Common Fabrics Used for Garment Construction

Common Fabrics Used for Garment Construction

Cotton

Cotton is a lightweight, semi-sheer fabric, slightly crisper. Cotton clothing can be worn around the clock. A single cotton fabric, pique, can be used for home wear dress, a sports dress, a summer business dress, a bathing suit, or a beach bag. It is particularly adapted to children dresses. Cotton is then appropriate for wearing apparel, home furnishings, industrial uses, and military supplies.

Silk

Light weight and delicate silk drapes well. It has a slight slippery appearance. Silk can be slippery and more difficult to work with this fabric. It also makes a great lining fabric. Pure silk retain their shape better than rayon or acetate. They can be packed in small spaces; in dark colours they do not show dirt; wrinkles and crepe will hangout especially well. Spun silk is suitable for knit goods such as, sweaters and hosiery.

Wool

There are more than 200 different types of wool, obtained from 40 different breeds of sheep. Wool is extremely hard-wearing and versatile. It also keeps us warm. Woollen fabrics are made in different weights, from the filmiest sheer veiling to the heaviest over coating. Sheer fabrics such as wool georgette, voile, featherweight tweeds, lightweight crepes, and some sheer wool meshes, can be worn comfortably.

Nylon

Nylon is a synthetic and manmade fibre. Nylon fabric is strong and light in weight. It can be washed easily and is dried quickly. It has a great strength, abrasion resistance, and stability in washing and wearing. A nylon-rayon blend makes a fine-count, strong yarn for light weight washable fabrics. When nylon and cotton are blended, nylon again contributes to its strength, abrasion resistance, and dimensional stability.

Rayon

Rayon is a semi synthetic material which is made from cotton linters or from the soft tissues of trees such as spruce. Its properties are similar to cotton fabric. Rayon can be worn at all hours of the day: for sleeping, sports, business, street, afternoon tea, cocktails, dinner, and evening wear. They are used in home furnishings, too.

Cotton / Polyester Blends

In this type of fabric, cotton fibres and polyester fibres are mixed in desired proportions. These fabrics are breathable, tear- resistant. They are light in weight. They are also more comfortable to wear.

Silk Cotton

This is a blend of silk and cotton fibre. They are lightweight, silky and soft fabric which is used in stitching of wide range of garments. The properties of this type of fabric are a mixture to the properties of cotton and silk fabrics.

Linen

Medium-weight with little elasticity fabrics made of linen are cooler. Linen conducts heat very well, so it is a popular choice for warm weather. It is chiefly used for comfort in summer apparels, sheets, and summer coverings for wool upholstery.

Satin

Satin is a sleek and glossy fabric created with a particular type of textile weave, during the process woven material is run through hot cylinders. The fibres that are commonly woven to create satin are silk, cotton, wool and also synthetic materials like polyester or acetate that allow to have a less expensive fabric. Satin can vary from light weight to heavy weight, depending on the type. Like silk, it has a glossy appearance.

Flannel

Flannelette is a light to medium weight cotton fabric that was originally woven in imitation of wool flannel. It is napped only on one side and made of lightweight fibres. Both flannel and flannelette can be woven in plain weave and twill weave. Flannel is the mostly used for colder-temperature shirt, pants and jackets.

Denim

Denim is a heavy weight fabric with very little drape or stretch. Denim fabrics are normally used for making jeans, work clothes as well as casings for pillows.

Knit

Several types of knit are available from light weight to medium weight. Knits are mostly used for the garment where stretch is needed. It is comfortable and breathable and comes in a variety of weights and designs, and it is renowned for standing up to physical activity.

Double Gauze

This unique fabric is literally two layers of gauze woven together. The double layer of fabric solves the main problem of sewing the gauze (the sheerness), while retaining the good quality (extremely light and breathable).