Getting Ready in Hand Sewing: Know your Fabrics

Sewing is the application of stitches on clothes or other materials for the purpose of joining or decorating either with the use of a needle and thread or with the use of a sewing machine. Nowadays, children are taught the basic skills of sewing despite the fact that the trend in clothing and fashion today is buying ready to wear (RTW) clothes. Few people go to tailor shops or dress chops for a custom made dress or apparel. The reason is that all types and styles of wear are now available at reasonable cost in department stores or boutique shops. At the same time, it is much easier to shop and it definitely saves time especially when one needs a new dress immediately.

1. One can sew especially when staying in remote places where there is less ready-to-wear clothes and there is an available sewing machine or simple sewing tools.
2. When the need to repair a sleeve, to mend a tear, to sew a hem, to sew a fastener or attach a button is immediate, one’s skill in sewing becomes very handy.
3. Sewing does not only improve eye-hand coordination but encourages artistry and creativity in sewing and decorating hand or machine-sewn articles.
4. Sewing hand-made articles like cards, hankies, towels, hair accessories, shopping bags, and personalized gift items can be added source of income.
5. Sewing, especially embroidery, is a productive pastime or recreation. For instance, one enjoys doing cross-stitching designs which can later be beautifully framed. At the same time one can earn by selling this kind of products.

Fabric is another term for cloth. Cloth is the material used for making towels, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, shorts, blouses, and dresses. Cloth or fabrics are made from fibers. Some fibers are made from nature and some are man-made. Man-made fabrics are synthetic. These are called “modern fabrics”. Nowadays, different kinds of man-made fabrics are available in the market at cheaper price. Fabrics like nylon and rayon are made from vegetable cellulose. Fabrics like cotton, silk, linen, and wool are from natural fibers. Cotton comes from cotton plants, silk from thread spun by silkworms, linen from plant fibers, and wool from sheep’s fleece.

How natural fibers are made into cloth? Fibers are drained from plant by stripping. Fibers are stretched into long strands and then twisted into yarn to make them durable. Yarns are woven into fabrics by interlacing two sets of yarns, one lengthwise direction and the other set on a crosswise direction. Fabrics are then treated into several other processes such as bleaching and drying, starching (soaking in starch solution to make the fabric and give it a body).

Some common fabrics to know:

Cotton comes from fluffy balls of cotton plant. The balls are drawn into fibers which are white or yellow-white in color. Cotton in popular for infants and children’s dresses because of the following characteristics, (a) it is absorbent. This means that when one perspires it is easily absorbed by the cloth. Hence, it is comfortable especially during summer, (b) it can easily be washed, (c) it can be boiled during laundering. Killing microorganisms while boiling makes the cloth very clean and fresh to wear, (d) it is strong and durable, especially when wet. Thus, it can withstand frequent washing, (e) it shirks even after several washing. Nowadays, you can buy cotton which is preshrunk so that there is less or no shrinking at all, (f) it can easily be starched to give it body and make it more durable.

Batiste is fine cotton cloth which is soft, sheer, and slightly lustrous. It is commonly used for infant’s wear and children’s dresses.

Corduroy is made of rayon. It has a pile which is cut into rows or “wall” running the length of the cloth. It is used for sportswear and upholstery.

Denim is a heavy material that is used for jeans, jackets, and men’s work clothes.

Muslin is a firmly, closely woven cloth used for dresses, underwear, pillow, and pillowcases. It can be bleached and unbleached.

Organdice is made from nylon, rayon, or cotton. It is slightly heavier than cotton. It is used for dresses, suits, blouses, skirts, pajamas, nightgowns, and duster.

Sateen is of satin weave and is usually lustrous on one side. It is used for women’s wear, curtains or draperies, and linings of dresses.