FREE SHIPPING OVER $80 | Cut Yardage Only | U.S. Only |   Excludes Bolts, Bundles, Pre-Cuts, Batting 
FREE SHIPPING OVER $80 | Cut Yardage Only | U.S. Only |   Excludes Bolts, Bundles, Pre-Cuts, Batting 

BEGIN YOUR SPRING SEWING PROJECTS NOW!

DAVID JACKSON | SEWING SUPPLIES | JANUARY 15, 2021

It may be cold outside now, but believe it or not spring is right around the corner! There is no better time than now to begin constructing springtime sewing projects that not only show your colors, but also reflect spring and all it entails! It is so important to find the patterns and styles that you love and make them complement the upcoming season. 


Here are a few guidelines from Marshall Dry Goods when considering the fabric to purchase and use for your next spring project!


COLOR

Color can help you relate to your environment through the clothing you wear. The single easiest and most obvious way to adapt a pattern for a different season is to change the color of the fabric that you use. Making the same dress in a deep indigo blue or forest green in winter can give it a completely different feel from the same dress made with different colors such as white or rose pink in the spring. Clothing is a language, and its first job is to say something about you as the wearer. You have complete freedom of speech when it comes to using the colors that are YOU! Clothing color tells your story. Even if you prefer a limited color palette, the tones of those colors can express something about the time of year and environment you’re living in. Nautical stripes, gingham checks, or pretty florals definitely convey more of a springtime mood. These colors and prints can be interpreted and tweaked to suit you.


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MATERIAL

The next property that can be changed to make a garment more seasonal is the material it’s made from. Every fabric is made up of yarns that come from one or more fiber sources. Choosing a fabric made with particular fibers can make it fit the time of year and give you more wardrobe variety. Some fibers are simply more comfortable to wear in either hot or cold weather, while others transcend season. 


For instance, COTTON is a plant-derived fiber that works well for the warmer spring and summer months, due to its high absorbency and breathability. This makes it especially useful in humid conditions. Cotton fabrics are also easy to wash and care for, soft, and not prone to irritating the skin. 


SILK is a strong natural fiber that can be spun quite fine. It is known for its luxurious look and feel. Silk does not conduct heat and is very absorbent, making it suitable for warmer months as well. And because silk is such a strong fiber and can be spun so finely, silk fabric can be made in a wide variety of textures and weights. It is not only a great springtime choice, but is a wonderful all-year fiber.


RAYON, originally manufactured as a silk substitute, is a semi-synthetic fiber that maintains many of the characteristics of natural fibers. Rayon is well known for keeping the skin cool. You’ll notice that men’s hawaiian shirts are often made of rayon. Rayon fabrics are another great spring and summer choice for your next project.


LINEN is another plant-derived fiber, highly breathable and absorbent. It’s exceptionally low heat conductivity makes it even cooler than other natural fibers such as silk or cotton. For springtime and warmer weather, nothing can beat the coolness of linen.


WOOL is an animal fiber, well known for keeping you warm in winter. It is highly insulating while still maintaining its breathability. It is also moisture wicking and highly absorbent. It is a little more difficult to care for than other fibers, since it is not a very strong fiber and is prone to shrinkage and pilling. Due to these factors you may wish to delay using wool until the fall or winter.


WEIGHT

The weight refers to the actual thickness of a fabric. Some fabrics are extremely thin, and the lightest of these are often so thin that they are sheer. Other fabrics are thick and bulky, like the fabrics you would use to make a heavy coat. You can feel the difference when you handle the fabric. Imagine picking up a 20 yard bolt of chiffon, and then imagine lifting a 20 yard bolt of thick upholstery wool. The chiffon isn’t likely to throw out your back. The weight of a fabric is often determined by the thickness of the yarns used to create the fabric, with light and sheer fabrics made up of very fine yarns woven together.


 The important thing is to recognize what sort of a weight you need for your style of garment. If your pattern needs a light spring fabric, a heavy one will add unnecessary bulk, and thick-bulging seams. If the pattern requires a heavy fabric, a light one might look strange, appear wrinkled, or show more of your body than you intended.


DRAPE

Drape is the way the fabric responds to gravity. Some fabrics collapse toward the floor, while others seem to stand up on their own. Fabrics that collapse are said to have a lot of drape, and fabrics that stand out are said to be crisp and have a lot of body. Drape is sometimes confused with weight because the two properties often interact. Lightweight fabrics are assumed to be drapey and flowing, and heavier fabrics are assumed to be more crisp. This is often the case, but not always. The two properties should be considered independently of each other. There are light fabrics that are very stiff, and there are heavy fabrics that are relatively soft and drapey.


Like weight, drape has to do with the texture of a fabric. This means that the best way to assess the drape is to actually feel the fabric. To test the drape of a fabric, you can wrap it around your body and see how it behaves. If all you have is a swatch, hold it up on the bias by grabbing a corner and see if it falls straight down. Choosing a fabric with the appropriate amount of drape will help you maintain the intended look and design lines of your pattern style.



At Marshall Dry Goods, we pride ourselves with years of experience and expertise in helping our customers pick the right fabric for any season. The trick is to understand the properties of fabric and what makes them suitable for a particular style, as well as what makes them work for a given season. Once you have those concepts clear, it becomes much easier to open up the possibilities of fabric choice. If you know why that linen worked so well with that particular dress, you can research other fabrics that have those same qualities. Soon, you’ll be on your way to finding fabrics that suit your designs in every season. 


Come see us at 310 West Main Street in Batesville, Arkansas, or give us a call and let our staff help put some SPRING into your next project!



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