What's the BEST /EASIEST fabric to learn to sew with? ( so you don't want to throw it in the trash!)
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- The names of fabrics are handy but there’s no guarantee that everyone is using the same name, for the same fabric! So let's talk about the qualities that make an easy fabric to start sewing with, not just names!
3:25 Look for plain woven
4:44 Look for a medium weight fabric
6:11 Look for something that is structured and holds it's shape
8:10 Look for cotton or linen
9:28 What wins all these categories
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One problem with thrifting bedsheets, is most of them are polyester microfiber now. It is harder to find cotton bedsheets.
I find it easier to go to a hotel and ask for discarded bedsheets, because they usually use cotton, and a lot of times you can get them for free. They may be very plain, but it is usually a good find. You can always dye the fabric to be more interesting. And these make really good fabric in place of muslin for mock ups.
Even after a few years of sewing, I naturally reverted back to natural fiber fabric for all of my sewing projects. Not just the ease of use for sewing but the structure the garment keeps. Love the beginner series. It is such a great refresher and I am still learning!
When my grandmother taught my sister and I the basics that's all she used was quilting cottons so much so that I didn't realize until I was well into adulthood that there were so many other types of fabrics LOL
My wife and I are about take sewing class. Im diving and watching many videos. Found your channel. Its very well done. You have good energy, good information, well filmed, and maintain good eye contact. I’m impressed. Many youtubers could learn a lot from you. Nice job.
That is some wonderful advice. All to often people start with not so friendly material to start with. Cotton in my opinion is king.
Linen is nice to wear, but can fray more than a beginner might like. Cotton may be a better starting fabric.
When it comes to bedsheets, in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, there were "percale" bedsheets that often were a 65/35 or 50/50 cotton/poly blend. It was rare that these sheets would pill. The fabric wore very well. I have found several sheets from that era and I use them for wearable muslins - when I'm ready to wear a pattern to see how it fits throughout the day. They behave very similarly to 100% cotton, are quite comfortable and they develop fewer wrinkles as the day passes along with being much easier to iron. They are also more colorfast than all cotton. The blended fabrics available during that time frame were almost indestructible and very easy to work with. Don't be scared of them if they happen to cross your path. They can be gems.
I'm SO glad you posted this! I've been struggling with the question of "but is it comfortable?" with garment making using cotton. As a beginner, who wants to create her own style, I've always gravitated to cotton, but I haven't "pulled the trigger" and made anything yet.
After making a bag or two I decided to go for a simple 1920s one hour dress. I didn’t know anything about choosing appropriate fabrics so I just picked out some quilting cotton. It was easy to sew but it just fit horribly when I put it on, like a stiff armor that didn’t naturally fall over my body 😂. Then I went for the other extreme and got a very slippery rayon. It was impossible to sew because it kept curling on itself and would not lay flat on the table. I need to think carefully about my next choice of fabric 😬
Thank you! I've seen some lovely dresses RUclips sewers have made from thrift store bed sheets.
When I first took Home Ec in 1969, our first sewing project was a dirndle skirt made of cotton. The reasoning remains the same today: ease of sewing and less frustration. You are so right, Evelyn.
Oh my goodness….I also was in home Ec in 1969. We made that skirt too…as well as a blouse. We started with a simple apron and then a bag..which I still have! I guess we had to “work up” to the skirt and blouse. My blouse was pretty bad!!!
@@nbks6w8Our home ec class never got that far. We made the apron, and basically, they said you know what you need to know. They called it budget constraints.
Also make sure you buy and use the correct needles and thread. I bought and used a hand quilting thread on one of my old machines. It messed up the tension badly on that machine. There was wax on the thread which got inside the tension. I could have prevented this from happening by taking a little extra time to read what was printed on the label (before I bought that large spool of thread). It took a professional repairman to correct the mess I made by using the wrong thread.
Wow. Thanks. A very good tip.
I love the dress on the dress form.
Good to know the trial and error conclusion I came too seems to be spot on. Still haven't actually made anything garment wise, but getting in experience with craft / home sewing first before I ease into trying to figure out patterns.
I started sewing in primary school and we didn’t have many synthetic fabrics then. My teachers were very practical in their approach. I have been on a sustainability bent for at least 30 years and just love natural fabrics. Thank you so much for identifying these fabrics which is so encouraging to those new to sewing.
As a beginning sewer I tried to make a dress like the one over your right shoulder in this video. I thought I had the right fabric but it wasn't 100% cotton and it was too heavy so the dress wouldn't drape right at all. This is an excellent lesson for beginners. (It will save a few tears)
in the USA those med wt. cotton are called Calicos. They keep them up on the wall often times. Many colors and designs to choose from. They make nice blouses, shirts and kitchen curtains.
I almost gave up sewing using structured, non stretch fabric.
Funnily enough, I love working with cotton stretch jersey. I took a stretch course by Tilly and the Buttons and she was fantastic. I made a wonderful stretchy top as my first wearable garment.
I think because I have a bigger bust, it meant I didn’t need to do a FBA. I had done this on other patterns and it just went wrong and made the non stretch garments look weird.
I, too, love stretchy fabrics because they are more forgiving while fitting. But, they do take some experimenting to get used to.
i am considering joining your sewing lessons online, when i can pay for it. I wanna learn the skills of sewing, not just sewing diy. I feel you might be the one to teach me this. :)
You will love VSS…I’ve been a student about a year….worth every Penny…and the community is so helpful..very kind group!!
@@nbks6w8 i feel compelled to sign up! I have tried the free trial now for a couple of days and love her teaching method, it is calming, humble and clear. I wonder though, when i looked at the library it was not clear to me which series an absolute beginner should watch after the free crash course intro. Do you know?
Request, if you haven't done this already: how to find the grain on thrifted fabrics that do not have a selvedge and weren't cut square/on grain. And if someone has done a really good video on that: links? Thanks in advance
Thank you! I needed this so much
I wish we could add a photo. I am making a 1930s outfit using quilting cotton. The pattern on the cotton has a 1970s feel. Wide leg pants that fit at the hip with a backless shirt and a bolero. I have all my pieces cut out. I just have to finish my tablerunner then I can start on the outfit.
I am older, and though not a full novice, I am beginner enough. These tips are quite good. Thank you.
Thank you so much! My little niece asked Santa for a sewing machine (for kids, obviously). It does only a straight stitch, so choosing the right fabric is a must. I'll forward your beginner videos to her mum!
I love your videos. Very helpfull! Please, do more refashioning thrifted clothes videos!!! I really, really love your ideas. 💗💗💗💗
Thankyou for the recommendations.
I love wovens, but knits fit better since they’re so forgiving. But that’s down the road for beginners. And some wovens are far more difficult than knits (talking to you, georgettes!). But starch is a great thing for making slippery wovens behave better.
Ok Evelyn... I'm fascinated with your green blouse. How do I find out the details of this pattern. Great advise on fabric for beginning sewists. Helping make their sewing experiences easier for their projects. Easy to follow with your attention to details to help their education on fabrics. I teach basic hand sewing to children using larger needles & threads to make it easier. We start with small felt projects & get into flannel fabric first. Helping them have the best success in sewing.
I'd add - make sure the fabric is pre-shrunk and on grain. Choose a fabric without a print or, if it has a print, the pattern is small and non-directional - avoid stripes, checks or any prints that are off grain.
This makes good sense. When I was learning to paint I refused to use student grade materials because learning to paint is hard enough without fighting the materials!
I'm planning on living in plain-weave-cotton-land for the foreseeable future. Just to keep the tissue box at bay.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/PImisi
Thank you so much. Need basics like this. No in person classes available and work full time. Developing this as my hobby for retirement and new clothes. Will say my persnickety daughter tells me my items made look something out of store TJMax. Taken as compliment Would like video in future how to take in to better fit it to my body. Than you for your videos. You are well spoken and clear
Thank you for sharing! I’m on my own journey on making my own clothes! This was super helpful cuz I have a bunch of fabric that I don’t even know how to use and regret buying.
Wish l knew this yrs ago when I started back in the 80s
Lol I was just thinking about how many items on this list I didn’t do!
Wow! When I started teaching myself to sew, I accidentally chose the best fabric (quilting cottons) to start with.
As for teaching myself, that was by watching RUclips videos of sew-alongs and other instructional videos.
Hi Evelyn, can you make a video about different thread types and how to identify and use them? 😅
I still have a pile of thread that I inherited from my gran, all the thread looks quite fresh (nothing fuzzy), but sometimes they work just fine and sometimes it's a nightmare. They mostly have nothing written on them. So... _help_ 🥴
Hi, I am trying to learn stitching from your videos please make videos of toddler frocks or dresses from cutting to stitching. Thank you
I stick to all natural. Stretch is okay but best left to the 80s fashion five piece wardrobe sets.
Except for fitness fashion…but walking is the BEST for everyone tbh
In the sweatty south rayon is an answered prayer
I liked the video and there is lots of good information. Still I question the advice about 100% natural fibers. I’ve found poly-cotton and poly-linens to be much easier to work with. As you often have discussed, ironing is key to good looking seams. To me the blends press up much better and hence are much more rewarding both to sew and to wear.
I, too, would love to see more of your green blouse design....was it a re-fashion?
Thank You!
stretch fabric was the worst to work with i love using cotton and some thicker fabrics
Thank you
I'm a beginner wanted to make a cocktail dress bought the slippy chiffon but it's so difficult to sew, any idea what fabric I can use 😢
How does this apply to hand sewing? I can't afford a sewing machine yet so I'm going to start by hand sewing clothes.
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Don't have any drinks on you sowing table.
Have you ever bought a fabric and after washing it, it lost all its shape?....cheap stuff filled with so much stabilizer to form the fiber😮
My only complaint about quilting cotton is it seems to be a relatively tight weave and I find when I do hand sewing with it, I often get some strain in my wrist.
Some quilting cotton is tight, but I’ve had some that wasn’t. Try the scrunch method before buying.
You might like broadcloth better. It has a looser weave and a lighter weight than most quilting cotton. Just watch for fraying.
@@AliciaGuitar Appreciate that. All the quilting cotton I have was gifted to me, I find it way too expensive here.
@@dale3404 Thanks for the tip, most of the quilting cotton I have was gifted, I don't tend to buy it myself as it's way more expensive than most of what I buy.
Woven means HOT to me 😓...even 100% cotton. Really need to feel my fabrics before I buy. I rather sew for kids than myself because of this.