fabric advice

i love having so many helpful and experienced brains to pick on the boards here Tongue

i am just starting out with "real" sewing. Most of my previous sewing projects have been deconstructing or re-purposing things from the thrift store or my own closet. thanks to some advice i got here, i've found a simple skirt pattern that i want to try out... but i realized that i'm stumped when it comes to fabric.

(i buy fabric online, mostly - there are no cheap fabric stores close to me, and it saves me a 2 hour bus ride out to the suburbs, lol)

what kinds of fabric would you all recommend for a simple a-line skirt? i'm making it simply so i can cut out the design from an old shirt and stitch it on, because i love it too much to stop wearing it. i was thinking some kind of knit, but it seems like there's a million choices out there and without being able to touch and see them in person, it's a little confusing Tongue

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6 replies since 22nd June 2010 • Last reply 22nd June 2010

Reply #1:

You should be able to look up A-line skirt patterns online. Look on the suggested materials for these patterns. That should help, I hope. (=

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Reply #2:

Thank you for your advice Happy

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Reply #3:

Did it help? I hope so.

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Reply #4:

Aline skirts work with basically any fabcic, that's among the reasons it's such a great cut Happy it's all about what you have to work with machine wise and fabric wise. Jersey knit should be comfy and great!

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Reply #5:

I would stear clear of knits if you are new to sewing as it can be off putting with the fabric twisting. A mid weight cotton, gaberdine or a poly cotton mix would be good. Gaberbine has the strength of denim but with a soft touch. Keep away from crepe too till you are confident with finishing off freyed edges, it twists too. Most of the awkward fabrics have a twisting warp & weft or stretch. When you pull a fabric one way then the other you will get a feel for how they sew and how much movement you can expect when sewing. An A line skirt is fairly straight forward so should make up well. I learnt about fabrics by using re-cycled bits and trying out different ways of sewing them. Doing inside curves like on a sleeve fitting is a good test of sewing technique. See if any of the on-line shops will send small samples. Hope this helps Happy

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Reply #6:

anything with stretch I would avoid for now, till your sewing skills get better

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