Common Fabrics for Sewing: Pocket Guide: A Glossary of Fabrics and How to Use Them for Sewing Projects

By Rocky Nook

Quickly learn the basics of the many different kinds of  fabrics commonly used for sewing projects so you can pick the perfect material for your project!

Designed for sewists and DIY crafters who need a guide to the many common fabrics used for sewing. This handy and ultra-portable quick reference Pocket Guide offers sewists information on over 50 types of fabrics, what types of garments they're commonly used for, and tips for how to sew with them

• Learn the difference between natural and synthetic fabrics

• Discover the intricacies of how fabric is woven—and how that effects the way the fabric is sewed

• Understand terms like nap, weft, and weave, all words that describe how a fabric handles

• Tips for placing pattern pieces and cutting fabric

• A glossary of over 50 fabrics with information on their common uses and tips for sewing with them

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rocky Nook
• Release date: Sep 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888141168

Book preview

Fabric can be created with fiber materials from many sources. The main categories of fabric are natural fabrics and synthetic fabrics.

NATURAL FABRICS

Natural fabrics are created from natural fibers, such as plants, seeds, and the hair, fur, and skin of animals. Examples of common natural fabrics are cotton (made from the cotton plant), linen (made from the flax plant), silk (made from secretions of the silkworm), and cashmere (made from the coat of goats). While plant fibers are mostly constructed of cellulose, animal fibers contain protein and lipids.

Note: The natural fabrics made from plants are considered vegan, while the natural fabrics made from the skin and hair/fur of animals are not.

SYNTHETIC FABRICS

Synthetic fabrics are man-made: They are created using fibers synthesized from oil. Examples of common synthetic fabrics are nylon (a thermoplastic material made from petrochemicals), polyester (manufactured from polymers made from oil), and spandex (made from polyurethane).

Note: Synthetic fabrics are non-biodegradable.

NATURAL FABRICS VS. SYNTHETIC FABRICS

Synthetic fabrics are generally liked for their durability. They are stretch-, shrink-, fade-, and wrinkle-resistant, and they dry quickly (they also tend to be more affordable). Natural fabrics are preferred for clothing that needs to breathe well.

BLENDS

There are many different blended fabrics. This means the threads/yarns that are used to weave or knit the fabric are made of a blend of different fibers (for instance, a cotton/polyester blend). These blends have the qualities of each type of fabric in the mix, for example, a cotton/poly blend has the softness of cotton, but the shrink-resistance of polyester.

Fabric for quilting and garment making is generally either woven (made on a loom by weaving) or knit (made with intertwining loops of yarn (knitting)).

WOVEN FABRIC

Woven fabric is made by weaving weft and warp yarns together. The warp yarns are the lengthwise (parallel to the selvage) yarns, and the weft yarns are the cross yarns (perpendicular to the selvage).