A Sewists Guide to Fabrics - What to buy and why

Picking the right fabrics can be hard - especially for beginners. I want to provide basic knowledge on how fabrics are made to help this.
You can watch the mentioned video on buying fabrics here: • Where to buy fabric, c...
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[@Andrew_Schaefer]

Ah yes, polyester cupcakes - my favourite.

[@Yougaljuboja]

I could listen for hours ! How about a part 2 with patterns ? Herringbone, houndstooth etc... ?

[@grandmasgopnik9642]

Oh that would be really cool!

[@misterbob8834]

I recently discovered linen and make shirts, waistcoats and flat caps. I was amazed at how comfortable linen is to wear. Thanks for another great video, very informative!

[@HenriHowardEarlofSurrey]

You are so inspirational ❤️ l have sewn for my wife and daughters for decades but, now you have inspired me to create a line suit for myself Edwardian of course. Danke Schoen Your videos are so professional and beautifully made.

[@Saelreth]

that was SO helpful. maybe now i can manage to buy my own fabrics without always asking velvet for help :D

[@kayerin5749]

Always informative! Now I know why some woolens are good for summer:) Linen has recently become very popular in the U.S. for bed linens. I would like to know more about the types of linens, how they are made and which are better for the bed or say shirts or blouses. Vielen Dank, Herr Nicklas!

[@raraavis7782]

Yes, the bit at the end was particularly interesting. I know my way around fabric, but wool 'summer suits' were a puzzling idea even for me. I wish, linen was more widely available in different qualities. All the shops ever seem to carry is 'rustic looking', loosely woven linen, that doesn't suit my style at all.

[@grandmasgopnik9642]

As a trans man who’s sewn for myself as a woman and now kind of unable to find menswear that fits well, I was a bit lost on where to start on projects for menswear since I live in an almost tropical climate within the US this video has been so helpful I now feel much more informed and excited to try my hand at some menswear and not melt in the process 😅. I hope your linen projects go well! I think I’ll try some thin wools since I’ve actually seen some extent outerwear garments in my area from the past. It must have worked at some point! 😊

[@patrickmarx4919]

I started sewing lately. My first projects were neck ties. The first two I made with the help of my mother out of leftover cotton from another project. The third one I made completely by myself for a friend. With this one, I learned the hard way that different fabrics behave a lot different, because I made it out of a polyester satin fabric... So thanks for your video! Now I know a lot more about fabrics than before!

[@DASBookbinding]

As we’re just heading into the hot humid sub tropical summer of Queensland I’m getting some new seersucker fabric shirts. It’s my favourite hot weather fabric for shirts. The water thing with flax is simplistic marketing. Cotton is easier (less energy and resources intensive) to process and grow. If flax were grown in the same areas as cotton, more water would be required. But much less flax is grown in the world and it is mostly grown in the better agricultural areas. I love linen but it shouldn’t be worn as an eco statement. Love your videos.

[@grandmasgopnik9642]

This is so helpful! I have been always sewing with second hand fabric stash 😅

[@Noah-bi6pj]

Man I just discovered your channel and it feels like I've discovered a Gold Mine for Inspiration for Home-Sewing. Thank you so much for posting these Videos

[@lupinotuumlunam]

Very informative. I am growing to like wool more as I get older. Silk seems to have been used extensively in women's fashion. Was it not used much in men's fashion due to durability or was it just exclusive to high fashion and not applicable to this video?

[@marjoleinsmolders1630]

Very informative and laughed at the men in tights, i love that cheesy movie 😂

[@Javi_C]

Thank you 😊

[@fuzzylon]

Really interesting ! Thanks !!

[@sewcute_sewvintage]

Another great video

[@marynimocks6791]

What a great of information! Thank you!

[@canucknancy4257]

That was wonderfully informative. Thanks so much.

[@dandiehm8414]

Very informative. I always look forward to your videos. Already subscribed. Keep up the great work.

[@tonydeltablues]

Wonderful stuff! Very easily understood by all. Superb x

[@misskelevra]

That was a lot of info packed into a short video. Very interesting and well explained.

[@ForTheLoveOfSuits]

Fabulous. I wish I could give it two thumbs up.

[@JoletteRoodt]

Thank you for another very interesting and well-produced video! I have been researching different fabric types since before I started sewing 2.5 years ago but there were several things in this video that I had never heard/thought of before. I also had a good giggle at the sheep hair and "viscose" iced biscuit 😆

[@yokez]

yes

[@cantantedipicche]

Thanks. This video was precious for me, as I'm preparing to teach a beginners' sewing class and trying to decide what to teach and how to summarise complex information and what information is important and what can be left to be taught later. You did a really good job and I also learned some things that I didn't know

[@neilmckenna5991]

What a helpful and informative video. I may have stitched for a fair few years but never known all the "science" behind the fabrics. Rayon cookies and polyester cupcakes were a bonus, as your dapper self always is

[@m.maclellan7147]

Damn, just barely started the video & LOVING the explanations & the actual VISUAL differences ! Gosh, you rock 😅 P.s. loving the "Curly Q" ends of your mustache.

[@m.maclellan7147]

That was a GREAT visual & explanation on "Bias". Laughed at the 'Men in tights' clip.

[@m.maclellan7147]

Fantastic video. Thank you.

[@FashionableFather]

Ridiculously informative.

[@DerSerafin]

Nothing new, but a very good overview.

[@lindagates9150]

I have a large selection of plastic dresses that I have modified due to weight loss it’s remarkable what you can do with a few safety pins. I am not a sewist but I like to watch sewists like you and Bernadette and her friends. . The dresses are not stylish at all but I still wear them to keep them out of the land fill.. I have designed and knitted a stranded work multi coloured pure wool sweater that I can wear to keep me warm and hide a multitude of poor choices that I made in the past.🎉❤🎉 😅😊👍👍👍🌟🍀❤️🍀🌟🖖🖖🖖🤷🏼‍♀️👵🏻👋🏻🧝🏼🤚🏻

[@sbaumgartner9848]

This is a very informative video. I can't believe I didn't know the two types of wool fabric - wool vs worsted. Yikes!

[@cumquatsarentsweet2760]

Bravo Bursche 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙏🏼🧿🤲🏼🕊❤⚘🙋🏻‍♀️ thx 4 sharing

[@smpayne2]

Sewing knits does NOT require an overlock machine (it’s just faster & easier). I learned to sew in the 70s before household overlockers were a thing. Most machines didn’t even have “stretch stitches”. Straight stitch and a ball point needle we’re all that was required. Basically, you just needed to gently stretch the fabric as you sew. The edges could be finished with another row of straight stitches or a zig-zag stitch.

[@Vintagebursche]

Not what I said 🙄

[@hc750]

Tweed, der Stoff der Eunuren!

[@lindaabraham8715]

Because the grain is easier to see, linen was recommended to me as a first suit project. Thus, I ordered linen fabric to make a woman's suit using a vintage pattern from 1960. However, I was dismayed by how loosely woven the fabric is, and especially how easily curved edges fray--it seems to want to fall apart even before handling. Is this fabric really suitable for this purpose? Should I back the fabric, and if so, what fabric should I use? How do I control the fraying? How do I prevent these problems if I want to purchase linen fabric?

[@Kumofan]

Great video. If you don't mind my asking, what's the pop filter you have on your Babybottle?

[@Vintagebursche]

Made it myself

[@clotildebesson1991]

This is such a great overview! I sketched a graph based on your information in my sewing sketchbook to get an overall idea of the choices I can make in the future. Is there a reason why you left silk out of your video?

[@Vintagebursche]

There are a lot more like Cashmere, Mohair or Nylon, but I had to do a cut at some point.

[@bohemiansusan2897]

It once was the law to list all fiber content and its percentages in clothing. This is no longer the case🤬. Often woolen or wool fabric searches will bring up something that is mostly polyester. I've seen it marketed as synthetic wool, which is cringe worthy. Its been a long time since I could buy from Ireland. Thanks for posting this video. Much appreciated. In the future, I hope to make a road trip to Portland, Oregon to do some major fabric shopping. One is able to buy at the mill stores at significant savings. Also one can buy mill ends. Nobody has caught on that many of my past projects were mill ends. I have a pair of cigarette pants and a blouse in Dupioni black and white gingham in my future. It is from the early, 60s. I will tolerate enough polyester such as 5% to make the denim, silk or wool stretch. Stretch fabric provides some comfort at the waist band and doesn't cause surgery scars to hurt. I do own some work pants made from stretch cotton twill. They are heavy duty, comfortable and the color hasn't faded. The downside is that the polyester is 35%.

[@simongranat7156]

Love the video. Why do you prefer linen shirts, even in winter?

[@Vintagebursche]

Breezy and better on the skin

[@thepilotist7297]

What about silk, cashmere, camel, etc? Are they forms of another fiber?

[@tannya331]

I love you

[@theyetigamer434]

Where did you get your glasses?

[@valaine-qb8ng]

Does anyone have recommendations on where to buy good quality edwardian vintage clothes for women? Me and my wife love to dress vintage. I prefer the edwardian look and for me it's very easy to get good stuff from shops and websites like darcy clothing or thomas farthing. There are tons of shops that focus on classic mens wear from almost all periods. But my wife has a really hard time finding good items. There also are plenty of vintage shops for women but most of them focus on 40s to 60s clothing and most of them sell very costumy clothes.

[@Tigerfire75]

I could name a lot of sports wear that you would and probably do wear

[@s.k.i.t.s]

I have to ask what color are your walls, I have fallen in love with them and want to replicate it with my own

[@Vintagebursche]

The color is Farrow&Balls Duck Green

[@s.k.i.t.s]

@@Vintagebursche thank you very much it will be replacing my navy blue very soon

[@ew7d]

Is viscose superior to silk as lining? For some reason, where I live, silk is one of the most affordable fabrics I can get. It is cheaper than undyed muslin in many instances.

[@Vintagebursche]

Silk is better. Silk fibers are a wonder of nature.

[@silverish9081]

Now I really want to know where you live

[@djartyom924]

forbidden fabric cupcakes

[@Yotam1703]

Why does traditional menswear not use silk (unlike it’s heavy usage in historical women’s fashion)?

[@Vintagebursche]

For what? Silk shirts stick to your skin, especially when you sweat. Silk doesn't keep you warm and can get stained from just water (while wool is water repellant). You could use silk lining, but viscose is cheaper and more durable. In the end silk is used in neckties, bowties and pocket squares or in a mix with wool or linen to make a fabric smoother, but that's it.

[@Yotam1703]

@@Vintagebursche interesting. But can’t these points apply to womenswear as well? (Apart from the first. And indeed silk shirts were never a thing anywhere, thank gods).

[@purpleicicles]

Ahhhh, that's what worsted wool is!!

[@needfoolthings]

A sewist is someone that has... sewism. Someone who sews is a sewer. Tee-Hee.

[@Jesusisnothere]

you might have made a video about this before, but it would be interesting to see some examples of the disctinction of fashionwear amonst the different socioeconomic classes. in another word, was there different fashion choices/rules between the rich - worker class-poor.

[@Jesusisnothere]

i remembered you did one a couple of years ago now, but feel free to do another one ^^

[@Qusaivonscham]

The only problem, my good man , is that I am ashamed and have actually been subjected to ridicule because of my classic style of clothing, and for this reason I cannot wear this freely. Damn the fashion of the new era. I am impatiently waiting to graduate from university so that I can work in my engineering office or perhaps as a teacher while wearing what I want. Comfortably