A simple style with just a few options. Choosing a fabric should be a snap.
Weeeelllll, not so fast. You look around the fabric store and all of the sudden your brain freezes. You don’t even know where to start.
I've given this dilemma a name: Fabriphobia, [fab-rih-foh-bee-uh], noun. Inability to match fabrics and patterns.
Why does choosing a fabric suddenly become an impossible task?
Fear not,the answer to this dilemma is easier than you think. All you need to do is flip the pattern envelope over and look on the back at some of the fabric suggestions.
The starting place when choosing a fabric is to look at the first few pre-approved fabric suggestions. All of these suggested fabrics are wovens: cottons, lightweight denim, poplin, twill, and even wool. Most of them fall into a category called bottom weights.
Generally speaking, theses types of wovens are great for beginners. Things to avoid would be stripes or plaids that might need matching. You would not want to use things that would be slippery such as silks or satins. Another category to stay away from would be napped fabrics like corduroy or velvet.
Now you are ready to dive in and pick a fabric.
The denim below is an 8 oz. denim, perfect for a denim skirt. In the fabric store, this same information will be labeled on the top of the fabric bolt. Look for Fabric Content, Fabric Weight, Fabric Width, and Washing Instructions.
It also suggests that the fabric would be good for a skirt. Ipso facto: This fabric would work well with the above pattern.
The 6.9 oz. twill below is similar, but a little more lightweight.
It also lists that it is “perfect for stylish jackets, dress, skirts…”
Now that you understand the type (bottom weights) of fabric you need to look at, what about fabric design and pattern.
All you need to do here is look at the picture on your pattern envelope. In the first picture at the top of the page you will see a khaki (think bottom weight/twill, denim, poplin, wool, etc.) skirt and a patterned skirt.
The khaki skirt tells you everything you need to know: simple bottom weight fabrics are perfectly suitable.
Look closely at the fabric design in the short skirt. Is it a large print? Not really, it is what I would call an all over design.
These two things tell you everything you need to know. Look for a plain twill/wool/woven fabric or something in a similar weight with an all over print.
Throughout this process,you are not alone. A fabulous resource for choosing fabrics is a website I love called Pattern Review.
It is free to join and you can just put the pattern number into Advanced Search and you will see what fabrics people have used and any problems they might have encountered when sewing up the pattern.
Being able to shop on the internet before heading to the fabric store makes this process a whole lot easier. Start by browsing online at patterns to get an idea of what you have in mind. Then, head over to Pattern Review and see what fabrics are being used for your specific pattern.
You will be amazed at how simple this process becomes by doing just a little bit of homework before you head off to buy patterns and fabrics.
No more wandering around the fabric store with a ‘deer in the headlights’ look on your face.
1 comment:
Super informative :) Thanks!
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