How To Choose The Correct Fabric For Your Sewing Project
Up until fifty years ago, the vast majority of women knew how to sew. All the women that I knew as a child sewed and knitted and manufactured some of the clothes for me and my four brothers. When I was eight or nine, I and each other child in my class was taught the fundamentals of knitting and before I went off to college, my mother taught me how to take up my jeans, sew on patches and repair my clothes.
Unfortunately, sewing, knitting and repairing clothes has largely died out in the United Kingdom. I now live in Thailand and I do not see much evidence of sewing or knitting here, so I assume that these arts are dying out all over the world among the masses, although I am certain that there are individuals everywhere who still knit and sew.
It is a crying shame. If you are going to make your own clothes or furnishings like cushions, pillows or soft toys, it is quite essential that you select the correct fabric for the project. Using the wrong fabric will make your job more difficult and might even render your work worthless. So here are a couple of suggestions on choosing the right cloth for the job in hand.
The first and most obvious thing to do is read the recommendations on the pattern you are using and if you are a novice take that advice until you know what you are doing. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not read the instructions anymore. I can not remember the number of times I have seen someone struggling to assemble something and found the instructions in the bin with the packaging.
Get to know textiles by examining the fabrics in the shop. Ask questions about fabrics and look at the cloth on the bolt or roll. If the fabric does not look correct on the bolt it probably will not look correct anywhere else either. When you unroll a couple of feet of the bolt, does it lie flat or does it roll up or crumple? Grab a handful and squeeze it. Does it crease easily? Does it feel correct?
Is the cloth fraying on the bolt? If so it will fray whilst you use it too. Look on the bolt for special cleaning or handling directions. Do they suit your needs?
It is quite a problem to work with satin because it slips easily. T-shirt knit is also difficult because it rolls up on itself. It is probably best to avoid these fabrics until you acquire some experience
Cotton is the best fabric for beginners because it is easy to work with and everyone is very familiar with cotton goods. We know how they should feel and we can tell good, thick heavy cotton from cheap, thin cotton. We also all know that cotton shrinks. Therefore before you cut you cloth. wash it and cut the shrunken cotton fabric. In effect, you have pre-shrunk it.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with decorative sofa pillows. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.
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