Tips on Choosing the Right Fabrics for Dressmaking

Author: Novem Harder

Dressmaking  is an activity that most people enjoy. Fabric is the basic material being used in designing a dress. The simple fabric that is used in every dress making project when combined with creative ideas can turn into a glamorous piece of dress.   There are a wide variety of  fabrics  used for dressmaking today. Each type of fabrics is suited for a certain use. In dressmaking, designs are not only to be considered but also the material that should be used. In choosing the right material for your dressmaking project, your experience will guide you on choosing the best material for it. Knowing the type of the fabric that you will use is one way to choose the best fabric for every dress. There are two major classifications of fabrics, fabrics made from natural fibers and the other one are made from synthetic fibers.   In dressmaking, there are factors that you need to consider in creating a certain dress. Knowing where the dress will be worn, and some specifications of the person that will be wearing are such factors. These factors are also used in choosing the right materials for your project. Following are some tips in choosing the right fabrics for your dressmaking project.   Fabrics that are made from natural fibres may be either from animals or vegetables. Such fabrics are wool, cotton, silk and linen. Wool is made from hair fibers of animals and sheep’s are one of the most popular providers of wool in the fabric industry. Wool is warm, absorbent and wrinkle resistant. Coats and winter dresses are commonly made from wool. And wool should not be ironed directly and should be steam pressed with a cloth. Wools can be washed but some may need to be dry cleaned. Wool tends to pull when blended with synthetic fibers. Another fabric made from natural fibres is cotton. Cotton are known to have the characteristics of durability for it is strong and long wearing. Cottons comes with various finishes, textures, and weight and its either woven or knitted.   Silk is another type of fabric made from natural fibres of unwound cocoon of the silk worm. It has the absorbency characteristics and is comfortable to wear in warm weather. Because silk is a type of fiber that has a low conductivity it keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather. Silk are commonly used in shirts, blouses, dresses, lingerie, pajamas, robes, sun dresses and skirt suits. The last type of fabric that is made of natural fibres are linen. Linen is a fabric made from fibres of the fax plant. It is a cool and absorbent type of fabric. And often used for suits, dresses and skirts. Acrylic, Nylon and Polyester are fabrics made from synthetic fibres. Acrylics are warm and light weight type of fabric. Nylon on the other hand is tough and elastic and also moth resistant. While polyester are types of fabrics that dry quickly and has the wash and wear characteristics.   However, before you decide on what fabric you are going to use you need to consider the essential factors in choosing the right fabric for dressmaking. Each type of fabric has its own characteristics. You should know what characteristics of fabrics you want to use in your dressmaking project and there you can decide what fabric to use whether it is made from natural or synthetic fibres. You may check out online fabric stores for the  types of fabrics  that you will use, searching online can be convenient as well as efficient to every dressmaker.