Fabric Know-How: Choosing & Using Your Favorite Fabrics

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Pick the perfect fabric for any pattern. Learn the best uses for cottons, linens, silks, knits, wools, rayons and polyesters, as well as how to sew them skillfully.

Fabric & Pattern Basics

Meet fashion designer Sandra Betzina and learn more about how to use this reference class for all your designing and sewing projects. Sandra discusses pattern and fabric choices and how to consider them together. She also discusses interfacing options that can make a difference in the drape, structure and stability of the fabrics you choose.

Cottons & Linens

Sandra shares her wealth of knowledge about the cottons and linens that we love, from lightweight to heavyweight, including the needles, presser feet and threads to use with each, as well as seam finish, hemming and pretreatment suggestions. Along the way, you’ll also see inspirational examples of Sandra’s designs that incorporate these fabrics.

Silks

While lovely and luxurious, silk can be challenging to work with. Sandra demystifies the properties of different silk types, shares suggestions for pretreatment, seaming and hemming, and shows how to cut out this slippery fabric accurately to make garments you’ll love to wear.

Knits

Get a handle on handling knits with Sandra’s guidance. You’ll review the many types of knits and their suitability for different garments, as well as the best thread, needles and stitch types for secure seams. Learn to love your knits, from loose and drapey to structured and elegant.

Wools

Sandra shows you how to embrace the versatility of wool with this lesson on recognizing, pretreating and sewing. Sandra includes tips such as underlining tissue-weight wool or combining wool and faux fur on a jacket collar.

Rayons & Polyesters

Drapey, breathable rayon makes beautiful garments but requires some special treatment in laundering and sewing. Sandra discusses best practices for working with rayon, then shows how to handle balky polyesters when you find yourself seduced by an intriguing print. Sandra also has some suggestions for playing with specialty polyesters.

Seam Finishes

A perfectly executed seam can make all the difference in your garment sewing. Sandra shows how to get great-looking seams no matter what your fabric is, from plain or French seams on silk to flat-felled seams on heavier fabrics. You’ll also learn about specialty feet that can aid in accuracy and stabilizers to keep your seams tidy.

Hem Finishes

Create hems that say “professional” not “homemade” with Sandra’s guidance. Learn about hems large and small on a variety of fabrics, from baby hems on delicate chiffon to pounded hems on denim. Sandra’s wealth of knowledge will inspire you to get going on your sewing!