Thinking Of Picking Up Some Fabric ?

New to fabric buying?
We hope we can out your mind at ease with some top tips to consider when picking up your fabric for your next project! Here are our five tips!

1. Check Drape
Always unroll the fabric a few yards and see how it hangs. The hang or ‘drape’ of the fabric will be a key element in terms of how the fabric will lie. Notice how silk hangs softly, while linens are more heavy with a tendency to stick out when pleated or gathered?

2. Assess Colour
Colours and patterns are key to the look of a project. We advise to always take the fabric into natural light prior to purchasing. Often the lighting in a store can make a colour look different to how it looks in natural light.

3. Determine Width
Fabrics usually come in two or three different widths – 60 inches (150cm) or 45 inches (112.5cm) being most common, and the width of your fabric will determine how much you will need to buy.

4. Test Stretch
Pull the fabric between your fingers to test the stretch. Most fabrics will have an element of stretch, particularly when pulled on the cross (diagonal against the grain), and this will be useful to understand.

5. Visualise Project
Finally, always take the time to visualise what the project will look like in a given fabric. Think about the colour and drape.

Other tips? Don’t be afraid to buy unusual fabrics for your projects – suedes, velvets and leather fabrics can work really well on the right project! We stock them all! Come and take a look online or in our Batley Mill store.