Tartan – A check, twill weave fabric with a specific check pattern. Careful layout needed to match fabric pattern. Used for kilts, skirts, and trousers.
Tartan fabrics
Tweed – Scottish, Irish, Harris, and Donegal – Traditional tweeds are thick woolen fabrics with a distinct woven pattern, named after the area of origin. Modern tweed is produced in a wider range of colors and designs. Used for coats, jackets, and smart suits.
Worsted – Made from tightly woven woolen yarns, it is hardwearing and usually high quality. Used for suits, coats, and upholstery.
KNIT FABRICS
Knits can be light- to heavyweight depending on the fabric type. They have definite stretch and can be used for close-fitting garments, sportswear, and casual wear. Use ballpoint needles and woven interfacings that can stretch. Stay stitch curved seams. Use stay tape at the neck and armholes to prevent unwanted stretch through prolonged wear. Use zigzag or stretch stitches that allow the fabric to stretch, even when sewn.
Selection of knit fabrics
Common fabric types
Cotton jersey – A fine, lightweight knit fabric which drapes well and is wrinkle-resistant. Orginally only cotton, many other soft-knitted fabrics are called jersey. Used for T-shirts, casual dresses, and sportswear.
Double knit – A very stable fabric, with vertical ribs on both sides. Available in a wide color range. Used for sportswear and casual suits.
Lycra and Spandex – Lycra is the trade name for Spandex. This man-made elastic fiber is often combined with other fibers to add stretch. Mixed with cotton it is matte, mixed with nylon it is shiny. Good for very close-fitting, active wear. Used for exercise wear, swimwear, and lingerie.
Lamé – Contains a mixture of metallic yarns and can be found in tricot-backed lamé and tissue lamé. It is a fragile fabric which tears easily. Avoid pressing. Used for loose tops, eveningwear, trims, and appliqués.
Stretch velour – Sometimes mixed with Lycra, velour is similar to velvet but with a tightly woven short cut pile. Used for sportswear, robes, and kaftans.
SPECIALITY FABRICS
These range from synthetic leathers and furs to natural fiber luxury fabrics. Many have piles and textured surfaces so always use “with nap” layout. Avoid pressing with steam, which can flatten the pile, and use a soft towel or velvet board as a pressing surface.
Selection of speciality fabrics
Common fabric types
Faux fur, fun fur – All have pile, some very long, others very short. Use “with nap” layouts and reduce bulk in the seam allowances by trimming the pile. Use a long stitch length and wider seam allowance to help evenly feed the fabric as it is sewn. Used for coats, jackets, and soft furnishings.
Synthetic suede/leather – Similar in look and feel to their natural counterparts, they rarely need finishing. Avoid pins, which will leave holes. Varieties include faux suede, suedette, ultra suede, leatherette, and pleather. Use a Teflon™ or coated presser foot to help glide over the fabric. Used for jackets, coats, skirts, trousers, and soft furnishings.
Velvet – A luxury fabric with a pile that can be made from cotton, silk, or man-made fibers. It can be light- or heavyweight. Varieties include panne, chiffon, velveteen, sculptured, and devoré. Devoré has a pattern created by parts of the pile being cut or burned away to reveal the backing. Velvet layers can “walk”; when sewing, use a walking foot or double pin and baste. Make sure the nap/pile is running in the same direction on all pieces. Used for eveningwear, jackets, trousers, and wraps.
HANDLING FABRICS
Having chosen the fabric, the next step is to cut it out, ready to sew. However, there are guidelines you should follow to ensure success. These include understanding and using the fabric grain and using special techniques to sew specialty fabrics.
Grain lines
All woven fabrics have a grain (diagram 1). The grain determines the amount of stretch in the fabric. The lengthwise or straight grain runs parallel with the selvages (side edges). It has the least stretch and therefore most garment pieces are placed with the lengthwise grain running vertically down the pattern piece. The crosswise grain is at right angles to the lengthwise grain and runs from selvage to selvage. It has slightly more give than the lengthwise grain, thus most pattern pieces are laid on the fabric with the crosswise grain going around the body. The bias is any diagonal direction. The true bias runs at a 45-degree angle to the lengthwise grain. Fabric is at its most stretchy along the bias.
Diagram 1: Grain lines
Sewing tips for specialty fabrics
General
• Use sharp shears to cut out. Use serrated shears when cutting silks or very fine fabrics. The serrated blades will grip the fabric as it is cut.
• Cut facings from lining fabric rather than heavy pile fabrics or those with beads and sequins.
• Change needles and pins frequently, particularly when sewing fabrics with metallic fibers which can blunt them easily.
• When working with flimsy fabrics, use lots of pins in the seam allowance to keep the layers together.
• When working with faux leather and suede, use weights or tin cans rather than pins which will leave holes.
• Stitch all seams in the direction of the nap whenever possible.
• Use sew-in interfacings.
• Follow the “with nap” layout to ensure any shading, pile, or pattern runs in the same direction.
• Always use a press cloth and press with care. Avoid pressing fabrics that have pre-pressed surface detail such as crushed velvets or pre-pleated fabric.
Checked and striped fabric
• Only use striped or checked fabrics with patterns that list them in the suggested fabrics.
• Make sure the fabric design matches across the garment by placing the paper pattern on a single layer of fabric. Turn the pattern piece over to cut the corresponding section, to get a left and a right piece.
• Make sure the balance marks and notches are in line across all the matching pattern pieces.
• When placing a pattern on fabric, ensure the most dominant stripe or check is not placed at the widest body point, such as the bust or hips. Match checks and stripes at the same point on the pattern pieces. Discount seam allowances when matching patterns.
• It is not possible for checks and stripes to match at all seams, so choose the most prominent places for pattern matching.
Beaded, sequinned fabrics
• Use a zipper foot to stitch beaded fabrics if the beading prevents straight stitching. Use a walking foot to sew heavy-pile fabric to help the layers feed evenly.
• To eliminate bulk in the seams, remove beading from the seam allowance by crushing the beads (use a little hammer or two spoons) and gently removing. Cut sequins in half and pull out.
• Avoid steam when working with beaded, sequin, or metallic fabrics.
Fabrics with pile
• Trim the pile from the seam allowance to reduce bulk. To hide seams in furs, working from the right side, use a pin to pick out the pile from the seam stitching.