Fabrics are produced from weaving, kitting or felting together yarns. The type of fabric produced will depend on the composition of the fibre and the way it is combined together.
Types of fabrics
Types of fabrics
- Stretch fabrics are combined by knitting generally man-made fibres like polyester. These fabrics can be made from natural fibres but it is less stretchy as a result, wool and cotton.
- Woven are made from all types of fibres but different characteristics of the fabric will result. Look at 'Identify an unknown fabric' watch the Youtube clip below and view the table to see how to work out the fabric and the properties of a fabric.
Types of Fabric
Do you know all of these fabrics?
- Jersey
- Lyocell - Polyester - Linen - Bamboo - Viscose - Acetate |
- Rayon
- Wool - Acrylic - Tencel - Cotton - Silk |
Maybe you need to find out more
What is...
What is...
Identify an unknown Fabric
What are Grain lines?
Fabric is woven from thread going in two different directions and it is sometimes easiest to remember that fabric is built on tiny squares of threads which criss-cross each other.
The warp thread runs up and down while the weft thread runs right to left (You can rhyme weft with left to remember which one is which). The reason why these threads are important to grain lines is that they each react in different ways. The warp thread is generally the stronger of the two and is the least likely to stretch out of shape.
The straight grain is the grain used most often in garments. The straight grain generally runs up centre front and centre back of garments and up through the centre of sleeves and pant legs. In situations where a garment is cut slightly off grain this may cause sleeves or pant legs to twist around the body.
In contrast to the straight grain you can also design garments which use the grain on a 45 degree angle, this is called bias cut. This effectively means that of that tiny weave of fabric you are going diagonally across the squares and making the fabric much more unstable. But while unstable sounds like a negative it can sometimes be what you need for a garment. It creates the ideal flexibility for creating bias cut dresses where you need the fabric to mould better to the body and will probably allow for less darts.
Refer to image below.
The warp thread runs up and down while the weft thread runs right to left (You can rhyme weft with left to remember which one is which). The reason why these threads are important to grain lines is that they each react in different ways. The warp thread is generally the stronger of the two and is the least likely to stretch out of shape.
The straight grain is the grain used most often in garments. The straight grain generally runs up centre front and centre back of garments and up through the centre of sleeves and pant legs. In situations where a garment is cut slightly off grain this may cause sleeves or pant legs to twist around the body.
In contrast to the straight grain you can also design garments which use the grain on a 45 degree angle, this is called bias cut. This effectively means that of that tiny weave of fabric you are going diagonally across the squares and making the fabric much more unstable. But while unstable sounds like a negative it can sometimes be what you need for a garment. It creates the ideal flexibility for creating bias cut dresses where you need the fabric to mould better to the body and will probably allow for less darts.
Refer to image below.
Find out whats happening with fabrics on the Runway |