Choosing Your First Fabric

I still get a little excited when I open an old sewing pattern envelope.

There’s the artwork, the tissue pieces and that little instruction booklet. I always wonder who used it all those years ago. Did they make the dress? Did they wear it for a special occasion? Or did it become an everyday favourite? You never know - perhaps you’ll be the next person to make it.

Before you get the scissors out, though, there’s one thing worth thinking about first: the fabric.

I can still remember choosing my first fabric, although it was quite a few years ago now. I was in North Ormesby with my mother, and she knew far more about fabric than I did. I was quite happy to let her decide.

Like most beginners, I went straight for the pretty things. The colours, the prints, the little flowers - anything that caught my eye.

My mother took a different approach.

She would pick up the fabric, scrunch it in her hand and say:

“It creases!”

And that was usually the end of that fabric.

I don’t think I paid much attention at the time, but I was learning from her all the same.

You can’t always tell what a fabric will be like just by looking at it on the roll. Pick it up and feel it. Some fabrics are lovely and well behaved. Others slide about, stretch when you don’t want them to, fray at the edges or refuse to stay still while you’re cutting.

Have a think about how that fabric is going to behave once you start sewing.

For your first project, I’d keep it fairly simple and choose something stable and easy to handle.

Start with Something Easy

If you’re new to sewing, look for a fabric that won’t make the job harder than it needs to be.

You want something that stays put when you pin it, doesn’t shift too much while you’re cutting and presses without a fight.

There’s plenty of time to try the more difficult fabrics later. They’ll still be there when you’re ready for them.

Cotton Poplin

Cotton poplin is one of my favourite choices for a beginner.

It has a little body, so it’s easy to cut and sew. It presses well and usually behaves itself when you’re trying to match seams.

It works particularly well for:

• 1950s day dresses
• Shirtwaist dresses
• Blouses
• Skirts
• Aprons

It also comes in so many colours and prints. A floral, gingham or small-scale print can make a simple vintage pattern look really special.

Cotton Lawn

Cotton lawn is a good choice for warmer-weather clothes.

It’s soft and smooth and works well for blouses, gathered skirts and summer dresses.

It is lighter than poplin, so it can move around a bit more when you’re cutting. A few extra pins and a little patience usually sort that out.

Linen and Linen Blends

I’ve always liked the relaxed look of linen.

It has been used for clothing for generations and often becomes softer with wear. It does crease, of course - my mother would have noticed that straight away - but that’s part of its charm.

If you’re new to sewing, a linen blend may be easier to handle than pure linen.

It can work well for loose 1930s-style dresses, blouses, trousers and summer jackets.

Chambray

If you like the look of denim but don’t want to deal with heavy fabric, chambray is worth considering.

It’s fairly easy to sew and has a casual look that suits everyday clothes.

Try it for simple dresses, shirts, skirts and children’s clothes.

Blue chambray, in particular, has that lovely old-fashioned workwear feel.

What About Wool?

Wool appears on many vintage patterns, especially from the 1940s and 1950s.

Lightweight wool, wool crepe and wool blends can make beautiful skirts, jackets and suits, but I’d probably leave them until you’ve gained a little confidence.

There’s more to think about when cutting and pressing wool, and some fabrics need careful handling so you don’t leave shiny marks.

Don’t be put off, though. Once you feel ready, wool is well worth trying.

Some Fabrics Are Best Saved for Later

There are some fabrics I’d be happy to admire from a distance when starting a first project.

Silk satin can be slippery, chiffon can float away from you, velvet needs careful handling and lightweight rayon can be lovely to wear but awkward to cut.

Stretch fabrics are different again. They behave differently from woven fabrics and often need a slightly different approach.

I’m not saying you should never use them. I’d just leave them until you’ve got a few more projects behind you.

Your first vintage garment should be something you’re actually going to enjoy sewing, not something that has you wondering why you started sewing in the first place.

Have a Look at the Pattern

The pattern will usually give you some clues.

Vintage pattern envelopes often suggest suitable fabrics, so it’s worth checking what they recommend.

A full-skirted 1950s dress, for example, will often look best in something with a little body.

A 1930s bias-cut dress is different. It needs fabric with enough movement and drape to hang properly.

A tailored 1940s jacket will usually need something with a bit more structure.

You don’t have to follow the suggestions exactly, though. That’s part of the fun of sewing. You can try something different and see how it turns out.

Don’t Forget How the Fabric Feels

One thing I learned from my mother was to handle the fabric properly.

Don’t just look at it.

Pick it up. Scrunch it. Let it fall through your hands. Hold it against yourself and see how it hangs.

Does it feel stiff? Does it drape? Does it crease? Does it stretch?

Try to picture it as the finished garment, rather than just a pretty piece of cloth on a roll.

It’s funny what you remember.

Your First Project Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

The main thing is not to expect your first vintage garment to be perfect.

There will probably be something you’d do differently next time. You might sew a seam twice, cut something the wrong way round or spend far too long trying to work out which pattern piece is which.

That’s how you learn.

After a while, you just start getting a feel for which fabrics are going to give you trouble.

That’s one of the things I like about sewing.

My mother taught me some of those lessons without ever sitting down and explaining them. Sometimes a scrunched-up piece of fabric and the words “It creases!” were enough.

All these years later, I still think about it when I’m choosing fabric.

So pick something you like, have a good feel of it and think about how it will behave once you start sewing.

And if Mam were here, she’d probably still be saying:

“It creases!”

Happy sewing!