How to Choose the Right Fabric for my Sewing Project

Put simply choosing the right dressmaking fabric can make or break your sewing project. A number of customers have told us they struggle with this aspect of dressmaking so we've written this guide to help you along the way. Fabric shopping should be nothing but a purely joyful experience after all! Plus we want you to reap the rewards of the time and money you invest in every project.

The Basic Logic behind Fabric Choice

Trying to get your head around fabric types can feel totally overwhelming. Even experienced dressmakers can feel this way and stick to what they know to avoid disappointment. Understanding which fabrics work well for different garments can also help you to become a more adventurous sewer. Before you start to think about a specific project it is a good idea to get a basic grasp of what makes different fabric types suited to different garments. You can start to do this by looking at the clothes in your wardrobe. Think about why each type of fabric is suitable for each particular garment. Don't worry if you're not sure exactly what type of fabric it is, we will cover these in more detail later. Think about the characteristics of the garment rather than the type of garment. When choosing fabric the style, fit, design, silhouette and structure you want to achieve are important considerations. We would argue how the fabric hangs or drapes is the crucial starting point. It is impossible to allocate a fabric type to a garment type. For example, you could say all jackets should be made from a stiff fabric to achieve the necessary structure. Whilst this might be true for a formal suit jacket, it would not be the case for a casual cardigan style jacket or a loose fitting rain jacket such as the second and third images below. First ascertain the drape - is it a structured silhouette or a fluid one that flows over the body? Then start to ask yourself further questions - is the garment close fitting and therefore needs to stretch as you move? Does it need to be an opaque fabric - most people wouldn't fancy wearing a sheer skirt or trousers! Does the fabric need to be strong enough to take stress on the seams? To avoid a split pair of trousers for example! Choosing the right fabric for a project is a process of elimination - identifying and ruling out fabrics that won't work until you have a list of possible options that will. The above questions will help you to do just that. Now turn your thinking on its head. Think about why the clothes you've considered wouldn't work as well in different fabrics. Imagine a nice crisp cotton shirt made in a drapey, fluid fabric such as satin or chiffon. Imagine a flowing maxi dress in a stiffer, coarser fabric. Then save yourself the horror of the pictures in your mind's eye and stop imagining! Once you have considered your existing clothes and have a feel for the key questions to ask yourself you can start to think about what you would like to make.

Consulting the Pattern Packet

Suggested Fabric Types

If you are starting with a particular pattern in mind look at the packet. It is full of interesting and useful information. If there is a photograph on the packet it can give you a clue as to the type of fabric that would be suitable. Look at the back of the pattern packet. There is usually a table with a list of a wide range of suitable fabrics. If you aren't confident about fabric choice it is best to stick to these, but as your confidence grows you may choose to select alternative fabrics to work with.

Knit Only Patterns

Some patterns will only be suitable for knit fabrics also referred to as stretch and jersey fabrics. These patterns are designed with negative ease i.e the finished garment will be slightly smaller than your measurements. This is because the garment is meant to stretch and hug your body. Using a fabric without enough stretch will result in a garment that is too tight or doesn't fit at all. Patterns designed for knits often have markings on the back of the packet so you can do a stretch test. For example here you take a section of fabric as long as the black bar and check it can be stretched to the arrow at the end of the white bar. If it stretches this far and returns back to it's original position afterwards (known as recovery) it should be fine. Equally using a stretch fabric for a non stretch pattern can result in a baggy, shapeless garment unless you make adjustments to the pattern. There are suggested formulae and methods recommended for making these alterations so it is best to do your research before attempting it. It is also worth recognising that stretch fabrics can be two way stretch or four way stretch and certain patterns will only be suitable for one of these types. Two way stretch fabrics stretch width ways across your body (NB: the stretch of the fabric should always be across the body for two way stretch fabrics). Four way stretch fabrics also stretch lengthways and diagonally.

Fabric Quantities

The pattern packet also tells you whether plaids, stripes or one directional prints are suitable and if extra fabric is necessary to pattern match these fabrics. There is no general rule of thumb for how much extra fabric you will need. It depends on the size of the print and the pattern. The pattern packet will also tell you how much fabric you will need based on the width of the fabric. Dressmaking fabrics are usually 45" (115cm) or 60" (150cm) wide so you will need to buy slightly less if the fabric you have chosen is wider. Even if you are starting with a fabric in mind rather than a pattern use the logic we have applied. Refer back to the questions above to identify a suitable garment to make with it.

Common Fabrics used for Garments

The first thing I should mention is our website. We've broken the fabrics down into fabric types so it is nice and easy to find what you are looking for. In the largest fabric section (patterned woven fabrics) we've added filters to assist you further. You can select fabric type and/or print design to help you to narrow things down. I have used our website fabric groupings to prepare this list to make it even easier to navigate your way around. This method of grouping also works well for the process of elimination method we talked about earlier. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but covers most of the common dressmaking fabric types.

FABRIC GROUP	FABRIC TYPES	DRAPE	CHARACTERISTICS & COMMON USES	SEWABILITY
COTTON	Cotton poplin	Limited drape	Natural fibre, light to medium weight, skirts, shirts, dresses	Easy
	Cotton lawn	Very good drape	Lightweight, skirts, blouses, dresses, shirts	Easy
	Polycotton	Limited drape	Polyester and cotton blend, medium weight	Easy
	Cotton sateen	Drape varies dependant on weight.	Satin finish, sometimes has a small amount of stretch, skirts, trousers, dresses	Easy
CHIFFON	Silk chiffon, nylon chiffon and polyester chiffon	Excellent drape.	Lightweight, sheer, lingerie, sleepwear, overlay on evening dresses or blouses, scarves	Advanced
LINEN	Linen	Good drape.	Natural fibre, cool and absorbent. Trousers, skirts, blouses, jackets	Easy
POLYESTER	Poly-viscose, 100% polyester	Good/very good drape	Skirts, dresses, trousers	Intermediate - can be slippery
	Crepe de chine	Excellent drape	Silk like appearance (silk based also available), very lightweight, blouses, lingerie, scarves	Intermediate - can be slippery
	Crepe	Excellent drape	Various weights available, satin backed options available. Tops, skirts, dresses	Intermediate - satin backed option can be slippery
VISCOSE	Poly-viscose, ramie-viscose	Excellent drape	Natural fibres, often blended with other fibres, dresses, tops, skirts	Intermediate - can be slippery
KNITS	Cotton jersey & wool jersey	Excellent drape	Matt finish stretch fabric, tops, skirts, dresses	Intermediate - correct tools & handling necessary
	Polyester jersey & viscose jersey	Excellent drape	Sheen finish stretch fabric, tops, skirts, dresses	Intermediate - correct tools & handling necessary
	Scuba	Firm knit, no drape	Suitable for skirts, dresses, jackets	Intermediate - correct tools & handling necessary
DENIM	Stretch denim available in a range of weights	Firm weave, limited or no drape	Stretch fabric, lighter weights suitable for dresses, shirts, skirts, heavier weights for trousers, jackets, coats	Intermediate
	Non stretch available in a range of weights	Firm weave, limited or no drape	Lighter weights suitable for dresses, shirts, skirts, heavier weights for trousers, jackets, coats	Easy
LACE	Available in stretch and non stretch	Excellent drape	Decorative fabric used for dresses, tops, skirts and lingerie	Advanced
SATIN	Polyester or silk based	Drape varies depending on weight	Luxurious fabric used for evening wear, blouses, dresses	Advanced - very slippery!
TAFFETA	Silk, rayon or polyester available	Firm weave, limited drape	Luxurious fabric used for evening wear	Intermediate
VELVET	Silk, rayon, cotton, viscose, polyester blends available	Excellent drape	Short dense pile - smooth brushed in one direction, coarse in the other. Luxurious fabric, dresses, tops, jackets, trousers, skirts	Advanced
WOOL	Boiled wool, worsted wool, wool crepe, wool jersey	Drape varies depending on weight	Trousers, dresses, skirts, coats, jackets depending on weight	Specialist preparation & pressing required

 

Other Considerations

Identifying fabric suitable to the type of garment you want to make is essential when choosing a fabric. Once you have narrowed your selection down there are also other things you may want to consider. Some people prefer to use natural fibres such as viscose, cotton and linen rather than man-made fibres such as polyester. Natural fibres are more breathable and therefore cooler. All of our fabrics have care instructions listed. If you are making a garment for every day wear it is a good idea to choose a machine washable fabric. If you are making a special occasion outfit dry clean only fabrics are still practical. Certain fabrics are more difficult to work with, they may require special preparation and pressing techniques (such as velvet and wool) or be difficult to handle when sewing (such as chiffon, silk and satin). If you are a beginner sewist it is probably best to start with easy to sew fabrics such as cotton and progress onto more challenging fabrics as your confidence grows. Once you progress onto more challenging fabrics having the right tools for the job is so important. Simply using a specialist sewing machine foot or the right interfacing can take the task from a total nightmare to an absolute breeze. If you are buying a fabric without a specific pattern in mind it is a good idea to buy 2-3m to keep your options open. Finally think about whether the fabric you've chosen will fit with your style and wardrobe. If you are making separates what will you wear them with? If you are making a dress, have you got the right accessories or is it a good excuse for some new shoes?! Have fun sewing! Lucy For more tips and tricks on how to make sewing easy you can follow our blog via Bloglovin and receive updates via email each time a new post is added. Follow us on Facebook Twitter YouTube and Instagram for news, tutorials, special offers, sales and more.