Fabrics For The SCA: The Good The Bad And The Ugly

The most common fabrics used in the SCA period (400 to 1600) were linen, wool and silk If your goal is to be authentic it is best to use more of these fabrics and less of the other types of fabrics that are modernly available but not available in the “period” covered by the SCA.   My basic philosophy when it comes to choosing fabrics for the SCA is know what they did in your time period and then make the best choices you can find and afford.  Luckiliy the internet and online fabric stores has opened up a wide range of choices that sometimes cannot be found locally at "brick and mortar" stores.  Here is a list of where I shop online, in no particluar order:

All Fabrics:

Linen:

Silk:

Wool:

The “Big" Cotton Debate.

Did they? Didn’t they? I would like to be upfront and tell you I have not done my own thorough research into cotton, I have read "internet conversations" and other sources online. My take on the debate from conversations I’ve read and have been a part of is this; later period Italy(1400's) had a cotton industry but there is little evidence that Northern Europe actually traded them for cotton fabrics for fashion layers(outer layers).  Queen Elizabeth was given a cotton smock and it was considered expenseive and extordinary.   Cotton was used as padding in arming coats and the like in the 14th century in Northern Europe.  There is also evidence that sheer light weight cottons were used for certain items of clothing in the near East, India, Turkey, Egypt and Persia.  I seem to recall something about cotton used as bed linens in Europe, I can't remember exactly where I read that though.  There was a fabric called Fustian that was a cotton linen blend that was used in the middle and later SCA period in Northern Europe. So I’m fine with linen cotton blends. But I digress and let’s not muddy the waters. 100% Cotton fabrics were not usually used in period most of the time for most of the clothing worn.  There are reasonable cases here and there for the use of some cotton yes, but not across the board for all garments at all times. There are better choices (more accurate) that can work across the board so why not concentrate on the usual rather than the unusual. I am not a big fan of looking for obscure references to make something that is common in the modern era OK, passable, authentic-esk in the Medieval era. So…. Buy linen if you can, if you can’t "don’t sweat it".  I think you will be happier with linen in the long term, it is nicer to wear than cottons. It has a softer drape, feels cooler to wear in the heat, looks better, and is more accurate to the periods we recreate. With the internet there are online places to get linen for good prices. Tempted yet? Linen costs a little more than a good cotton per yard, but it will last twice as long. Do I have you hooked yet? I use cottons as well as linen for my garb. But I am starting to use linen more often. Getting linen on-line at a price I am willing to pay makes the choice much easier. Check out the online fabric stores and see what you can find.

 A few resources for cotton use in the SCA time period

http://www.eh.net/lists/archives/econhist/mar-1995/0286.php

http://www.florilegium.org/files/TEXTILES/textiles-msg.html

But that all said here is what I think you need to know about fabrics. 

There are natural fabrics, wool, silk, linen, cotton, hemp, and ramie. Hemp I don’t know a lot about. I did buy a piece of fabric labeled hemp and it was stretchy and coarse compared to linen. Ramie is a fiber similar to linen but spun from a different kind of grass. It is harder to spin, so it is more expensive and has largely been pushed aside by the other fibers. As a side note, one of the wonderful aspects of linen, wool and silk is when they catch fire they self extinguish, they put themselves out. Cotton on the other hand, once lit it stays lit until you put it out. Just some food for thought as you dance around a fire pit, cook over an open flame, or walk by tiki torches, your cloak flowing around you. Poof!

Then there are synthetic fibers, most commonly; polyester, nylon and acrylic. Polyester is produced from petroleum. Nylon is produced from petrochemical polymers, one of the first applications of this fiber was to replace silk in parachutes during World War II. Acrylic is defined this way in a definition I found online “a synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight of acrylonitrile“. Acrylic fiber was first produced to be a wool substitute.

Now for the two tricky fibers, or not so tricky for a purist, man made fibers from naturally existing fiber materials. Rayon and Acetate are both made from cellulose, mostly wood pulp with a lot of mechanical production. Both were first produced to be silk substitutes.

We go around our natural every day lives in man made fabrics all the time. As I sit here in my 96% cotton 4% spandex turtle neck and my 100% spun polyester fleece pull over. I am very comfortable. Why am I so comfortable in my synthetic fabrics, but I’m saying these same fabrics will not be comfortable for SCA styles. Authentic mindedness aside. Modern casual clothing is generally loose fitting(Well mine is I’m a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl) and air can flow in and out through the top, bottom, sleeves, neck what have you. I used to have a nice slim fitted polo shirt, I was never comfortable in it. I was always too hot and sticky. I looked at the label one day it said 65% polyester. Go figure, it looked like a cotton knit to me, when I bought it I just assumed that it was cotton. My SCA clothing is almost all form fitting, could not be more form fitting because then it would be skin. Air cannot travel through the openings, air must be able to travel through the fabric to keep me at the optimum temperature. Synthetics do not allow air flow through the weave of the fabric, it does not breath. So you might want to think about that before fabric buying. If it is going to tight against your skin it needs to be natural. Then there is the whole drape issue. So just go natural. But please do put some fabric on.

A note about blends. Blends are when two different fibers are woven together or two different types of threads are used to weave fabric. When two natural fibers are woven together a blend is a good thing when a man made fiber is woven with a natural fiber it is OK. And when one man made fiber is woven with another man made fiber it is a bad thing.

Geeze... all this synthetic bashing, I will tell you what I do like to use them for. Banners. I made banners for Pennsic War for a group of friends one year, the fabric was a synthetic. I am not positive witch ones, I suspect polyester and/or nylon. Those banners are, oh 7 years old now, and have spent a lot of time in damp dark corners.  Fora all that time in the dark and they did not mold. Synthetics do resist molds, natural fabrics rot in the damp.  Natural fabrics contain "food" for critters and mold, synthetics do not.  More food for thought for your nice new canvas pavilion stored in you basement some where, make sure it is dry.

The Fibers:

Acetate is a syntheic fiber that describes a range of fibers made from cellulose and other chemicals that was first produced in the 1900's. This is the most common fiber used in modern Taffeta and Satin fabrics. Stay away from it. It is a weak fiber that just simply breaks down because it can. Silk Taffeta and Satin were used in later periods for upper class garments but our modern acetate versions would not hold up under normal wear and tear. A way down thumbs down for acetate fabrics.

Acrylic is a man made fiber formed from acrylonitrile. This synthetic fiber is commonly blended with wool, or called wool by inexperienced people at the fabric store. No kidding I asked at the local chain store “where is your wool?” and the kind lady led me to the acrylic isle. “Where’s the beef?” modern fabric stores can be so frustrating!! Acrylic is not wool.  It is stiff and coarse compared to real woolen fabrics. As a synthetic fiber it does not breath well and melts when it catches fire. Many wools these days are blended with acrylic, so be ware.  Also I have bought fabric that the store said was 100% wool, I got it home and did a burn test and it definately was not.  What is a girl to do?  Definite thumbs down for acrylic fabrics, if you do fined a wool blend that has very low acrylic and is "cheap" maybe.  But stay away from the fire pit.

Cotton is a fiber from the cotton plant it is a basete fiber.  There is evidence that cotton was used by the ancient Eguyptions and in acient Indida and Mexico. The greek philosopher Herodotus called cotton "tree wool".  Cotton processing is very efficent and has very little waste, only loosing 10% of the weavable material to processing.  Cotton does not grow well in colder climates but does grow well in the "sub tropics"  this is one of the major reasons why it never became a mainstay of the Northern European fabric industry.

Linen is a baste fiber, a fiber made from the stem of a plant, in this case the flax plant.   This is the oldest plant fiber used for fabric by man.  There are many steps necessary to process linen before it is ready to spin into thread.  First the flax plants are harvested and the seeds are retrived from the plants.  Next the plants are soaked in water (wether or not the water is running and how long the soak is changes the color of the fibers) and allowed to rot, this is called retting.  Then the plants are broken with wooden hammers or swords, and then finally combed or hackled into pliable fibers.  Finally the fiber is ready to be spun into thread.  Wow, it makes you wonder how they figured out how todo that doesn't it.  Linen is notoriously hard to dye and even when successful the colors tend to fade.   

Nylon is another polymer fabric and it is best left to parachutes, parkas and windbreakers. It melts into a hard nasty black mess, not something to wear near a fire. It is a thin fabric and I can’t think of any appropriate application for SCA clothing. It might do well for out door banners but not clothing. I do not expect people to make silk banners to have them rained on and dragged around in the mud at Pennsic.

Polyester is a trade name for a specific companies fiber that has turned into a name referring to any man-made fiber. Kind of like Kleenex for facial tissue. Avoid as much polyester as you can. Sometimes a bit of polyester added to cotton will make the fabric stronger. A lot of fencers use Trigger Poplin, a 65% poly 35% cotton blend. But it does not breath well and is very warm in the summer. Again it is not so good to wear around fire, it melts. I guess for some applications it is ok. It makes good durable banners that hold up in the rain.

Ramie is a natural fiber woven from China Grass similar to flax. Often blended with cotton, a down side is it is not a very flexible fabric and is stated to be brittle, does not sound like it will wear well long term. It was used to make fabric to wrap mummies in.  In addition Ramie is very flammable so beware. It seems to be rare now days and expensive.

Rayon was the first man-made fiber made from a base of cellulose from plant fiber, either wood or other vegetable sources. It was another fabric developed as a substitute for silk. It has a soft hand and very good drape ability but not durability. Commonly today linen is blended with rayon (55% 45%). I buy it when it is cheap, under 3$ a yard, but I don’t want to pay full price for it. I actually have many pieces of garb made from Linen/Rayon blend, I can’t say how long my garb is going to last but because of the price I paid for it I’ve already got my money worth.  So I'll give rayon and its blends a half thumbs up.

Silk is a protein fiber produced by silkworms. The fiber can be woven into a variety of fabrics. It is one a very strong durable fiber even though it is very fine. Some of the most common modern forms of silk fabric are satin, dupioni, shantung, haboti and noil. Medieval and Renaissance people where silk snobs, the fabric was smooth and fine. Our modern concept that historical fabrics were coarse is a misconception. Homespun in period was as good as our machine produced fabrics today.   In the 13th and 14th centuries England and France began their own silk industry that was well established by the 16th century. 

http://oak.atlantia.sca.org/19/silk.htm

Wool is the oldest of the fibers used by man to make clothing.  It most often comes from some sort of sheep but can also can be made from the "fur?" of camel, angora, alpaca, and vicuna. It is spun into a very large variety of weights and fabrics. Can’t go wrong with wool, well maybe skip the wool knits and crepes.

The Fabrics:

Batiste is a type of finely woven fabric. It is a sheer fabric woven from cotton, silk or wool. Batiste is a great veil fabric, but to be honest I have only seen it in cotton. This stuff can’t handle stress at all. It will rip very easily so don’t think tunic when you think batiste. Some people will use this for chemises, but it is a bit sheer for me. Even though it is not a period fabric it is an inexpensive substitute for silk. Thumbs up to batiste for applications when you want a light and airy fabric that is not under stress.

Calico is a printed cotton fabric that became popular in the "Colonia era".  So not a medieval fabric.  I believe there is some later period block printed fabrics, but they are not "calico" like.  Calico tends to have small realistic type flowers printed on it.  In a quick review of what I "googled" seems that later period (1500's on) is that printing fabrics (linen and silk) was being used for hangings and decorations but not for clothing because the techinque used was not "color fast", it washes out.

http://www.renaissancedancewear.com/fabric.html

http://www.florilegium.org/files/CRAFTS/block-printing-msg.html

http://www.florilegium.org/files/CRAFTS/fabric-paint-msg.html

Corduroy is a cotton fabric that is very durable woven with vertical ribs or 'wales'. Wales are sized by width and vary from the very tiny (pinwale) to medium, heavy or wide wale. No wale Corduroy is also available and it resembles cotton velveteen. Corduroy was first created in the late-18th century England. It was a durable fabric used for everyday clothing, after WWII denim replaced the use of Corduroy. Corduroy is not a period fabric but I will say when it is the right color it makes a smashing Elizabethan. It has a nice firm hand but still soft enough drape to do this style very well. It can be bought at the end of the winter season(think February) for just a few dollars a yard. When two Elizabethan’s can be made for 26$ in fabric that is cool. Look for fabric with natural or jewel tone colors. I’ll give it a thumbs up for late period applications, because for high class elizabethan silk velevet/heavy silk satin is just out of my reach(cost would be out of the question). It is too heavy for the earlier periods where tunics and fitted cotes were worn. It might make a nice side less sur cote though. Don’t use it for a cloak, unless you never expect to wear it in the rain. It will soak up pounds and pounds of water rather than beading it way like wool will. You will be cold and wet in no time under a corduroy cloak. Thumbs down as a cloak material.

Crepe is a lightweight, textured appearing fabric. This is a non period weave and sometimes is woven as a knit. Crepe comes in wool, silk and other nasty fibers I’ve mentioned before. Wool crepe can look ok as well as silk crepe. Silk crepe looks dull and if it used for a veil it is not transparent like most veils in period paintings. I’d think twice before buying it. Some times it looks ok, but I think  it may not "look right". I’m giving it a thumbs down, or to thumb to the side if it is a.) not knit  and b.) is wool or silk.

Broad cloth has a smooth surface and a dense weave. Broadcloth is very often blended with polyester,  so if you want 100% cotton watch the bolt ends. If it is really stiff and has a plastic sheet feel it is mostly polyester and will not be a good choice for clothing.

Denim is a strong, durable twill weave cotton fabric. Often this fabric is woven with the warp in dark blue (indigo blue) and the filling fibers in white. This fabric is good for corsets and hoop skirts, but not for the actual Elizabethan gown, it is a bit "plain". I’m giving it a thumbs up for under garments and a thumbs down for outer wear. There are better fabrics for that.

Duck is a durable, closely woven cotton fabric and is similar to canvas. It comes in a variety of colors, just use your coupons or sales to get, it can be expensive. I use this for corsets and hoop skirts and linings for fencing gear. Linen is more accurate but this stuff works too, thumbs up for under garments, and satchels.

Dupioni is a nice silk fabric that has natural slubs along the weave. These slubs are part of the characteristic of the silk fibers from cocoons of where two silk worms have spun one cocoon together. I’m not sure how or what that looks like but that is the information I have, fact seems to be stranger than fiction. Dupioni silk like most silk is marked dry clean only, forget about it! I wash my silk and it comes out just fine, most of the time :) . It will loose a little bit of its sheen but I still like the way it looks and it does shrink a bit “14 % - 5 inches per yard”. This fabric is crisp (will stand in a little peak with out support) medium weight fabric. If I were to make an Elizabethan from the skirt would need to be lined to be full enough to look good. Thumbs up for dupioni, I am do noth thing that the weave would have been used in period due to its irregularities, but it is easy to find at reasonable prices. What else can I say? Dupioni runs about 7$ to 15$ a yard as a regular price.  Use this fabric "at will" but know that it is not a "medieval fabric".

Felt is a fabric created through the combination of heat and pressure. It is not woven. The modern version of this fabric is not good for most SCA applications because it simply cannot take the abuse. I will sometimes use Felt in embroidery projects as a light layer of padding but that is about it. Also wool felt is use for hats. I’ll give it a thumbs up for hats and padding a very deep thumbs down for any type of clothing. Don’t make a pouch from felt, you’re car keys will make a huge hole in less than an hour.

Flannel is a soft, twill weave with a napped surface and is loosely woven. Fibers tend to be cotton or wool. Wool flannel is an excellent period choice of fabric. I hate wool touching my skin so I use cotton flannel as a the linings of my wool cloaks. Wool flannel will get a double thumbs up from me, cotton flannel will get a single thumbs up. Herringbone is a particular weave which results in a continuous v-shaped design. Sometimes two different colored fibers are used for this process. A very period weave I am told. So a thumbs up to herringbone, double if it is wool.

Interlock is a kind of knit fabric, it is used in heavy T-shirts. All I need to say is knit, avoid it. Knit fabrics were not used in period, knitting is period but they did not knit yards of fabric to be cut into clothing. Knits are stretchy fabrics that do it not drape as a woven fabric therefore it would and would look odd. There are too many other good choices out there so two thumbs down.

Jacquard is a type of weave which produces woven designs on both sides of the fabric (mirror images). Named after the inventor of the type of loom needed to make the fabric. To SCAers this term is commonly interchanged with brocade. I don’t know about how period this weave is, but I use it all the time for later period stuff. You can get this in linen, and I do believe I have some in silk. An emotional but not academic thumbs up.

Muslin a plain cotton fabric it can be unbleached(off white) or bleached(white). This is an inexpensive fabric, on sale $1.50 a yard and regular price around $2.50. It is a good fabric for chemises and shirts. In our period linen would be used but because of the cost factor I still use cotton muslin. This fabric is light and other than for Pennsic, I don’t care if it comes home, tunics I’d skip muslin and use a heavier weight fabric. Not a period fabric, but thumbs up for a good inexpensive substitute.

Silk Noil or sometiems called raw silk  Raw silk is actually something else.  Silk noil is a silk fabric that is woven from the scraps from the silk weaving process.  It is a very course fabric and would be considered extreemly infirior in the Medieval era.  It has an oder that is kind of like paint thiner to me.  I find it ichy on my skin, I don't know why.. Thumb to the side for silk noil it is cheap and it is silk but it does not resemble period silk at all. 

China Silk or Silk Haboti this is very finely woven silk. It comes in a variety of weights. It does not have any planned imperfections like slubs. It is a great veil fabric. It comes in different weighs measured in mm, that is mummy not millimeters. The higher the mm number the heavier the fabric. 8 mm you can see through, but is not transparent. Thumbs up for china silk.  Don't use it as the fasion layer though, it is just not sturdy enough, linings are good and veils too.

Shantung is a type of silk fabric. It has bumps in it called slubs. These imperfections are part of the fabric and are not flaws. Dupioni is a shantung fabric, but not all shantungs are dupioni, get it?  In my experience shantung is a bit "smoother" than dupioni.  Shantung is a bit too course to be a spot on authentic period fabric but it is a good fabric to use none the less.

Satin is a shiny fabric in period it was a rich fabric made from silk and used by the upper classes. Now days most satin is made from acetate, called Baroque Satin. I’d stay away from it. First it does not have the body(weight/drape) of period satins and it will make your outfit look flat. I made a tudor-ish gown from Baroque satin and looking back on it, it did not look right. There were a lot of mistakes but the biggest was the fabric. Second reason to stay away from the acetate satin is it’s quite flammable. While at events with candles during feast and fire pits it is not worth the worry.   Silk satin comes in many different weights that have different names.  Duchess satin, a heavy satin, is the fabric for wedding dresses, and therefore expensive.  This is the stuff of my dreams :) White silk satin will set you back 25$ a yard, no kidding, and it is rarely on sale. I wonder why?   Just keep your eye on the sale tables and hope to be at the right place at the right time.  Sometimes you can find the offwhite colors on the sale table, and silk loves fabric dye. On line you can get nice silk Tuxedo satin (lighter than duchess and heavier than baroque) satin for about $10 a yard, but still not in white. But for SCA that might not be so bad. Silk satin gets a thumbs up but the acetate satin gets a thumbs down, way down.

Taffeta is a tightly woven crisp fabric.  Many inventories from our period describe fabrics as taffeta.  Modern acetate taffeta does not wear well, it has a tendancy to shread at the seams, not good.  Silk taffeta is a nice crisp fabric, it may be lighter than its Medieval equivalent.  I might flat line my silk taffeta with medium or light linen to give it some extra "oomf".  When made from silk it is a great choice for medieval costumes double thumbs up, when made from acetate I'd pass on it.

Trigger is a heavy cotton poly blend fabric that is used in the SCA for fencing armor.  It does its job as armor but is hot, and heavy linen (7 ounce or or more) will work as well but of course cost more.

Tussah is a weave of silk fabric that is very coarse. The silk worms are feed oak leaves rather than the usual mulberry, why I don’t know. This fabric was not in use in our period but it is a natural fabric and silk. It is a medium to heavy weight fabric but it has a looser weave than other silks. It would snag easily on pins or anything sharp. I guess I’ll give it a thumb to the side, it is a natural fabric but I’m worried about the durability factor. If I ever found it at a price that was a steal I’d pick up a few yards to put in the stash.

Makita is another coarse weave of silk. It is woven in an over two under two kind of pattern (checker board). It is again not a period weave but if you find it at the price that is right buy it. My husband has a summer tunic made from this fabric. So go in with your eyes wide open and if you like it and like the price go for it. We paid $5 a yard at one of the online stores, for silk that is a good price. So my verdict is a thumb to the side, it is a natural fabric in a non period weave and it does have some issues.

Twill is created by letting the filling threads pass over one of a group of warp threads and then under another thread group. The result is a series of diagonal lines. Twill weaves are very durable and firm and they come in all fibers, silk, wool, cotton and linen.  I’ll give any linen, silk or wool in a twill a doulble thumbs up, many of the extant examples of fabrics are a 2 in 1 twill weave. Silk twill is as close to the period fabric Samite as we can get, without weaving it ourselves of course. Brushed cotton twill is a good substitute for velveteen. I’ll give cotton twill a half a thumbs up, it is inexpensive and readily available. From a few feet it will look ok, sometimes.

Velvet is a fabric with short, soft, dense pile in a variety of weights and fibers. Most common fibers used are acetate, nylon and silk and rayon. Stay away from acetate velvet or nylon velvet, it is really really hot. And it will crush where you sit leaving you with butt prints on your skirt. It is not attractive. Watch out for fabrics labeled Silk Velvet, usually it is 80% whatever fabric and only 20% silk, typically the ground is silk with a synthetic pile.

Velveteen is a pile fabric similar to Velvet, it can be woven using rayon, cotton or silk fibers. The cut pile is shorter than the pile for velvet. And thusly will not leave you with yor bottom imprinted on your skirt. Cotton velveteen is my choice for late period garb. Velveteen is washable, just make sure you pre wash before you cut. This way if it shrinks you’ll be safe.

Links Used for Information:

http://alpha.furman.edu/~kgossman/theatre26/define.htm

http://www.newcitycleaners.com/new/dictionary/fabrics/

http://www.swicofil.com/products/007ramie.html

http://www.microfibre-china.com/fabric_history.html

http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/history.htm

http://www.costumes.org/ADVICE/TEXTILES/acrylic.htm

http://www.geocities.com/metropolitanvintagedance/glossary_of_victorian__dressmaki.htm

http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/Silk/silk-fabric-facts.htm

http://www.apparelsearch.com/Definitions/Fabric/FABRIC_definition.htm

http://www.geocities.com/anne_liese_w/Fibers/fiberflax.htm

http://www.virtue.to/articles/modern_fabric.html

Fabric Care:

When a fabric says dry clean I either don’t buy it or I just wash it anyway. Linen is marked dry clean only. Boo on that. Wash it in your washing machine before you use it and everything will work out just fine. With that said some fabrics like or wool will really shrink and silk will change after it has gotten wet. The shine of silk is usually changed after it has gotten wet.

So what you should do is cut a square of your fabric 6 inches square, larger if you feel like it but I would not cut one smaller. Fabric will not always shrink the same in both directions, so you want to make sure you know what is warp and weft when you are all done.  It is best if one edge of the square is on the selvedge so it is obvious where the square came from. If you do not use a selvedge edge mark the edge that was parallel to the selvedge with a safety pin, or a line of stitches, something that will not wash out.  Also you will want to seal the edges of the silk square with a zigzag stitch or serger if you have one, otherwise it will ravel and you won’t know if the square shrank or if it just raveled.  Trace the square onto a piece of paper before you wash it to mark what size the fabric was before it was washed. Then wash the square how every you plan to wash your finished garment.  I usually wash my wool and silk in cold water and either drip dry or dry on low in the dryer.  After all the washing and drying is over compare your square to the paper tracing. You might want to run your wool square another time to make sure it has shrunk as much as it is going to. Don’t forget to trace your square before you wash it each time for comparisons. Now you know how much the fabric is going to change.

Now for the math to figure out what size your fabric will be after you wash it. Ratio’s remember those.. cross product?…is over was will be the fractions. Example. The width square when you started was 6 inches and when you were done it was 4 inches(the measure across the square with the selvedge on the left or right) and the fabric is 45 inches wide. X is the width of the fabric after it shrinks 4X 6 * 45 4*45 = 6X 180 = 6X 30 = X so.. after washing the fabric will be approximately 30 inches wide When you wash silk or wool make sure you don’t use a harsh detergent, especially one that claims to get the protein out like Era. Silk and wool are protein fibers so the detergent like Era will break down the fibers of the fabric.

How to Shop at the Fabric Store:

So you are new to sewing and have no idea about what, where, when and how of fabric. Don’t worry, the people who work at the store will be happy to help you. I am going to start at the beginning if you have been to a fabric store before you can just skip this section.

When you buy fabric you need to get it cut, you cannot go to the check out line with your bolt of fabric and say “two yards, Please”. You have to get the fabric cut at the cutting counter, this is usually in the middle of the store. Everything that is sold by the yard needs to be cut all the ribbon, trim, lace, fabric, Velcro, elastic, batting, foam and feather weight boning. At some stores you have to get your fabric cut in the department it is from. This I hate because the wool, silk, and upholstery fabrics are all different departments so before leaving the store I have to stand in 4 different lines.  Fabric is usually sold by the yard in 1/4 yard increments, some places will sell it by the pound (not usual).  When you are buying fabric and there is under a yard left on the end they will sometimes sell you the "last little bit" at a discount, ask them if you are interested.

The price of the fabric is usually written on the end of the cardboard “box” that the fabric is wrapped around, on the bolt end. All the information about the fabric is written there as well as the price. You will find the following: the “cutesy” fabric name (“autumn sun” or whatever), the manufacture, fiber content, cost per yard, how wide the fabric is, fabric care instructions, and other bits and pieces of information. Anything you want to know is on the end of the bolt. If it says content unknown, just step away from it. It might spontaneously combust in your arms. When the content is unkown you have no way of knowing, it could be floor scrapings.  But please try not to wear it. Kidding aside “content unknown” is a dead ringer for at a very high synthetic content. Not the best choice for wearable fabric, for chair covers, bags and other stuff go for it if the price per yard is good. On the body, hum, think twice.

So how do you actually see the bolt end,  this can be tricky. The fabric is usually displayed neatly on shelves and round tables to show the fabric attractively they pull the open side of the fabric over the top of the bolt. See it is a conspiracy to hide the truth about our fabrics from you. When fabric is displayed this way end will be smooth and the other end will have the fabric drape. Pull the top layer of the draped fabric back over the top of the bolt and you will see the end you need to read. If there is nothing there it might be on the other end. Don’t feel bad for messing up the display to get the information you need. Try to leave it as you found it but it does not have to be pretty. Just make sure all the fabric is off of the floor where it can’t get stepped on. I find the displays at most stores much to fragile and annoying, touch one bolt and the whole table falls in your lap. At the cutting counter you tell the nice person how much you want. If you are not sure feel free to ask them to “show me a yard” and they will measure out a yard and you can visualize what a yard is and in your minds eye figure out how much you need. Once it is cut you are committed, there is no time machine to go back that 1 minute and say no wait I need two yards. You have it cut you buy it, same as you break it you buy it. On the other hand if the person cutting makes the mistake then you don’t pay for it. Speak up quickly if you think something is going wrong. Count in your head with the person to make sure you are getting what you want. If your count does not match the cutting person’s count have them count again. You should especially keep track when people are talking to your cutting person, it is easy to loose your place. It is your dime, not theirs and you want to make sure it is fair. Just be polite and things will go swimmingly.

If you are not sure of the price per yard ask before the cutting begins. If it does not ring up to the amount you think is correct ask, tell them where you found the fabric and about the signs you saw. If you are not good at doing math in your head think about brining a calculator to the store with you. In the fabric store you have to watch out for your dollar because no one else is going to. If the fabric rings up the wrong price and you leave the store it is much harder to prove it after the fact. When you are at the counter and the fabric and the bolt it came from are next to each other there is no debate about the fabrics origins. It’s a simpler fix problems when you are proactive.

How much do you buy?

For a mans tunic unless you are really tall or really big or are doing big sleeves 3 yards will to the trick.   I'm short :) so for a nice 4 paneled dress I need 4 yards.  Basically as a general estimate you will need the distance from your shoulder to the length you want times 2 and if you are a girl add your waist to the length you want times 2.  If you are doing big sleeves a yard will generall do for them.  Check this site out for more information. 

http://costume.dm.net/fabuse.html

Common Terms Thrown Around At The Fabric Store

Bias: This is the name for the diagonal grain of the fabric. Fabric has more stretch along the bias and sometimes is a good thing, like making hosen (fabric tights) and a bad thing a bias cut seam tends to stretch and sag.

Bias Tape: Strips of fabric cut on the bias of the fabric folded into a narrow tape to use as an edge binding. I also use it as casings.

Bolt: This is the cardboard “box” the fabric is wound onto for display at fabric stores. Most bolts of cotton fabric are around 50 yards total. To estimate the number of yards on a bolt of fabric count the number of layers on one side of the center of the bolt, two layers makes about a yard. When estimating this way I usually find there is more on the bolt than my counted layer estimate.

Grain: This is the direction of the threads in the fabric. Selvedge: This is the left and right edges of the fabric. The selvedge is usually a narrow band along the edge that is more tightly woven than the body of the fabric. Sometimes the it has thread ends bound into a tightly woven band, kind of like whiskers.

Nap: Some fabrics have a fuzzy surface. Such as velvet, velveteen, corduroy or brushed twill. Napped fabric will look different from top to bottom and bottom to top. Run your hand along the right side of the fabric it will feel smooth in one direction and rough in the other. Notions: The stuff that goes along with sewing. Needles, pins, scissors, buttons ect.

Thread count: This is the number of threads per inch. An Even weave fabric has an equal number of threads in each direction (top to bottom) warp, and from side to side (weft)

Warp and Weft: These are the threads of the fabric. The Weft threads go from side to side, or from selvedge to selvedge. The warp threads run perpendicular to the weft threads, running from top to bottom.