A bit about fabric

It's good to know a bit about fabric and how it's made before you do much sewing.

I think a plain woven fabric is a good one to start with.

I've put together a pic to explain some of the basic terms. I've been learning hand-weaving this year, but I'll try to keep the technicalities out of it and stick to terms commonly used in sewing patterns.

Woven fabric is formed by interlacing threads at right angles to each other. The fabric is strongest and naturally wants to hang in the same direction as it is wound on the roll. This is the direction of the selvedges and the grain line. The grain line is just an imaginary line parallel to the selvedges. It is generally marked on each piece of a sewing pattern to tell you which way to lay the pattern on the fabric.

The cut edge, when fabric is measured off the roll or bolt in the shop is generally at right angles to the selvedges. The trouble is that sometimes it's rolled or cut crooked. It's worth getting this straightened out before you cut out a pattern and start sewing.

I generally wash my fabrics before cutting out. This allows for any shrinkage and washes out the starches (or sizing) that are there to make it look nice one the roll. I want to treat the fabric before I sew it in the same way as I plan to treat it after I sew it. Sometimes I get a nasty surprise when I wash a piece of fabric, but at least then I haven't wasted the time and effort in sewing.

OK, so when I've washed the fabric, I hang it out to dry and make sure it's hanging straight on the line--that means straight according to the selvedges. Then I give it a press to get rid of any wrinkles. I'm not a great one for ironing my clothes, but it's worth it for the sake of accuracy.