEIGHT
Fabric weight is determined by grams or ounces. The higher the gram or ounce weight, the heavier it will be.
There is no set rule for classifying fabric weights, as a heavyweight t-shirt material could be considered a lightweight jacket material. When shopping, compare the weights you are seeing for a particular type of fabric and decide based on what you’re making. Better yet, get a swatch. You’d be shocked at how an in-person swatch can be so different from what you see online.
Common sense also goes a long way on this one. If you are making a sweatshirt, don’t choose a fabric that feels like it belongs to a lightweight tank. You won’t get the results you’re after.
EXAMPLES OF GOOD/BAD FABRIC
No skewing from left to right: If you look at your fabric from selvage edge to selvage edge, does the grainline go straight down the middle, or does it hook to one side? If it's straight, it's good! If it doesn't, walk away! The skewing will get worse in garment form through washings.
An even selvage edge: If you look at your selvage edge and notice it is wavy, this means it was stretched unevenly during its creation. Part of your fabric is already stretched, which is no good.
Good resilience: This is a stretch test. Stretch along the crosswise grain a 3-4″ section of the fabric. Stretch about 1″, or until it stops naturally without forcing it. When you let go, does it go back to its original size? A good knit will. This is a subjective test, so use your best judgment. If it doesn't stretch back at all, though, walk away!