Fabrics and Fibres

Recently we have been learning about different fabrics and fibres. In the buying industry it is important to know what goes into making different types of fabrics, what is good or bad quality and how much to pay. I didn't know a lot about fabrics before and I found trying to distinguish between each one quite difficult. 
Here I will include pictures of each particular piece of fabric we looked at and analyse them.

WOOL
This piece of wool has been woven. It is soft and not itchy as it is furry on one side and smooth on the other. It has a slight stretch to it which shows that the wool has a stretchy thread running through it. This particular sample would bobble easily as it is not tightly woven and would cost around £8-10 per metre.

COTTON

This fabric is 100% cotton and has been washed and then printed onto. This would be used for garments like tops and shirts and has been woven tightly to give it better movement. It would cost around £8-10 per metre also.

DENIM

I was surprised to learn that denim looks like this in its undyed form. It is made from 100% cotton with a twill which means it has lines running across it. The lines should always run from bottom left to top right on a garment. This particular sample is pre-washed and ready to dye. It would cost around £8 per metre.
To achieve a look of worn denim the fabric is dyed and then put through a stone wash, where stones actually wear the fabric to make it look distressed, ready to make into a pair of jeans.
Jeans always stay affordable because of the volume of them sold, even though there are a few processes that the material will go through to create the final product.

CALICO

Calico is 100% cotton usually used to make prototypes of garments and in pattern cutting. It is unwashed and unfinished and very cheap, around £1.50 per metre.

VELVET

Velvet is created by using two layers of backing with a layer of fabric between them which is weaved up then down through the layers, then cut through the middle to create the soft feel. This same method is used to make carpets. Velvet would be used to make garments such as jackets, skirts and trousers, but ones which wouldn't be worn very often. 
Velvet is a more expensive fabric because of the process used to create it, the pile of the fabric and the fact that it is not bought in bulk. It also has to be cut one way, with the smooth direction of the pile facing upwards and the rough direction facing downwards.
In order to make velvet cheaper it can be woven using synthetic fibres rather than cotton.

We looked at two samples of velvet. The one below is made from cotton and is polyester backed, so both synthetic and natural materials. It would be fairly cheap at around £18-20 per metre.

The sample of velvet below is of a much higher quality, made from cotton mixed with silk. It has a slightly crushed texture which is literally achieved by flattening some of the pile of the fabric. This would cost around £54 per metre.

POLYESTER LINING

Polyester lining is manmade and would be used for lining in cheaper skirts, jackets or handbags. It would only cost around £2.80 per metre.

VISCOSE LINING

Viscose lining is thicker than polyester and can be printed on to create nice designs such as on the lining of a suit jacket, therefore it is more expensive.

SILK LINING

Silk fabric is used for lining on expensive suits and would cost around £19.50 per metre

DUCHESS SATIN

Duchess satin is used on formal dresses and occasionwear such as wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses etc. 

This first sample of duchess satin is made from polyester, a manmade fabric and costs around £16 per metre.

This second sample is 100% silk duchess satin. It is finely woven, smooth and would cost around £120 per metre.

The choice of duchess satin used would depend on the overall price of the gown and the style it would be cut into. A more detailled dress that had more work put into it would be made using 100% silk and a cheaper more plain dress would be made from the more affordable polyester version.

Laura Olivia xx