This is a brief introduction to the topic with links to individual, more detailed posts. You can also access those posts via the index below. Read up or jump to a topic of your choice. Have fun.

Post Index

Definitions

• Fibres to fabrics Introduction and definitions
• Natural fibres Read more HERE
• Synthetic fibres Read more HERE
• Regenerated Fibres Read more HERE
• Which fabric – why I prefer natural fabrics over synthetics here.
• Fabric

Making Fabric

• Types Of Fabric
• Fabric Weights
• Why Organic & Fair-trade

Buy Fabrics

• on line suppliers
• Local fabric shops.
• British made Fabric

Working With Different Fabrics

Related Posts

• Lots of outrageous textile statistics HERE
• Check out the how to sew plastic free index
• See all textile & wardrobe related posts HERE.

Introduction 

Fibres are short fine hairs that can be twisted or spun into longer thread or yarn. This is then woven or knitted into fabric.Natural fibres biodegrade. Synthetic fibres are man-made and plastic. Most dont. Regenerated Fibres are cellulose converted through a chemical process. Some it is claimed are biodegradable. Some are not. Yarns and fabrics made from these fibres share these qualities. Clothing - ditto. 

Natural Fibres used for finer fabrics and yarn include

• Cotton used to make cotton
• Flax is used to make linen. It is one of the strongest vegetable fibres. Other vegetable fibres include hemp and nettles.
• Coarse fibres such as hemp is used to make sacking 
• Wool and other animal hair 
• Silk strong and light weight. Read more here.
• Read more  HERE

Synthetic fibres

These are man-made from chemicals many of which are petroleum derived. Acrylic, nylon and polyester  are the most common. They are made from oil and coal.

• Acrylic fibre resembles wool and so is used to replace that natural fibre.
• Nylon is used as a silk substitute. It is a very fine and strong fibre so can be used to make ladies tights.
• Polyester is one of the most popular man-made fibres. It can be used to mimic almost any natural fibre. is the same Polyethylene terephthalat, (frequently shortened to PET or PETE and was formerly called PETP or PET-P), that is used to make bottles and a lot of other plastic stuff.
• Read more HERE

Regenerated Fibres

The base material is cellulose that can be obtained from a range of sources including wood, paper, cotton fiber, or  bamboo. It is then converted through a chemical process into a fiber.

They usually go under the trade names such as 

• Rayon
• Bamboo Rayon
• Viscose,
• Modal
• Tencel (lyocell)

Regenerated Fibres & fabrics  a very basic introduction

Making Fabric

Fabric can be woven or knitted from yarn made by spinning fibres. 

Fabrics are often named  after yarn type. So cotton can be the fibre the yarn or the fabric. They can be a mixture of yarns like poly cotton - polyester and cotton mix. They may be named after the trade name like Modal.

more names for fabric

There are many different kind of weave resulting in fabrics of different thickness and texture. Fabrics may be named after the weave for example twill.

Jersey is a knitted fabric that could be made from cotton, silk or polyester.

Cotton fabric can be described as denim, lawn or muslin.

Silk comes under any number of of luscious sounding names including Charmeuse, Chiffon and Crepe de Chine.

Different types of fabric have different qualities - demin is a heavy thick hard wearing cotton fabric while lawn is thin sheer cotton fabric. Differences are down to how the fabric is made and the weight (thickness) of the yarn used.

You can find over 200 types of fabric listed HERE

Fabric Weights

GSM means grammes per square metre so typically a voile or muslin would weigh less than 100 grammes per metre.

Shirtweight would be 100 to 200 gsm. Lightweight canvas would be around 300gsm. Denim is often classified in oz per sq yard. 12 oz = 400 gsm.

Natural & Ethical Fabrics

As many fabrics are made in poorer countries, do try to source fair-trade when ever possible. There are good reasons for trying to also source organic. Cotton especially uses huge amounts of pesticides.

Problem is fair trade and organic don’t come cheap and I can’t always afford it. So, without beating myself up about it, I also buy natural but almost-certainly-non-organic, who-knows-how-it-is-made fabric from local fabric shops.

Guide to synthetic, (plastic), regenerated, combination and natural fibres. why I prefer natural fabrics over synthetics here.

Buy Fabrics

Online

I can only buy organic fair-trade fabric on line. Which leads to problems with packaging. So many people will only send it out in plastic bags. But there is one company, Offset Warehouse who in addition to having fantastic fair-trade, organic, eco credentials, and a great range of fabric they will post out in plastic-free packaging.

Local Shops

Buying locally is also buying sustainably. There are many very strong reasons to support local shops. especially fabric shops. There aren’t that many of them left. See reasons to shop locally here

Great fabric shops are a joy to visit. they are usually a great source of expertise as almost everyone working there will be a home sewer. It also gives you chance to feel the fabric, check out the drape and see if that shade of green really does suit you.

Here are some of my favourites…

Local fabric shops.

Locally Made Fabrics

This year I wanted to source some locally made fabrics. In the U.K. the locally made fabric is wool. It is especially relavent to me as I live in Yorkshire a place once famous for its woolen fabric. There used to be hundreds of mills churning out meters of the stuff but those days are long gone. Indeed you may be surprised to hear that there are any working mills left. I was. But my research revealed that Yorkshire cloth is still being made by a handful of mills. What they turn out now is a luxury product. If you thought organic fair-trade was expensive check out these prices. £ 50.00 a meter is the cheap end of the market and way out of my price range.

BUT  down on Leeds Market there are folk selling end of line end of roll lengths for very reasonable amounts. And I am sourcing lots more

British made Fabric

Working With Different Fabrics

Sewing

Making your own clothes is probably the only way to get them totally plastic-free. Plus the only way I can afford fair trade organic clothes is make them myself. And I get to support local fabric shops
How, why and where to buy can be found  here

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