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Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen: Hello, and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics.

Helen: We are two sewing buds who love to sew our own clothes and want to encourage you on your sewing journey too.

Caroline: Join us for today’s topic: Fabric Q&A.

Helen: Hi, Caroline.

Caroline: Hi, Helen. How are you?

Helen: I’m good. How are you?

Caroline: I’m great.

Helen: Of course you are. It’s a fabric episode.

Caroline: I know. You know, I love our fabric episodes. I live for them.

Helen: Well, it’s really handy to have a resident fabric expert on our hands to answer all these questions.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. Yes. Well, before we get to this awesome Q&A with some great questions in it, and some great answers, we’re gonna go through some listener feedback about home decor sewing.

Helen: We did a home decor sewing episode last season, if you’re interested, and we have some feedback to share with you today.

Elissa wrote, “LONG time listener here! I have been listening since y’all started. Since then I have had three daughters. For the last 9 months I have worked to redo my girls’ room and give them a girly room of [my] dreams. I blame the algorithm for keeping all of my posts basically hidden from the sewing community—but I have been a part of it for 6 years now! I went hogwild with home decor sewing this year doing their bed skirts, headboards, ruffle pillows, circle pillows, and false roman shades.

“All of the fabrics I wanted were designer and only could be sourced through an interior designer. My mom always said I have a wine taste on a beer budget. But I found a great designer on Spoonflower, Danika Herrick, who had the girly designs I was looking for. I ordered 30 yards of fabric and did allllll sorts of math, read vintage Laura Ashley interior design books, and sewed up a storm. I wanted to layer different patterns. And I am not an interior designer, but I’m proud of how it turned out. And I am mostly proud of all the math I did!”

Caroline: Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe you ordered 30 yards of fabric. That feels like a lot of fabric.

Helen: Even for Caroline.

Caroline: Yeah, but when you see the photos of this room, you will understand where all of that fabric went ‘cause it is beautiful and frilly and girly and amazing. We have some pictures that we’re gonna post in the show notes. I would describe the style as traditional meets frothy, feminine, kind of, like Elle Woods lived at Green Gables. And you did a great job of layering the prints, Elissa. I love the vintage style of matching the pillows with the curtains and matching the upholstered headboards with the bed skirts.

And there are two great takeaways here. First, for a custom high-end look on a budget, Spoonflower’s the place to go. Second, there are some fabulous vintage books out there that have the kind of information that’s difficult to find online, and there are tons of great general home decor tutorials you can find for free online as well. But if you want the Laura Ashley look, it’s good to go straight to the source.

Helen: Yes, it’s true. I am blown away by this room. It is literally picture perfect. It is so, so cool. Well done, Elissa. I also just wanna say, it’s wild to me that in the time that we’ve been doing this podcast, somebody could have had three children.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh.

Helen: Right?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Well done on that front, as well.

Caroline: Yes. And don’t you wanna just, like, jump on one of those beds and have, like, a pillow fight or something?

Helen: Yes! I don’t think Elissa would appreciate that. I feel…

Caroline: No, probably not, but I would like to have a sleepover in this room. Looks like so much fun.

Helen: It does. Okay. Well, on the topic of Spoonflower, we got a tip from Shem about home decor: “Something I wanted to add is Spoonflower! I know you guys have talked Spoonflower before but this is their real sweet spot! So many of their substrates are meant for home decor. Obviously there’s the ability to really customise your home with their custom prints but they also MAKE home decor so you can have help!

Let’s say you want to make over your bedroom and want to sew the curtains or the pillow cases, but the duvet is a bit too much. You can pick your print, pick the duvet in the size you need, and they will print the fabric and sew the duvet cover for you! How cool is that? Of course, there’s also the wallpaper option that can coordinate, as well.”

Amazing.

Caroline: Yeah. This is so cool. I hadn’t really thought of this before, that you can mix your custom sewn pieces with readymade pieces in prints from your favourite surface artists. And I also hadn’t thought about matching the wallpaper to the fabric furnishings, but this is such a good idea. On that show Trixie Motel, where drag queen Trixie Mattel renovates a Palm Springs motel, they did that pretty often. It gives a, kind of, kitschy, campy, vintage look that is so fun! So I’m loving this idea.

Helen: I know! I can picture a duvet in a custom fabric, and then even just, like, a spotlight wallpaper behind your headboard, for example…

Caroline: Yes!

Helen: …like, create that seamless look.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh.

Helen: Amazing.

Caroline: So cool. Our next feedback comes from Vanessa: “I’m catching up on the most recent season and wanted to provide some info after listening to the home decor episode—another great option for towelling is Moda Fabrics. Known for quilting cotton, their towelling is often available in quilt shops and online retailers that cater to quilters. It’s great, half the work is already done!”

Helen: Thank you for this tip, Vanessa. We checked out this Moda towelling at Miller’s Dry Goods, and it looks like there are so many gorgeous ones. They’re all hemmed at the sides and already the right width of towelling, so all you need to do is just cut them to length and then finish those length hems. They’re mostly traditional woven tea towel style with things like stripes, plus a few solids and some fun prints, and they look like they came right out of Sur la Table.

Caroline: Yeah, they do.

Helen: Not only could you use these to make towels, but you could make gorgeous table runners, place mats, oven mitts. You could make aprons, all sorts of things with this.

Caroline: Yeah. We’ll have a link in the show notes for you all to go check that out. There’s a few quilting designers that do these, like, towelling, kind of, by the yard options…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: …which I think is really cool. Alright, Helen, are we gonna talk about fabric? I’m ready.

Helen: Yeah! We asked our listeners you for questions, and you delivered as always. So let’s get right into it.

Dani wants to know: “What is ramie used for?”

Caroline: So ramie is a fibre that looks similar to linen, but it’s more lustrous and less wrinkle-prone. Like linen, it is made from the bast fibres of a plant. The ramie plant is a nettle that is native to China. And the fibres are very strong, stronger than flax, even! However, the fibres are not very flexible, and they may break from repeated folding. A lot of times ramie will be blended with cotton or wool to make the finished fabric more durable. You can wash and dry ramie fabrics normally—they get softer and smoother with washing and wearing, a lot like linen.

And light and medium weight ramie fabrics—about 7 oz and below in weight—can be used for shirts, dresses, and skirts. Heavier ramie fabrics make great jackets, pants, or structured skirts. And the sheen of the fabric make it feel really polished and fancy. I wouldn’t use ramie fabrics for anything drapey though. When choosing a pattern, go for something structured or voluminous. And if you’ve never seen ramie in person, it does have this really, kind of, shiny, almost, like, sateen-y look to it naturally. And I always think of it as, kind of, crunchy.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Like, it definitely has, like, more crisp and stiffness to it than, like, say a linen would. I’ve seen it a lot blended with other fibres. I don’t often see it, like, all, like, a hundred percent ramie, but…

Helen: Yeah, fair. I don’t think I have ever had it in my stash or seen it much in fabric stories. Like, it doesn’t feel that common to me.

Caroline: Yeah, and I think it’s probably because of the fact that, like we said, those fibres are not super flexible, and they could break with repeated folding, so it’s making it sof that garment that you make with the fabric is maybe not quite as durable or maybe needs to be cared for or stored in a different way that isn’t necessarily conducive to, you know, having a long-lasting garment.

Helen: Yeah. But it sounds like if you had a blend, that could work. This is interesting. I’m gonna keep my eye out for it so I can feel it and think of the possibilities.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s always fun to, like, discover a new fibre, especially in person when you can really like touch and feel it and see the drapes. So, yeah, take a look out for it.

Okay, our next question is from @Sewing_Rainbows on Insta, and they asked, “When sewing with cotton twill tape or rickrack, do I have to prewash it before sewing it onto garments? I bought a ton of lovely rickrack to use on kids clothes, but now I don’t want to ruin it, either by not pre-washing when I should, or pre-washing it wrong and getting a tangled mess.”

Helen: This is a great question. First of all, I love rickrack. It feels very nostalgic to me.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: We had so much of it in our, like, craft room growing up, and I loved sewing it onto garments as a kid. That was, like, one way I like to embellish my garments when I was a young sewist. It’s that zigzaggy looking stuff, if you’re wondering. And this is a great question, we haven’t talked a ton about pre-washing trims. If you have a synthetic rickrack that’s made of polyester, nylon, or acrylic, you don’t need to pre-wash it.

The only exception would be if you’re worried about the dye bleeding onto the garment, you’re gonna be attaching it to. If that’s the case, you might wanna do a test by wetting a small piece of the trim and a swatch of your fabric and laying them on top of each other for about five minutes and seeing if there’s any transfer of dye. If there isn’t, you’re probably okay to just sew it right on.

If your trim is made of a natural fibre, then you probably do want to pre-wash it. Older rickracks are usually made out of cotton, and so in that case, yeah, probably a good idea to pre-wash. To do that without making a tangled mess, you have a couple options. The first is to hand wash it gently in the sink.

And the second is to put it in a mesh laundry bag, sometimes called a lingerie bag, and you can wash it in your machine. The mesh bag is probably enough to keep it from becoming too tangled, but if you want the extra insurance, you could wind it into a large circle and then pinch it in the middle, pin it together with a safety pin before you throw it into the bag and the wash. And if you plan to dry the finished garment in the dryer, then we would recommend drying the rickrack in the dryer, too.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. Speaking of rickrack, we just picked up a bunch of, like, deadstock rickrack from a local designer…

Helen: Really?

Caroline: …in Vancouver that we’re gonna put on our website and…

Helen: Oh, fun!

Caroline: When we were thinking about picking it up, we were like, rickrack. It feels so, like, vintage, but I’ve been seeing a lot of sewing people using it for, like, fun details in a garment lately, so…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I’m really excited to see what people make with it.

Helen: It is so fun. It just adds that little, like, kinky flare…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: …to your garment, and it comes in all the fun colours. I think it’s great.

Caroline: Yeah, it works well even, like, mixed with a print, or I don’t know, as trim on, like, a garment with, like, a puffy sleeve. It can be very cottage-y core.

Helen: Mm-hmm.

Caroline: Very fun.

Helen: @Taylie_M on Instagram asks, “What fabric do you use for T-shirts? I have cotton Lycra, jerseys, slub, but I can’t seem to find a lightweight fabric that’s not too stretchy and drapey.”

Caroline: Ah! Hi, Taylie. Okay. What fabric you use for t-shirts, kind of, depends on your preference. A lot of sewists love a drapey, stretchy tee, but it seems like what you are looking for is the kind of fabrics you find in ready-to-wear tees. They’re often a hundred percent cotton and don’t have a ton of stretch, but they have enough to make them easy to put on and wear, so I would look for cotton jersey fabrics with no lycra, or very little lycra. Just make sure the stretch percentage is compatible with the pattern you’re using.

And you can also use interlock or double knit fabrics. Make sure to get medium weight ones because they can come in heavyweights, too. And they’re more stable than a typical jersey. And avoid any fabrics made with cellulose fibres, like rayon, Tencel, lyocell, or bamboo because they’re gonna be drapey and might not have as great recovery unless they’re blended with a good amount of spandex.

So, yeah, I think you’re looking for, like, a really classic cotton jersey, low spandex. Try that out and see what you think.

Helen: Yeah. I have a personal favourite jersey for t-shirts and that is the hemp cotton jersey blend…

Caroline: Oh, yeah!

Helen: …that you carry at Blackbird.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It is far and away my favourite. For me, personally, it blends that drape and structure to, like, make the perfect t-shirt fabric.

Caroline: And you’ve made a lot of Jackson Tees out of that fabric, right?

Helen: Yeah, I have. And it has a bit of a slub to it that just, like, wears and almost makes it feel vintage right off the bat.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. Ooh, we should bring that fabric back. I don’t think we have any in stock right now, but…

Helen: Do it!

Caroline: …it seems perfect. I think Taylie would like it.

Okay. Next up we have a question from Kirsten. They asked: “How do you identify which fabrics will be prone to pilling before purchase? And what characteristics can you look for?”

Helen: If you’re in a fabric store, you can look at parts of the fabric that have been handled the most, like, along the edge of the bolt. If there seems to be pills forming, that’s definitely a fabric to avoid. Fabrics with a fluffy pile are also ones to watch out for. This includes brushed fabrics, like soft polyester knits and cotton flannels. Looser weaves are another thing to watch out for.

Tightly woven fabrics are less likely to pill. Knit fabrics are more likely to pill than woven fabrics. And short fibres, like cotton and wool, and synthetics, like acrylic and polyester, are a bit more pill prone. Longer fibres, like linen and silk, and tight weaves, like denim and cotton lawn, are less prone to pilling.

Friction obviously makes pilling worse. So you can protect your me-mades by washing them inside out and air drying them. But in some cases, like areas that are prone to friction, underarms and in between the legs, there’s not a whole lot you can do to stop pilling entirely.

Caroline: Yeah, like, even on my highest quality denim jeans, I will get pilling in between the legs because it’s just unavoidable. The amount of rubbing that happens between the thighs, like…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: …it’s just gonna happen. I’ve also found that cellulose fibres, like rayon or bamboo, can tend to pill, but it’s gonna depend on the quality. It’s gonna depend on the weave. It’s gonna depend on the blend. So you, kind of, have to, sort of, learn what works for you, the types of garments that you make. Knits also tend to pill more than wovens in my experience. So it’s not an easy question to answer because, yeah, fabric’s just pill, that’s just the nature of them.

Helen: Yeah. And again, it comes down to quality. So it’s like how, the question then is how do you determine the quality…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: …of a fabric, which is also very challenging. I mean, I have had store bought bamboo knit items, that pill like crazy, but most of the bamboo jersey that I’ve sewn with that I’ve bought has been really nice and has not pilled as much.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So there’s obviously varying degrees of quality there. Buying from a trusted fabric source is probably the best way to avoid pilling because the fabrics are going to be of a higher quality, and they’re not mystery fabrics like you might get from thrift stores or from other fabric stores.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and, like, at Blackbird, you know, the fabrics that are more in our core collection that we bring back year after year are ones that we love the quality of and that, you know, might pill less or feel like they’re just more durable and things that will fit well into a wardrobe if you want to sew those fabrics up again and again.

As a general rule, I would say if, like, a price of a fabric seems too good to be true, like if it’s really, really cheap, it’s probably not the best quality, and it’s probably gonna do things like pill or, you know, you’re gonna have split seams or weird things happening when you wash it.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: So just keep that in mind. Sometimes, it’s worth it to invest a little bit more in a fabric just so that it’ll, like, last longer in your wardrobe.

Helen: Yeah. Well, and I imagine at Blackbird, like, those fabrics that you’re bringing back over and over again, not only do you love them because they’re beautiful, but you’ve also, all of you who work there have, made things out of them and love to wear them constantly. So you’ve put them to the test, too, and experience what it’s like. You wear something for, like, a year or two and how it wears. So, yeah, that’s definitely a good marker of a good quality fabric, if a fabric store keeps bringing it back.

Caroline: Oh, for sure. Yeah. We listen to our customers, too. Like, if we get a lot of negative feedback about a fabric, we’re not gonna bring it back, you know?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: So when we see those trends, we listen to them. Okay.

So our next question is from LCV, and they asked, “There are some fabrics that are the same on both sides, meaning that sometimes there is seemingly no wrong side. Is there a way to tell them apart? Is there some kind of spell to tell the twins apart?”

Helen: The magic is in YOU! If you can’t tell which is the wrong or right side, then you do get to just choose which is the right one. To keep track of which side you choose, you can mark the right side of the fabric on each piece with a little piece of masking tape. You can put this tape in the seam allowance if you’re nervous about damaging the fabric, or you could mark it with a marking tool.

This is especially important with sleeves, since it’s easy to put those on backwards if you can’t tell the right and wrong sides apart. So with those kind of fabrics, it is worth it to take the time.

Caroline: I just wanna stress that you do need to pick a side. So you don’t wanna just, kind of, go willy-nilly and be like, well, I can’t tell the difference, so I’ll just use both sides, you know, and, kind of, interchange your pieces. Because sometimes a fabric might look identical when you’re, kind of, looking at it with your naked eye, but then once it’s sewn up in different lights or from different angles.

Or if you’re not cutting everything directionally, there will be a subtle difference, and you’re gonna notice it after your garment is sewn up and you’re, like, kind of, looking in the mirror and you’re like, why does the back of my pant look darker than the front of my pant? Or, um, that’s, like, a really classic mistake, but I would definitely choose a side.

Helen: Yeah. I mean, at least you can rest assured that if that happens, you’re the only person that’s gonna notice.

Caroline: Yeah, that’s true.

Helen: Other people aren’t gonna notice. But yeah, it will probably drive you a little nuts. So it’s a good idea to pick, pick a side and stick with it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay, Nicola asked: “Double gauze. Can you use it on the bias? Not the super soft drapey kind, but the ones with a bit more structure, like the Nani Iro double gauzes.”

Caroline: Okay, so sorry to disappoint you, Nicola, but I would not recommend using double gauze on the bias. Because gauze has such a loose weave, it’s gonna relax on the bias really dramatically. And this makes it super difficult to make an even hem. And before you hem a garment on the bias, you need to hang it up and let it relax into its final shape, and then, you mark the hem, cut, and hem it up.

But if you did this with the double gauze, the fabric would shift so dramatically between washing and wearing that you would never know what kind of hem you were gonna have that day. I would say tightly woven fabrics are gonna behave better on the bias. And I would stick to on-grain patterns for double gauze.

Helen: Yeah, double gauze is already kind of a challenging fabric to sew with, so don’t make it more difficult by…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: …cutting it on the bias.

Caroline: @HyggeBea said, “Opacity and fabric weight still get me!” Exclamation point.

Helen: Oh, you know what? Me, too.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay, let’s go over it. Opacity is how see-through a fabric is, so opacity is a spectrum from completely opaque to very sheer and transparent. If a fabric is completely opaque, you won’t see the colour of your undergarments or skin underneath it at all. And if a fabric is semi-opaque to sheer, you may want to consider making a slip or lining for your garment because that fabric is a little bit see-through.

Caroline: And fabric weight is how heavy a fabric is. This is usually measured in grams per square metre or ounces per square yard. And that means if you cut a square yard or metre of fabric and put it on a scale, that would give you the weight. Lightweight fabrics are two to four ounces. Medium weights are five to seven ounces. Bottom weights or heavyweights are eight to 13 ounces plus.

And generally, tops, floaty dresses, and garment linings are made of lightweight fabrics. Medium weight fabrics are versatile, and they can be made into shirts, tops, dresses, pants, and lightweight jackets. And heavyweight fabrics are really good for pants, jackets, and coats.

So, of course, there are some exceptions. For example, a pair of charmeuse culottes is lovely. But those basic rules are good to follow, especially when you’re starting out.

Helen: Yeah. It is so confusing though. And there’s weird things, like, you know, a medium weight rib knit is, like, 10 ounces. Like…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: That’s not, you’re not making a coat out of that, obviously…

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: …so it can get confusing. Or you’re like, this sounds really heavy, but it’s a drapey knit, like, what do I make with this? And it just takes practice as far as actually feeling the fabrics and understanding what they’re gonna be like when they arrive. With shopping online more frequently, it’s a little more difficult because you’re just looking at them through your screen, and you don’t get to feel them until they arrive at your door. But with practice, it will become easier, and I like to have those, kind of, numbers in my mind. Like, two to four ounces, light.

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: Five to seven ounces, medium. Eight to 13, heavy. And that just helps me put things in camps when I’m shopping. And generally, that’s enough to make a decision.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. And we’ve also suggested this on the show before, but if you’re newer to sewing and still try to understand fabrics, you can make yourself, like, a little reference book. So every time you buy a new fabric, if you know the weight, take a little swatch, put it in your book, put, like, what kind of fabric it is and the weight and maybe the fibre content, and then, you’ll start, sort of, like, a little library for yourself so that when you’re shopping online in the future, or even in person, you can, kind of, look at your reference and, and see what you’re going for.

Okay. Our next question is from Brianna, and they asked, “What is cupro? And how is it different from rayon?”

Helen: Good question. Cupro is made of cellulose fibres from plants. And it’s usually made from cotton fibres that are too short to spin into cotton yarns. Those fibres would usually be considered waste from cotton production. It can also be made from recycled finished cotton fabrics. It falls under the umbrella of rayon fabrics since it is made of cellulose. Every cupro fabric is a rayon, but not every rayon is a cupro, if that makes sense. The finished product is the same as other rayons, but the process to make it is slightly different.

To make cupro, the cellulose of the plant materials is exposed to ammonia and copper to make a new substance. And then it’s dropped into caustic soda and extruded through spinnerets to make filaments. Those filaments are immersed in a series of chemical baths to harden them and remove the ammonia, copper, and caustic soda. And that leaves producers with long, smooth filaments that can be spun into yarns and then woven into cloth.

Woof, that’s quite a process.

Caroline: And then in terms of environmental impact, it’s, kind of, complex to decide exactly where it stands on the spectrum of eco-friendly. The raw material is recycled, so that’s a good thing. The chemical processing, like most other rayons, is harmful to the environment around the factory and the workers who make the fabric.

However, like lyocell, the chemical baths can be reused multiple times, so it creates less chemical waste than typical rayons. There is not a lot of transparency about cupro production, so if you want to hedge your bets, you can look for fabric made in mills that have certifications that require protections for the environment and for workers.

Helen: And as far as properties, cupro is similar to other rayons. It’s very soft, drapey, breathable. Cupros can come in various weights and blends. Plain weaves, like challis, are common. Twill weaves have more body than plain weaves. And cupro knits can be fluid and very stretchy. Cupro doesn’t have great recovery, so expect it to grow a bit as you wear it. And because cupro is very absorbent, it can be prone to staining. So Googling stain removal methods can help a lot, but you could also choose a printed fabric to camouflage any future stains and discoloration, if you’re messy like me.

Caroline: Fun fact: cupro is, like, a much loved fabric, and we found that it’s, like, one of our top search terms on our website.

Helen: Oh, interesting.

Caroline: And it’s been like that for years. People are just always looking for cupro, loving on cupro. It’s a really unique fabric. It has, like, this beautiful, kind of, like…

Helen: Lustre.

Caroline: Yeah, lustre. Almost, like, a brushed look to it on a lot of fabrics. It’s like…

Helen: Mm-hmm.

Caroline: …almost has, like, a suede-y hand feel in some fabrics. But, yeah, it is delicate, and it’s prone to staining. And, yeah, in our experience, like, cutting fabric, we found cupro tends to have, like, a lot of flaws, so it’s expensive to cut around and to process. But yeah, we’re always looking for new cupros ‘cause we know that people love them.

Helen: Yeah, and I mean, like, other rayons it is also tricky to work with because it’s shifty.

Caroline: Oh, yeah.

Helen: It moves, moves around so much when you’re trying to cut it out. Think of it as being, like, in between a rayon challis and a Tencel twill. Like, it’s that sweet middle ground.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Um, it is a beautiful fabric.

Caroline: Yeah, it is.

Helen: We have a follow up question from Lynda who wants to know, ““How do you cut out cupro to stop it moving and any tips on sewing it, as well.”

Caroline: Yeah, so this is, kind of, a similar tip to any super shifty smooth fabric. Cutting can be annoying, so definitely cut in a single layer. And if you have a rotary cutter and mat, use that. It helps not to have to lift the fabric up to cut it with scissors. It’s gonna prevent the fabric shifting around as much. And you can put down some sheets of tissue paper under the fabric so that it doesn’t move around as you’re cutting.

Helen: And if you use scissors, after you pin the pieces, place your non-dominant hand down flat on the fabric and the pattern piece close to the edge, not too close, watch those fingies, I would say, like, within a half an inch from the edge. And then use your scissors to cut the fabric along the part you’re holding down. Again, this just helps to not move the fabric so much. You’re gonna keep on cutting around the edge of the fabric, holding the pattern and the fabric down with your hand as you cut next to your hand. If you’re right-handed, cut counterclockwise around the pattern piece. And if you’re left-handed, you can cut clockwise around.

Caroline: And as for general tips, treat cupro like you would any other rayon. I would suggest listening to our Tencel/Lyocell episode for sewing tips because even though the processes to make rayons differs, the end result is the same.

Okay, next up. @SewAndSnow asked: “Silk pique fabric. I have some but…why? And what for?”

Helen: Oh, I love this. Wherefore silk pique?

Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Such a unique fabric.

Helen: Yeah. I honestly have not even heard of this fabric before. Caroline, tell us about this fabric.

Caroline: Okay, well let’s talk about pique ‘cause that’s the weave, right? So this is a weave that uses raised cords to create texture in the fabric, and it can look like fine ribs or geometric designs. It’s associated with white tie dress code supposedly because the weave allows shirts and vests to hold more starch. Nowadays, you usually find silk pique in white tie vests and ties. You don’t have to use it for that purpose though, obviously. If you don’t have any white tie events coming up, Sew And Snow, don’t worry.

A silk pique will have a gorgeous texture and probably more body than a plain weave silk. If it’s lightweight, you could make a gorgeous, fancy top, skirt, dress, or vest. And if it’s heavier, a tailored jacket would be amazing. Enjoy your silk pique, and let us know what you end up making.

Helen: Yeah, I wanna keep my eye out for this fabric. It sounds really cool.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Hilary asked: “I would like to know more about what to do about fitting when you have a fabric that, kind of… grows. Like, for example, the viscose linen slub from Blackbird. Do I just make a size smaller? Will that work across the board or is it different for tops and bottoms?”

Caroline: This is also true for the viscose linen noil, which is a similar fabric that we carry. That’s, like, probably the most popular fabric we’ve ever carried. People love that fabric, but it’s not going to work for every type of garment, right? So the thing about fabric that grows is that it’s not gonna be the same size at the beginning of the day as it is at the end of the day. That’s just reality. That’s why it’s not a great choice for super fitted garments.

Viscose linen slub is gorgeous for drapey garments. The linen gives it a lovely texture, and the viscose gives it the drape, but both viscose and linen tend to bag out as you wear them. So if you wanna make pants, I would look for elastic waist or a pair of pants with gathering or pleats at the waistband. The extra fabric and looser fit is gonna make the bagging out less noticeable. Or you wanna choose tops and dresses that are naturally a bit loose and drapey. I think choosing a very fitted pattern for this kind of fabric is just gonna be a losing battle.

Helen: Yeah, I totally agree. I love the viscose linen noil because it comes in all those beautiful colours. The drape is amazing. It has that, like, awesome weight to it.

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: Like, it just feels, like, so good on the body, and it’s almost, like, lofty. Like, it’s almost a bit squishy. I really like that about it, too.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I have sized down when sewing with this fabric, even with a loose garment because I know it will grow. And especially with that viscose linen slub or noil, it’s almost stretchy because it grows so readily. Like, it feels like it has give to it if you, like, pull it with your hands.

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: So, yeah, I do think you can get away with sizing down if you’re doing a looser fit garment, and you don’t want it to grow too much.

Caroline: Yeah. I think it’s, like, best suited for, like, a top, something that’s not too fitted, maybe with a fun, like, voluminous sleeve or…

Helen: Mm-hmm.

Caroline: …I don’t know. I think I’ve seen it look really good in, like, a blouse with, like, some buttons down the front.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I don’t know. It, it’s a great fabric. But definitely not gonna work for, like, a full jumpsuit…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: …because just the weight of it is gonna, like, weigh it down and make it stretch out.

Helen: Yeah. Or, like, a dress with gathered tiers, like, so, it’s so heavy, right?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And it’s just gonna weigh it down, and then, it will stretch out. And your arm, underarm seam is gonna be down at your waist.

Caroline: Yeah. Exactly. Okay, @Shlowzi asked, could you go over burn test results and what they mean to help identify mystery fabric?

Helen: Yes, let’s do it! This is, like, the science experiment portion of the episode. First, a safety warning: if you’re doing a burn test, please be careful! It’s a good idea to hold the fabric with a pair of metal tongs or tweezers so the flame isn’t going to get close to your fingers. Watch those fingies! And make sure that you are holding the fabric over a non-flammable surface like a metal sink or a large ceramic bowl.

There are three main groups of fabrics that react differently to burning: we’ve got plant-based fibres, synthetic fibres, and animal fibre fabrics. Plant-based fabrics will catch fire and burn quickly; the burned parts will turn into crumbly ash. Synthetic fabrics will catch fire quickly, but then, they will melt instead of turning to ash. This usually looks like hard grey or black beads forming. Animal fabrics will be slower to ignite and burn, and they will smell like burning hair. They often leave beads of ash, but unlike synthetics, these beads easily crumble when you press them between your fingers, so it, kind of, disintegrates.

Often, knowing which group of fabrics your mystery fabric falls into is enough information. It’s hard to drill down to exactly what kind of fabric it is with a burn test. There is some more info that can help you distinguish further between fabrics, based on the smell and how the fabric is burning. But it’s pretty subtle and can be difficult to know for sure what you’re looking at.

By Hand London has a handy flowchart to help you with your burn test. We’ll link that in the show notes. If you have a mixed fibre fabric, you’ll probably get signs from each of the columns. For example, a mixed cotton and silk fabric will smell like both leaves and animal hair as it burns. I don’t know how you’re going to recognize that, but maybe you will.

The burn test isn’t perfect, especially because the tester has to make judgement calls based on these tiny differences. But it is one tool that can be helpful when you’re deciding how to work with and care for a mystery fabric, particularly if you’re trying to figure out is this polyester?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: That’s, kind of, the main reason I would do a burn test. Like, I get a grey fabric at a thrift store. I think it’s wool, but I have a hunch it might be polyester, and I would like to know that ahead of time so I could burn it.

Caroline: Yeah, which is gonna affect how you would treat the fabric…

Helen: Yeah

Caroline: …how you would sew it up, how the heat on your iron. So it is always good to know if you don’t already know, just to have a sense of whether it’s a natural fibre or synthetic fibre.

Yeah. We love doing burn tests at Blackbird. It’s always a fun day when we get to burn fabric.

Helen: Oh, my gosh. I’m picturing all the birdies standing around the sink, like a big cauldron or something, and you’re all, like, you’ve all got tongs and you’re, all, wearing witch hats.

Caroline: It’s really just Laura. Laura loves doing burn tests. She’ll, she’ll, like, always jump at the opportunity to do a burn test.

Helen: Um, I really think this should be part of your Instagram marketing. I wanna see reels about Blackbird Fabrics burn tests.

Caroline: Noted. Noted.

Helen: Okay. Our next fabric question comes from Hannah: “What size needle should I use for 12 oz non-stretch denim? What’s the difference between ‘regular’ denim and ‘bull’ denim?”

Caroline: Okay, this is an easy one, so, Hannah, we recommend using a 90/14 or 100/60 needle with a regular point for your denim. So you want to use a heavier needle for the heavier fabric.

And denim is an umbrella term that includes bull denim. Regular blue jeans denim is typically yarn dyed, so the yarns are dyed with indigo and then woven into cloth, and you have a different colour of yarn running on the warp and the weft, which is what gives it that mottled look.

And bull denim is woven from undyed yarns, and then the cloth is dyed afterwards, giving it a more uniform colour. So bull denim is also usually a 3×1 twill, which makes it a chunkier rib than a typical 2×1 denim. Bull denim is known for being hard-wearing and heavy, and it’s made from a hundred percent cotton.

Regular denims can range from lightweight to heavy and include stretch, sometimes, or blended fibres. But yeah, like I said, often bull denim is just a hundred percent cotton.

Helen: Yeah, and it sounds like the main difference there is dyeing…

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: …the fact that it’s dyed afterwards. And that’s why you often see it in all those fun colours. You can get it in, like, a bright blue or yellow and you don’t see it with the classic denim colouring.

Caroline: Yeah. And if you’re looking to figure out if a fabric is a bull denim or a twill. I mean, a bull denim is technically a twill anyways, but normally a bull denim will have, like, that more pronounced weave, so you can see those diagonal lines more. Whereas the twill, while it still is that diagonal line weave, it’s gonna be more subtle and, like, a little bit more of a flat look.

Helen: Yeah, but essentially if they’re the same weight, you can make the same things out of them, right?

Caroline: Oh, yeah.

Helen: Like, you can make bull denim Lander Pants or heavyweight cotton twill Lander Pants, and they’re gonna be very similar, so…

Caroline: Oh, yeah.

Helen: …don’t worry too much about it.

Caroline: Exactly. Yeah. Okay, next up. Mimi asked: “How do you work with tulle? Do you need a specific foot? Needles? I bought a beautiful tissue last year but haven’t touched it because I’m afraid I won’t be able to make out of it the piece I want so badly.”

Helen: Hi, Mimi. Okay. I have good news for you. Tulle is actually pretty easy to sew with. It’s a secret. Our assistant Lisa actually has sewn a wedding veil with a regular point needle, no special machine feet, and it turned out great.

One nice thing about tulle is that it doesn’t fray, so the seams don’t have to be finished unless you want to add a seam finish. And you don’t even have to hem it. In fact, it usually looks better without a hem because it’s so floaty and pretty that way.

Caroline: Yeah, and I think a regular needle would probably work fine unless you have a super stretchy mesh or tulle, and then, I would recommend a ballpoint needle or a stretch needle in a smaller size, like 70/10, if you’re working with something that’s really stretchy, like a mesh.

Helen: And you can put a piece of tissue paper or tear weight interfacing under the fabric where you start your seam. That will help your fabric from getting sucked up into your machine. The more substantial the tulle though, the less likely you are to have that problem and need that leader. You could put a straight stitch needle plate, also, instead of using the tissue paper to stop it from getting sucked in there. Just give it a try and see what happens.

Caroline: Oh, and here’s an interesting tip. If the air where you’re working is super dry, you might end up having issues with static. So you can combat this by lightly spraying your tulle with water, putting a humidifier on, or even just bringing a pot of boiling water into the room. Just be careful with this last one, of course.

Helen: You wanna use a low heat iron to press your tulle. You can use a press cloth if you’re feeling more cautious. Some recommend just using steam, but in our experience, tulle can take an iron as long as it is on a low heat.

Caroline: And if you have a rotary cutter, it’s definitely easier to get a precise cut that way, since some tulles can be shifty. If you don’t have a rotary cutter, hold the fabric and pattern down with one hand while you cut with the other, like we recommend in our cupro tips before.

Helen: If you want, you can try out a Teflon foot or even put a piece of smooth scotch tape on the bottom of your regular foot. You’ll only need this if your pieces are shifting around as you sew. If you’ve got two layers of tulle together and the top one sliding out of place…

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: …um, it might help to have that super slippery foot so it can glide through more smoothly.

Caroline: Yeah, and we’re sharing all these tips so that you have a bunch of information to work with, but you might not even need most of them. We say don’t be afraid of tulle and just go for it. You can totally do this.

Helen: Yeah. Oh, and send us a picture if you do. I wanna see.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay. Nicole asks: “Fabric recommendation for professional work trousers that don’t wrinkle right away but are still comfy?”

Caroline: Hi, Nicole. Okay. This is always such a struggle, formal enough to be professional, wrinkle-free enough to stay professional all day, and comfy enough to live your life in.

There are three fabrics that I think fit all the requirements. The first is wool, the second is polyester, and the third is a polyester/wool blend. Most of the affordable ready to wear work trousers out there are made of polyester because poly is not as expensive or difficult to care for as wool, but like wool, it doesn’t wrinkle and it looks profesh.

Wool blended with polyester is, kind of, like, a happy medium for people who find wool itchy and want something easier to care for. Just remember to check the care instructions because some wool blends are also handwash only.

And wool is a beautiful choice for work trousers. If wool makes you itchy, you can line them with a soft lining or make a pair of smooth petti-pants that you can wear underneath. I also think a cotton chino style trouser looks great and professional. I can’t guarantee it won’t wrinkle though. But cotton blended with polyester might be less wrinkle prone.

So the moral of the story is don’t shy away from polyester if you want your clothes to not wrinkle because that’s basically your only option.

Helen: Well, also don’t shy away from wool.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I think that is an often overlooked fabric when it comes to pants and tops. Like, pe-, we think of it for coats and things like that, but it makes really beautiful trousers. Not everyone can wear wool, myself included.

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: I get all, like, itchy and, like, uncomfortable pretty much immediately, so I need that blend in order to pull it off. But I like the idea of a beautiful lining. I mean, can you imagine, like, a wool outer with, like, a slippery bemberg lining?

Caroline: Mm-hmm.

Helen: How luxurious! You would feel so fancy all day.

Caroline: Yeah, I completely agree. I think that would be so nice. I have never owned a pair of pants with a lining. I feel like it’s, like, next level professional.

Helen: You’re a CEO. You need lined pants, Caroline.

Caroline: It is funny though, we get a lot of questions at Blackbird along these lines of like, I want a fabric that’s like linen or rayon, but doesn’t wrinkle like, what do you recommend? And, like, the real true, honest answer is that, like, this magic fabric doesn’t exist. Like, if you don’t like synthetics, you probably will not be able to find a fabric that doesn’t wrinkle except for maybe a wool suiting or something like that. But even then, you know, sometimes wool can wrinkle, too, so I don’t know. I think sometimes those, like, perfect solutions don’t exist and you just have to figure out what works for your life.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: What you can, what you can tolerate.

Helen: Embrace the wrinkles.

Caroline: Yeah. Embrace the wrinkles or embrace the synthetic fibres.

Helen: I think the best way to hide wrinkles in fabric is to choose printed fabrics because the wrinkles aren’t as obvious.

Caroline: So true. So true. And, like, obviously, a full printed work trouser. It’s gonna be perfect.

Helen: Wha-, wha-… Yeah. What do you mean? I think it’s perfect. I would wear that.

Caroline: Absolutely. You would wear that, yes.

Helen: You could make a matching blazer. What? Possibilities are endless.

Caroline: Okay, Laurie asked: “I have 4 metres of printed silk charmeuse! How do I pre-wash it?”

Helen: Ooh, this sounds lovely. We would recommend that you handwash it with gentle detergent, press it in a clean towel to get most of the moisture out, and then hang it to dry. You could drape it over a shower curtain rod, you could fold it and drape it over an open part of a hanger, um, fold it and drape it over a drying rack, or you could pin it to a clothesline.

Silk charmeuse is tightly woven so it doesn’t need to dry flat, and it will dry even if you fold it up and hang it because it’s so lightweight. If you’re worried about the folded parts not drying, you could unfold it and refold it so the dampest parts are exposed to the air and, kind of, baby it as it dries, but I don’t think that’s really necessary.

The main thing to take away here is that handwashing is the way to go.

Caroline: Mm-hmm. And you might find that your silk feels, like, kind of, crunchy after you wash it. But ironing it is gonna make it nice and smooth and soft again, so don’t worry…

Helen: Yeah, that’s true. That’s magic.

Caroline: …if it changes texture.

Helen: Yeah. Okay. I added this next one because a friend of mine was asking me about fabric pronunciation, so I’m gonna say them all wrong, Caroline, and you can correct me.

Caroline: Okay.

Helen: “I don’t know how to pronounce the following fabric terms: Challis, Ponte, and Boucle – Help!”

Caroline: You’re not alone, Jen. And also, let’s all be nice to people who mispronounce words…

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: …because it happens to all of us, including…

Helen: They’re confusing.

Caroline: …yeah, including us, Helen. But the proper way to pronounce these words is shall-ee, pont-ee, and boo-clay.

Helen: Nice. Yeah. I said chalice for years.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I love rayon chalice. It’s so drapey and lovely.

Caroline: Isn’t it a chalice, like, like, a goblet.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Like, a mediaeval goblet.

Helen: Well, that just seemed fitting to me because I was like, it’s so wonderful. It’s like…

Caroline: It’s like a goblet.

Helen: …it’s like a beautiful goblet. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. And I think pont-ee and pon-tay, depending on your language, I guess.

Helen: Mm-hmm.

Caroline: And then boo-clay, which often has an accent on the e. But yeah, I mean, you know, there can be more than one pronunciation for these words, so I say…

Helen: Oh, Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, this is all the questions we have for this episode. Thank you to all our listeners who sent in questions. I wish we had time to answer them all. We’ll just have to save some for our next fabric Q&A. And of course, you can always reach out to us if you have follow up questions about fabric.

Caroline: Yes. Here’s to using the good fabric and cheers to another episode of Love To Sew.

Helen: Yeah.

That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me Helen at HelensClosetPatterns.com and Caroline at BlackbirdFabrics.com. And we’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: Go to LoveToSewPodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@LoveToSewPodcast.com.

Helen: If you love Love To Sew and you want more, you can sign up for our Patreon. For $5 a month, you get a full length bonus episode and weekly behind the scenes pics. For $10 a month you get all that plus a mini episode focused on sewing techniques and 15% off codes for Helen’s Closet and Blackbird Fabrics. Patreon is the best way to support us so that we can keep making quality sewing content. Head to patreon.com/LoveToSew for more info.

Caroline: And thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of the Pod Cabin is our editor. And Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week.

Helen: Buh-bye.

Caroline: Bye.

Okay, wait. Now let’s try that again and I’ll pretend to be you.

Helen: Hi, Helen.

Caroline: Hi, Caroline.

Helen: Oh, my gosh. Is that supposed to be me? Rude.

 

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