Common Fabric Terms

There's plenty of fabrics on the market, but I'm going to focus on the more common materials you'll find at your local fabric store. Before I describe anything, let me just give a bit of advice. Your eyes and hands are all you really need to help you determine what kind of fabrics are good for your specific project. Fibers used in fabric are either natural or man made. Natural fibers always come from plants and animals in some way or another. They include (but are not limited to) cotton, linen, hemp, ramie, jute, wool, alpaca, cashmire, and silk. Man made fibers are made using either a chemical process, natural fibers, or a combination of the two. They include polyester, acrylic, nylon, vinyl, rayon, spandex and acetate. In addition to the fibers, there are different fabric types and textures. Here are some common terms you will find in today's fabric stores and a brief description about them:

• Corduroy - has a lengthwise ridges. Usually made of cotton or a cotton blend and is a midweight or bottomweight fabric.
  
  
• Diagonal - has either a woven, knitted or printed design on the fabric - if your pattern indicates a separate layout for diagonals, definitely use that. If your pattern says "Not suitable for diagonals" it's best to avoid this style of fabric.
  
  
• Double Knit - knit fabric that has very little stretch to it, often made of polyester.
  
  
• Pile - Includes velvet, velveteen, fake fur, corduroy, and velour. You can always tell a fabric has a pile to it by running your hand over it lengthwise, and then in the opposite direction. If the fabric gives some resistance in one direction but not the other (this is most obvious in plush velvet, as an example) or the fabric has a definite sheen from one angle over the other, it has a pile and is best to follow any pattern instructions given for pile fabrics.
  
  
• Gabardine - tightly woven twill often made in wool or a wool blend and is usually a midweight or bottomweight fabric.
  
  
• Jacquard - this actually refers to a type of weave made with the Jacquard Loom. Includes brocade and damask.
  
  
• Knit - fibers are knitted together rather than woven.
  
  
• Loose Weaves - Just as the name suggests, the weave on these fabrics are loose and tend to fray easily. Burlap is a good example of this but there are apparel and home decorator grade fabrics that also fall into this category. Sewing the edges of your cut pattern pieces prior to sewing will help prevent too much fraying while you construct your project.
  
  
• Microsuede - also called a microfiber, made of very fine polyester fibers tightly knit together to form a suede-like or faux suede material. It's used often as a substitute for suede because it is easier to clean and sew. Micro suede is usually a light to mediumweight fabric.
  
  
• Plaid - plaids have different colored threads running lengthwise and widthwise across the fabric. When sewing, take care to match the plaids in your pattern pieces so that major seams (such as side seams) match up and the pattern appears continuous. This usually requires purchasing extra yardage.
  
  
• Sheer - fabrics that you can see through. It's usually best to use a special seam with this type of fabric, both because the seam is visible from the "right" side and to keep fraying fabrics at bay. French seams are great for this but there are other options for finishing as well.
  
  
• Stripes - stripes must be handled similarly to plaids in that you should take special care to match stripes where they meet up at seams.
  
  
• Twill - fabrics like denim have a twill pattern, or diagonal ridges, running along them. Sometimes those diagonals are really obvious and if that's the case, use the "with nap" layout from the pattern you are using. Twill usually ravels and needs to be finished off with a serger, zig-zag stitch or enclosed seam to keep the edges neat.
  
  
• Velvet - this fabric is by lengthwise yarns woven into a base and sheared. It comes in many thicknesses and in various fiber blends. The pile on velvet has a nap to it.
  
  
• Velveteen - this fabric is made by sheared pile loops, just like corduroy, but it covers the entire fabric. Velvet and velveteen both have a nap, so be sure to follow the "with nap" directions to a pattern.
  
  
• Woven - woven fabric is produced by weaving warp (lengthwise) and weft (width) threads together. Unless there is a stretch material woven into the fabric, it has no stretch to it except a slight stretch on the bias, which is on the diagonal of the fabric.
  
  

Fabric Weight

Fabrics can be classified by a variety of means, but one way is as sheer, lightweight, midweight (or medium weight), and heavy weight (or bottom weight) fabric. Of course these terms refer to the weight of the fabric and what it could be used for. Here are some examples of fabric weights:

• Sheer - chiffon, voile, silk, georgette, batiste, gauze.
  
  
• Light weight - shirting, broadcloth, linen, challis, eyelet, charmeuse.
  
  
• Light to mid weight - panne velour, jersey, stretch velour.
  
  
• Mid weight - flannel, crepe, gabardine, chintz, corduroy, velvet, velveteen, some denims, taffeta.
  
  
• Heavy weight - heavy wool, fleece, fake fur, heavy denim, cotton duck.
  
  

If you are sewing pants, for example, you'll want something in the midweight or bottomweight categories, depending on the type of pants. If they're dress pants, you'd go more for midweight. This includes heavier fabrics like denim, cotton duck, or heavy wool.

Some might be the same weight but have a different stiffness. For example, chiffon is very silky and drapes well, whereas georgette is similar to chiffon in weight but has more body to it and can more easily hold a shape.

Fabric Care

Caring for your fabric will depend on what kind of fabric you're using and if it's been treated. For example, many drapery fabrics are made of cotton. Cotton is washable, right? Not so fast. Cotton shrinks, and most drapery fabrics are not preshrunk. In addition, many are treated with a product like ScotchGard which helps prevent stains. Washing this fabric would remove the treatment and probably shrink your fabric; not to mention wrinkle it pretty badly. Acetate can be completely destroyed by water. Some wools can be hand washed, but when put in a washing machine, the agitation can actually "felt" the fabric, which would ruin a garment.

Be sure when you buy fabric off of a bolt - especially apparel fabrics - to read the care instructions before you even buy the material. If you don't want to spend money dry cleaning your clothes, you might want to think twice about buying fabric that is labeled "Dry Clean Only." Most home decorator fabrics are dry clean or spot clean only.

If you are sewing a material that you do plan to clean in a washing machine or with water, wash that material before you cut your pattern out. This preshrinks the fabric and prepares it for care once it's been sewn into something.

Now that you're more familiar with the different fabrics, learn how to choose the right needle and thread for your sewing project.