 Jackets are always nice to wear because they are so versatile. You can wear them when you need to look businesslike or representative, or just casual in everyday life. Whether you wear a top, a t-shirt or a neat blouse underneath, a jacket is always a great idea and a real classic. Timeless, classic and trendy!
 Gobelin fabric is a fabric which is probably not an option if you think about making clothes. In fabric stores, the Gobelin is stored between decorative and upholstery fabrics and in online fabric stores they are often categorized with interior fabrics. Is it such a good idea to use Gobelin fabric if you want to make a jacket, for example? We answer this question, but first we will tell you everything about Gobelin as a fabric type.
 Panné velvet is a very cheap fabric. If something is really cheap, most people think: this fabric is probably not such a great quality. But this is unjustified. Velours de panne is ideal for women's clothing, skirts, nightwear and party wear.
Guestblog  When looking for fabrics for a sewing project, I always check whether the relevant (online) store also has so-called 'chain' fabrics. I love them! Chain, straps or cables By 'chain' fabrics I mean fabrics that have a design print of chains, cables and / or belts. Often this is also combined with flowers, fringes or bits of horse bridles. The fabric often has no more than three shades and, despite the busy design, still looks calm and balanced. It does not consist of panels, which is often the case with digitally printed tricot fabrics, but the pattern does repeat itself. This is hardly visible. Colors and shades The colors are usually based on black, brown or beige. The shades are often coordinated but can also contain bright colors such as red or blue. The shade of gold predominates so that the fabric always has a luxurious look. I love them because of the luxurious glamorous look and the resemblance to 'Hermès' style.  Which search terms can you best use? If you are looking for the fabric, it is often difficult because the design does not really has a name. Most fabric stores use different names. Try these:
 Let's create a 'chains' outfit! You can of course make anything you want from chains fabrics, but pay attention to the type of fabric. It is quite different what the fabric is. Below are some ideas:
Pay particular attention to whether the fabric has a stretch content or not and check the sewing pattern carefully to notice if these are recommended fabrics. You can make anything from leftovers fabrics: toiletry bags, glasses cases, laptop sleeves and bags.  Styling tips: Finally, I have some styling tips. The fabric is often busy with design and it is therefore better to adjust the rest of your outfit accordingly. You don't want it all to look 'over-done', to look like a hippy or look like a clown. Therefore, pay attention to the following:
Read more: Dressing up or dressing down  Summarized: Chains fabrics are beautiful! But sometimes hard to find at the fabric stores. If you spot a fabric, let us know, we will publish the link or your self-made clothes!   If 'sustainability' is important for you, then you probably know that 'CUPRO' silk or simply CUPRO, is a good choice in terms of fabrics. Cupro is also often seen as a cheap alternative to silk. This is only partly true. Indeed, the fabric is cheaper than silk, but it is much more than just an alternative or a cheap lining fabric. Lining fabric - Cupro In many stores, cupro silk is stored with the lining fabrics and at online fabric stores this fabric is also often categorized under 'lining fabrics'. Cupro is a silk-like fabric with a lovely, soft, delicate and luxurious 'touch'. It is made from a cellulose fiber produced by treating cotton cellulose with cuprammonium salt. This is where it gets its name: Cuprammonium rayon is the reference to the production process; the cellulose has undergone to become 'cupro'. Cellulose is therefore used as a raw material for cupro, usually the cotton fibers that are too short to be spun. Due to the fineness of the fibers, Cupro has a silky grip and a lovely shine. It is very easy to drape and it drapes smoothly. It is also anti-allergenic and anti-static. Cupro is often referred to as a 'silk-like' fabric, but it has a completely different basis. Silk versus CUPRO Real silk is very popular, but expensive and not durable. In addition, 'vegan' people do not buy silks because it not animal-friendly. Silkworms are bred and kept in captivity. After the caterpillars have spun a cocoon, they are boiled to release the silk threads. Not a very pleasant idea and animal friendly, no matter how small a caterpillar is ... Animal-friendly silk There is also silk that is produced in a different way, where the caterpillars are given time to finish their cocoons and have left as a butterfly. This is called: Áhimsa silk. Ahisma silk is more difficult to weave and dye. There are other types of silk that differ in the production process and final properties.  CUPRO is suitable for: Cupro is extremely suitable as a lining material. But cupro can also be used to create blouses, tops, dresses, gala clothes and even jumpsuits. Cupro gives a luxurious look because it always shiny and looks a bit more luxurious than satin. Cupro shines less 'hard' than satin and therefore has that chic look. It is more subtle and looks more 'couture' than satin. The fabric is nice and comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, the fabric is sensitive to creases and stains. CUPRO mix Sometimes cupro is also mixed with other fabrics such as viscose. Like the mix: 55% Cupro 45% Viscose. Just like cupro, this fabric is suitable for making blouses, dresses, gala clothes, etc. The shine is slightly less excessive and the fabric looks more like chiffon than silk. Washing and maintenance Like silk clothing, it is advisable to wash Cupro as little as possible. It is better to air-dry it outside and only wash it when it is really necessary. If you are going to do it yourself: wash it with handwarm or cold water and do not use the dryer. Just hang up after washing and let it air dry. Even better: bring it to the dry cleaner ... Please note when ironing: do not iron higher than the medium temperature. Rather iron a little longer than too hot!  Where is CUPRO for sale? As we said, you can sometimes find CUPRO silk between the fabric rolls in the lining fabric department. It should have a label on it. Online it is more difficult to buy, but luckily Böttger Fabric Shop sells Cupro silk in many colors. The price is not expensive and the colors are really beautiful. The photos are our favorite colors. But to be honest it is difficult to make a choice because all colors are simply very beautiful.  Chanel-Style jacket with CUPRO lining We have already worked with CUPRO a few times and made our Chanel-style jackets with a CUPRO lining. We really liked the fanric. It folds nicely, sews well and does not slip out from under the scissors or presser foot during cutting and sewing. The fabric is also nice to combine with Bouclé because Cupro silk falls smoothly but not overly, so as is sometimes the case with a silk-look fabric or real silk. If the Bouclé is woven very loosely, as the outer fabric for the Chanel-Style jacket, we do recommend that the cupro side be reinforced with an iron-on nonwoven interfacing on pattern parts where this is necessary.  Summarized:
Cupro is very similar to real silk, but is a great budget alternative. It is also more sustainable. Cupro cuts and sews very nicely and wears very pleasantly. Can we come up with a negative comment? No actually not...  If you think about 'velvet' you immediately think about: soft, chic, luxury, classic and 'red-carpet' wear. And that's right. Velvet is a beautiful fabric that gives extra dimension to color and shape due to its shine. But what exactly is velvet and why does it have so many different names? Velvet as a type of fabric Velvet or 'cotton velvet' is woven in with a specific technique and the threads are cut or shaved deeply. This creates a 'whiff' in the fabric. A 'nap' or a 'pile' in the fabric means that the direction and the light determine the color. The color may appear darker or lighter. When sewing velvet, the thread direction is very important. You can also feel the whiff if you run your hand over it. The nap down: the fabric appears lighter in color. The nap up: the fabric appears darker in color. Velvet only comes in solid/uni colors. Sometimes there is a pattern or design in it, but it is just one color. The fabric feels thick and is a winter fabric.  Advantages and Disadvantages of Velvet: A big advantage of velvet fabric: it always looks beautiful: chic, luxurious, classic and timeless. The fabric is strong, not very expensive and easily available. The disadvantage of velvet is that the fabric is not durable. It wears out very quickly. The fabric is also not sustainable in the production process, there is a lot of residual waste and the production process is expensive. And even more important: the fabric is not easy to cut and sew. It quickly slips out from under your presser foot of the sewing machine and the same goes for cutting. Tip: us more pins so the fabric will not slip while cutting. More tips for this, see read our blog: How to handle difficult fabrics! Because of the nap, you also have to pay close attention to the cutting schedule and you often need more fabric than usual. This makes it relatively expensive.  Is corduroy a velvet fabric too? Corduroy is often categorized: velvet. However, corduroy is not a velvet fabric. It has a slightly different composition. In addition, corduroy is also ribbed due to the weaving technique used. The ribbies are the main characteristic of corduroy. Nevertheless, corduroy looks just like velvet: luxurious, warm, chic and timeless. Although corduroy is often seen as a bit more robust and casual. Unfortunately, the fabric often wears out very quickly, especially if you wear corduroy trousers or a jacket.  Velor or velvet de panne Velor is woven or knitted. If the fabric is knitted then the fabric is heavier and is not velvet. However, woven velor is made in the same way as velvet and is therefore also considered velvet. Woven velor is thicker than velvet. This velvet is also often used for interior and as curtain fabric. Velor de panne is wrinkled, the nap does not have a specific direction and the fabric is light and very elastic. Velor de panne is also often referred to as stretch velvet. Terms such as Lycra velvet or Lycra velvet are also used. Velours de panne is a cheap type of fabric and ideal for Cosplay, events or evening wear, especially when the clothes have to be tight and elastic. It looks a bit cheaper than real velvet but it is cheaper. It is also better suited for tight, figure-shaping clothing.  Silk velvet or velvet with a design
There are also variations in terms of raw materials and designs. For instance: Velvet is based on cotoon material. But it can have a big amount of silk as well. Silk velvet is very expensive and not easy to buy. Velvet with design is rare too. These fabrics are worth looking for. They are beautiful fabrics for special clothes, or for Cosplay costumes, LARP and Haute couture. We have found for you: Lycra velours with flowers Let's create something beautiful! We will certainly do the same!  If you are sweaty and overheated because of to the hot summer, you will not think for a moment abo ut winterfabrics. But the winterfabrics are often NOW for sale and it is time to replenish your stock. Think ahead and you will be very happy, in a few months, with the bargains you have bought now. Offers / Sale In the middle of summer, winter fabrics are often for sale. Logical, but this does not take long. As soon as we have passed the first summer months, the autumn collections of clothing are already back in the shops and the fabric shops are again concentrating on the autumn and winter fabrics. After all those thin chiffons, the tricky lycra for bathing suits and the cotton for tunics, you long for beautiful sturdy fabrics for jackets, trousers and of course: beautiful Bouclé fabrics for the Chanel-Style jackets. Where to find them? So pay particular attention, in the fabrics online stores, to the categories Sale and offers. Or select/filter 'the least popular'. In the realworld fabric shops or in the markets you will have to look at the bottom of the stacks and where nobody is stalooking for fabrics. Or ask if there are still beautiful Bouclé's or tweeds available. Sometimes they are still in the warehouse or in the car. Or you will be told when the new autumn and winter fabrics will be available. Maybe they promise to send you a mail or text message! Just ask, although you may be looked at strangely because you are a bit ahead in time... Time flies But 'time flies' and before you know it, summer is already gone and all winter fabrics are in the store, at eye-consumer-level and on the tables in between all new and popular fabrics. Or advertising at the online fabric stores: the new autumn and winter fabrics. And now they are really a lot more expensive. Even those from the years before which are timeless and still very popular. Do you really want to stay in summery spheres? Then take a look at the beautifully woven, cotton blends. Also very suitable for making summer Chanel-Style jackets!  |
Since 2018
Sewing Chanel-Style is all about sharing information, sewing pattern-reviews, book-reviews and lots of sewing guides for sewing-beginners and advanced seamstress.
Marga van der Vet
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