When you’re thinking about executing a sewing project, there are several types of fabrics to consider. Whether you’re shopping online or checking out fabrics in the showroom, it’s quite normal to feel confused. Every fabric by the yard comes with a set of features that makes it suitable for certain designs. Understanding these features helps you choose the material that will make your model look its best.
How to Choose the Right Fabric for Dressmaking?
To answer this question, you should think about a few factors:
- How does the fabric feel against your skin?
- How will it behave while being sewn?
- How will it drape?
- Whether it’s see-through or heavyweight.
- Whether it washes well or not.
When you’re shopping, there will be several options regarding prints and dyes. So you must make sure that the material you’re picking is suitable for the sewing project you want to execute.
Types of Fabric:
Fabrics are divided into natural and synthetic fibers. Natural fibers include silk, cotton, linen, and wool. Synthetic fibers include nylon, polyester, and acrylic. You can also find blends that mix the features of both natural and synthetic fibers so they’re more durable, easier to maintain and more practical to work with.
Things to Think About:
All fabrics are either woven or knitted. Woven fabrics are suitable for tailored clothes while knitted fabrics are suitable for form-fitting and tight clothes like activewear and fitted dresses.
Some materials are easier to color and this means that the dye will be even with no spots or streaks. Checking the color stability is important because if you see that the color is lighter along the edges, this means that the color is likely to fade with washing.
You should also check if the fabric is likely to shrink after washing. You can wash the material prior to sewing to make sure that the model’s size isn’t going to change. You can also buy some extra fabric to make sure that you’ll have enough material to execute your sewing project.
Best Types of Fabric for Dressmaking:
Here are five of the best types of fabric to consider for sewing projects.
- Velvet:
If you’re looking for luxurious fabric, then you velvet should be on your shopping list. This fabric is soft to touch and has a lovely sheen to it, making it a suitable choice for evening gowns, dresses, pants, and tops. The fabric is rich so it’s a good material to consider if you have a special occasion or want to look exceptionally elegant.
The material is strong and durable, yet it drapes beautifully and softly. This material was only worn by nobility and royalty in the past but nowadays everyone can use it to make high-quality clothing apparel. It’s a woven fabric and is usually made of a blend of natural and synthetic fibers. Velvet that is made of 100% silk is expensive and rare to find. Other fibers like wool and linen can be combined with other synthetic fibers to make less luxurious and more affordable types of velvet.
- Crepon:
This is a compound woven fabric that resembles crepe because of the lengthwise wrinkles. This material is rather sturdy and might be manufactured of silk, wool, cotton or rayon. It washes well and doesn’t shrink or change color. You can use crepon to make dresses, blouses, and suits because it wears well.
Depending on the fibers used to make crepon, it might be thin and sheer or heavy and opaque. Some types of crepon fabrics have stretch so they require accuracy while you’re cutting and sewing the material. This will guarantee that the model you’re executing looks the same as planned. There are also other models that have no stretch so they can be used to make dresses and tops where you need some weight. Crepon can be expensive or affordable depending on the fibers used to make the fabric.
- Spandex Polyester:
People who prefer man-made or synthetic fibers have a good reason to do so. These fabrics are quite durable compared to natural fabrics and they’re also more affordable. Polyester is a fabric made from petroleum which was quite affordable in the 20th century. This is why most people chose to wear clothes made of polyester even though this material retains heat. However, combining spandex adds some nice features to polyester.
Spandex is lightweight and has the ability to retain its shape. It was first used to make lingerie and undergarments but when used with polyester it can be used for various models. Today, you can find spandex polyester fabric in several patterns and colors. It is a knit fabric can be used to make tight dresses, figure-hugging skirts, activewear, and loungewear. It doesn’t shrink so it’s a good option for everyday use.
- Chiffon:
This woven fabric is very soft to touch and is usually see-through because of the loose yarns. Chiffon can be made of natural fibers like silk or cotton, but the most affordable options are made of synthetic fibers. This lightweight fabric is the perfect choice for summer dresses, evening tops, and flowy skirts. Whenever you need lots of movement, you should think about using chiffon to execute your model because it drapes beautifully.
Working with chiffon is a bit challenging especially if you’re a beginner. However, the results are always impressive because it’s sheer, supple, and gathers well. You can wear chiffon with or without lining, depending on your choice.
- Wool Dobby:
Wool Dobby is created by the dobby loom that adds texture to the material. Wool dobby is woven material that can be used to make tops as well as dresses as it has some weight to it. It’s not the right material to create drapes but it holds its shape so you can use it in semi-formal outfits.
This material is durable so it will look good if you choose to wear it every day. It washes well, doesn’t shrink and the colors remain stable. You can use this fabric to make an A-line dress that accentuates your curves. Pairing it with a belt will add more definition to your body shape.
Choosing the right material for your outfit is a matter of personal choice. However, you should also think about the traits of the fabric and how you wish your model to look like when you wear it. This way you can choose a material that actually works.