At Wyldwood Creative, we live and breathe fabric! But we also know that not everyone does. And when you’re getting going with garment making, it can help to know what fabrics to use with which types of garments, and what to look for in a pattern.
The first key difference you’ll need to consider is what fabric structure you’re working with: knit or woven. We’re gonna knock out the knits really quick before diving more into beginner-friendly and versatile wovens.
Knits
Knit fabric is often stretchy by nature and usually has elastane added for extra stretch and recovery (this is fancy textile-speak for it bouncing back to its original size after stretching out). More stretchy knits with a lot of recovery or elastane content will work great for close-fitting tees, yoga pants, and bodysuits, whereas less stretchy or low-recovery knits are better for looser tees, dresses, and loungewear. While the fiber content might say something like “5% elastane”, this does not translate directly to stretch percentage. You’ll want to calculate the stretch percentage by taking a width of fabric, measure it both unstretched and stretched, and then do this calculation: (stretched-unstretched)/unstretched. Double check the pattern’s recommendations for stretch percentage and whether it calls for 2-way vs 4-way stretch! This information will be crucial for picking the right fabric and pattern combo. To give you a starting point, check out these options:
- Hudson jersey x
- Lyocell & Cotton Jersey x Elysian Bodysuit
- AGF jersey x Jackson Tee
Wovens
Now that we’ve covered knits, let’s talk about wovens. The key factors to consider are the fabric weight and drape.
Weight
Weight is measured as the literal weight of a square yard of fabric, but for our purposes, it’s usually sorted into one of three categories: lightweight, midweight, and bottom weight. Starting with the right weight is gonna go a long way in making your fabric work well for the garment – and you’ll avoid learning the hard way that a dress made out of upholstery fabric is not the move (ask me how I know). Your chosen pattern will have a recommended range of fabric weights, and you should follow this advice as best you can until you’re ready to make an informed (or at least bold) design choice
Here’s a basic overview of typical garment types and the weight of fabric that’ll be recommended.
- Lightweight - blouses, dresses, skirts (check opacity, might need a lining)
- Mid weight - soft pants, dresses, skirts, shackets, shirts
- Bottom weight - hard pants, jackets, overalls, aprons
Drape
Once you’ve got the weight figured out, you can start to think about the drape you want. Drape is just a fancy way of saying how the fabric hangs and moves when the garment is worn. Think about the difference between a sleek, flowy dress vs the structure of a denim chore coat jacket. (Pro tip: our garment fabric listings feature a video so you can see how the fabric moves and catches the light). As a maker, you get to decide what you want your garment to feel and look like, and drape gives you a wide range of options. You can absolutely use the design intent of the pattern designer, but don’t be afraid to make the thing how you want it!
Consider the examples of the Ilford Jacket below. By changing the weight and drape of fabric, you can see just how much the vibe of a garment can change with a different fabric.
Ilford Jacket (Photos from Friday Pattern Company Ilford listing)
- Lightweight
- Midweight
- Bottomweight
Quick Start Guide
|
Fabric |
Weight |
Drape |
Pairs well with… |
|
Light |
Fluid |
Flowy dresses, skirts, and blouses like the Estuary Skirt or Sagebrush Top |
|
|
Light |
Soft, billowy |
Simple casual garments with fewer seams like the Saturday Skirt Set or Wildwood Wrap dress |
|
|
Light/Mid |
Fluid, billowy |
Dresses, skirts, and blazers with a bit of body such as |
|
|
Mid |
Soft |
Easy everyday garments like the Donny Shirt, Saguaro Set, or Saturday Skirt Set |
|
|
Mid |
Softly structured |
Dresses and shirts with a bit of structure like the Fringe Dress, Evelyn Skirt, or Donny Shirt |
|
|
Mid |
Crisp |
Jackets and pants like Ilford Jacket, Beachcomber Jacket, or Chanterelle Pants |
|
|
Mid/Bottom |
Structured |
Hard-wearing garments like the Ilford Jacket, Rambler Pants, and Sam Apron |
What about quilting cotton? You can use that for garments too! We’ve found that it has a pretty crisp drape, making it best for button up shirts, pajamas, or anything that calls for cotton lawn or batiste.
Whatever garment you make, remember you get to decide – or at least make an educated guess – which fabric is best for achieving your vision. And if it doesn’t pan out like you hoped, you can come back to the concepts of fabric type, weight, and drape to guide your future decisions. Happy sewing!
