5 Tips To Picking the Right Fabric for Your Next Project

The essential component in a garment, quilting piece, or other sewing project is the fabric. Imagine finishing a beautiful craft and having the material overshadow the stitching work because the fabric wasn't suitable. A fundamental concept, fabric shopping allows you to browse your options to select your project’s best fit. Here are five tips to picking the right fabric for your next project.

Visualize Your Project

It helps to do some research on your project beforehand to give you a vision of your project. Window shopping before testing and buying gives you the chance to look through what’s available and make any changes should you not find your first choice.

Once you find the fabric of your choice, consider its color to determine whether it matches the concept you sketched.

Examine the Drape of the Fabric

The drape refers to how the fabric flows and lies in its natural state. Stiff materials have less drape that could make them challenging to work with. On the other hand, fluid fabrics have more drape that contributes to an easier workable surface.

To examine a fabric's drape, unroll a few yards of the material and see how it hangs. If the hang meets your standards, you can move on to assess the width.

Assess the Width of the Fabric

Fabric usually comes in a couple of different widths and depending on the project you have on your mind, you'll need to determine how much material you’ll use.

Test Out the Fabric Stretch

Most fabric materials have some degree of stretching ability, especially when pulled diagonal against the fabric grain. You can perform a quick stretch test by pulling the fabric between your fingers.

Double Check the Color

Often, the lighting in fabric stores can manipulate the actual color of the materials. Taking the fabric near a window to receive natural light lets you see whether the shade is what you’re looking for.

Picking the right fabric for your next project should get a bit easier with these five tips. For fabric and sewing accessories, consider shopping with us at Lindley General Store. We are an online material store in Canada that specializes in many crafty things. We strive to deliver high-quality tools to complete your crafting collection, from fabric collections to cross stitching and embroidery.