Organza fabric is a synthetic fabric woven with polyester and nylon. It is a very thin, transparent fabric, but because of the mix of the fabrics it is still very strong and very easy to sew. Organza is a cheap fabric and can be used for many sewing projects. The fabric is also extremely 'Haute couture' and chic. The two-tone organza is especially worth magic! The use of organza fabric Everyone has 'met' organza fabrics in their life. As a party decoration of flowers, in bridal clothing or draped around tables. Also for parties an festivals, the fabric is bought in bulk and used to decorate the cars up to beautiful costumes. And this fabric is used a lot for Cosplay and Fantasy costumes. A party fabric par excellence! But we also come across organza in everyday life, such as net curtains and furnishings for bedrooms. Also think of ribbons around gifts or decorations in flower arrangements. Despite the cheap image now, organza was once made exclusively from silk and acted as a super chic fabric for Haute couture. The former designers made the most beautiful evening dresses from organza. These were exclusive masterpieces. The fabric was and is also very popular for wedding dresses including decorations such as flowers. Organza & Haute Couture Organza is liked by designers for Haute couture. In the past but also today. We are talking here about the silk variant and not the synthetic one. Chanel used organza very recently in a beautiful dress. See: "LAYERS OF ORGANZA, FALL-WINTER 2020/21, HAUTE COUTURE, A story of transparency plays out in an organza cape" worn over a silk dress - the CHANEL Fall-Winter 2020/21 Haute Couture collection, photographed by Mikael Jansson . Organza is loved because of the possibility to process in many layers. From one layer: extremely thin and sophisticated (and sexy) to multiple layers that give shape and structure to the clothing. Don't confuse it with tulle. Tulle is more the cheapvariant and does not have the qualities that Organza does. You hardly see tulle in Haute couture. Organza is often combined with silk. A dress of pure silk and organza guarantees luxury and exclusivity. The fabric is mainly used as 'over-fabric' to give clothes extra mystery. Or a more luxurious look due to the transparent nature of the fabric. The fabric also provides movement, dynamics in the clothing. With the slightest movement or breath of wind, the clothing (extra) comes to life. LARP, Cosplay and Fantasy In LARP we hardly see the material. The fabric is delicate and hardly ever appeared in historical clothing. In terms of decoration, lace and velvet are more often used. Organza just does not fit in the total picture. Cosplay likes to work with the material. Think especially of wide skirts and Cinderella dresses. Despite the fact that tulle gives more effect, organza is a beautiful and chic addition to these costumes. Gothic and Steampunk prefer to work with tulle, as this gives it more strength and a more robust appearance. Although with organza more beautiful drapes can be made, such as black over fabric over a crinoline or red skirt. Organza is ideal for Fantasy. Especially the two-tone organza offers endless possibilities to make skirts, capes and dresses that have a beautiful mysterious and graceful effect. See the photos of Erik Bolding. A big advantage is that the fabric can be processed in many meters without the costume becoming heavier. The fabric also gives movement and light effects to the clothing. Events and Fantasy fairs are of course all about action, movement and posing for photos. Clothing of or processed with organza fabric is highly recommended, showstoppers! Tips & Tricks However, working with organza fabric can be a crime. The fabric is thin, slips under the presser foot and is difficult to make hems. The fabric is difficult to fold and seaming and finishing is not easy. Moreover, cutting the fabric is not a pleasant job either. The layers of fabric slide off each other and are difficult to lie on the table. Still it is doable if you follow these tips and tricks:
Summarized
Organza is a very beautiful fabric. The silk variant is truly sublime, but the synthetic fabric certainly also has its advantages in terms of price and the beautiful two-tone colors. The material is not that easy to work with, but you can avoid all frustrations by taking our tips and tricks to heart. Making a dress, cape, skirt or costume with organza may not be a party, but it is a party as soon as you see the result. The fabric is a real eye-catcher and worth all the extra time you have spent on it! Nobody likes to talk about it: but there are really fabrics which are hard to handle. The fabrics are difficult to cut, to fold, to sew. They can't help it either... But be aware: only start working with these fabrics if you have a lot of sewing experience. Sewing pattern, sewing experience and the fabric! What determines whether your sewing project succeeds or not? Often the combination of the sewing pattern, your sewing experience but also the fabric. Sewing patterns always mention specific fabrics that are suitable for the pattern. You can deviate from this in terms of color and print, but it is recommended to choose the recommended fabrics. (Logical!) Simply because the sewing pattern has been tested or made specifically for this. Your sewing experience also determines whether your sewing project will create a successful garment. This is indicated in nine out of ten cases on the sewing pattern. The pattern is considered suitable for a beginner, a seamstress with moderate experience and a seamstress with a lot of experience. However, just as important is the choice of fabric you make. There are very nice fabrics for sewing and there are fabrics which are more difficult. The difficult fabrics require a bit of extra experience from the seamstress. You don't have to avoid the fabrics, but if you read our tips, it will save you a lot of frustration or even failed sewing projects. Tips for 'difficult' fabrics Fabrics are always neatly arranged or type or by color in stores and online stores. Sometimes you can also search for properties. Is the fabric non-stretchable, stretchable or elastic in both length and width? Is the fabric smooth or very firm? This is all very important to know when choosing a fabric for a sewing project. Rarely, however, is it indicated whether a fabric is 'difficult' to cut or sew. We mean that the fabric slips between your scissors, during cutting, or slips under your presser foot when you are sewing the fabric. Think of silk-look fabrics, velvet or smooth satin. It is also difficult if the fabric 'fringes' quickly or even enormously. This is especially the case with Bouclé fabrics that are also loose-fitting. In 'how to sew Bouclé fabric' we give tips & tricks to handle it well. Firm or thick fabrics can also be difficult. They are often difficult to fold and you will need a sewing machine that can handle really thicker fabrics. Think of jeans, canvas, goblin, jacquard or heavy wool. Finally: elastic fabrics. Is your first sewing project making a bikini? Then ask extra help and be aware that sewing super stretch fabrics is a difficult job. It is also especially recommended to use a coverlock machine which is capable of making coverstitches. Finishing the seams in a different way (for example zig-zag) on a regular sewing machine will give a beautiful finish. Haute couture fabrics Haute couture often works with expensive and exclusive fabrics. These are of course very beautiful. But be aware that the expensive fabrics are often not the easiest fabrics for a sewing project. We already mentioned the 'Very Bouclé' fabrics that often fray when you look at them. But brocade fabrics, jacquard fabrics and sequin fabrics can also be difficult. You have a chance that your needles will break on the embroidered additions / sequins on the fabric or on the golden lurex threads. Or pull the threads with you in your sewing machine, and your entire front piece is suddenly destroyed. Take extra time for these fabrics and baste everything in advance. In addition, with jacquard fabrics you often have to deal with patterns that are woven into the fabrics. Pay particular attention to this when cutting. Or that the front pieces fit nicely and the sleeves fit in the patterns of the fabric. This is really a job that requires experience and a lot of patience. Always buy extra fabric, then you can cut any incorrectly cut pattern parts. Organza, Voile, Chiffon, Pleated and stretch lace are difficult fabrics because they are very thin and do not keep well in shape during cutting and sewing. Provide extra weights on the fabric while cutting and thin pins for the fabric. Buy special silk pins that are thinner and longer than regular glass head pins. In addition, make sure you choose the right thin sewing machine needles. A needle that is too thick can easily destroy the fabric. Silk and taffeta fabrics are very pleasant to sew with, although here also applies: make sure you use the right pins and sewing machine needles. They fold fine, do not slip and ensure that you can work accurately. Silk-look fabrics, satin silk or mixes are often a lot less pleasant to work with. These are of course cheaper, but in the case of a 'Chanel-Style' jacket for example, the investment in real silk is definitely worth it. Moreover, the pleasure in your sewing project is not spoiled by a fabric that does not want to cooperate. LARP fabrics When making costumes for LARP, you run into problems less often. Most fabrics are based on fabrics such as canvas, jute, cotton, cotton twill, linen and sometimes leather. Leather-sewing of course a profession, but the other fabrics are nice to cut and sew. In LARP costumes less elastic fabrics are used because they were not there before. In addition, most fabrics must be strong and able to take a beating. LARP events are not just about posing for a photo, but there is often action and movement. Tough robust fabrics are key elements! However, velvet is often used in medieval clothing. This is a difficult fabric because it is difficult to fold, you have to pay attention to the wing in the fabric while cutting and because the fabric slips during sewing. Make sure you use a special presser foot to avoid this problem and especially pin the parts very well. Better yet, baste everything before you start sewing. The whiff of the fabric means that when you stroke the fabric, one side rubs flat on the hair and the other way the hair will stand on end. This changes the structure / color of the fabric. When you smooth the fabric, you go with the whiff, when the hairs stand up, you go against the whiff. Take extra time while cutting and pay attention to the whiff. If the fabric is on the table, this seems less important. But once you put the fabric on as a garment, and the whiff isn't right, it can ruin the entire costume. Pay close attention to the WIRE DIRECTION indicated on the cartridge parts. So always buy extra fabric, you will need it to cut all the pattern parts correctly with regard to the fabric whiff. 'Fabric-saving' or cost-saving cutting is not applicable here. Velvet is so beautiful that it is definitely worth it. However, if you choose stretch velvet or velor de panne, you have a lighter type of velvet and it is also elastic. These are not beginner fabrics. Ask for extra help and practice on test patches first. Brocade fabrics can be very pleasant to sew, especially if it is not too thick. Goblin also sews nice and stable. These substances are often expensive. And make sure you order some extra fabric. The cutting will require extra fabric because there is often a drawing or pattern / drawing in the fabric. Brocade fabrics can be thick or thin. Goblin is thicker; jeans sewing machine needles are a must. Cosplay fabrics Cosplay uses more lace, silk and stretch fabrics. This is easily done with mediocre sewing experience. If the costumes are more Fantasy and Steampunk-esque, make sure not to choose too thick fabrics or leather, if you do not have a special leather sewing machine. A lighter leather look is a better alternative and also less expensive. Stretch lace is not an easy job, but the same applies here: baste everything in advance and then sew everything together. This extra action ensures that it succeeds in flat that your sewing project ends in the trash. Where possible: work by hand instead of the sewing machine. Satin is not pleasant to sew with. A finer alternative is taffeta silk or real silk. These last two fold better and sew very pleasantly. If you need a lot of fabric for a costume, such as with our Star Wars Kylo Ren costume, you can choose Garbadine or a cheaper alternative: Texture or Terlenka. These fabrics work fine, do not shrink and can take a beating. Texture fabrics are often categorized under 'party fabrics' at online fabric stores. Do not let this be confusing. Texture of Terlenka are fine fabrics and are a great base for costumes. Sample patches and alternatives There is often an alternative for every fabric. Of course you cannot replace a recommended stretch fabric with a non-stretch fabric, but solutions can be found. Ask for advice in the store, ask the customer service of the online store or an experienced seamstress. Anything better than getting frustrated and quitting your sewing project. That would be a real pity and is often not necessary. It is often possible to request a sample of the fabric. It can save you a lot of trouble. Always buy a little extra fabric. Here you can practice in advance and test sewingmachineneedles or find the right stitch. It can also be reassuring that you have some extra fabric, in case something goes wrong while sewing or cutting the fabric. Fabrics are often chosen or based on color and print. But the property of a fabric is even more important. Some fabrics are a lot more difficult to cut and sew than others. Be aware of this when choosing a fabric. When in doubt, request a sample or sew a sample first. A good sewing pattern, your experience as a seamstress and the right fabric determines whether a sewing project delivers a good result.
Good luck ! More and more people are buying their fabrics from an online store. It often takes a while to find the right fabric. Fortunately, most online fabric stores have good search filters, such as color, design, fabric type, stretchable or non-stretchable, thickness and, last but not least: the price category. Designs, prints or motif An important filter is the design of the fabric. There used to be a subdivision into plain or non-plain, nowadays there are many 'motifs', 'prints' or 'designs' per fabric. Most designs speak for themselves: hearts, dots, diamonds, flowers or stripes. Everyone understands that! But what about, for example, 'chains', 'ornaments', 'garland' or 'chevron'? Many different terms are mentioned. To save you some time, we have made a list below of designs that are increasingly used with certain terms. Can't find the right design? Do not panic! Here we have an overview! Fabric designs Paisley Paisley is an ornament-like print that is mainly based on the teardrop shape. The drop is always round at the top and tapering to the bottom. The paisley print comes in many shapes, colors and directions. The thread direction is therefore often less important, depending on the fabric type (cotton, jacquard, tweed or jersey). Note: 'paisley' design is sometimes categorized in the retro or ornaments filters. Ornaments An ornament (Latin ornare en ornamentum) means: to decorate and adornment, and is a composition or decorative elements to decorate objects. Think curls of buildings, arches, circles and everything 'barok'. The shape of ornaments on fabrics is always symmetrical, beautifully curled, styled and repeated continuously. In contrast to 'Paisley', ornamented fabric often has a clear top and bottom, or direction of the fabric. Ornaments are often based on emblems, family crests, French lilies and architectural shapes. Herringbone Herringbone is a design characterized by rows of stripes that go up and down at an angle of about 30 degrees. The pattern is best known in the tweed fabrics, where it was really created by a certain weaving technique. But herringbone can also be found as designs on jersey, cotton and demin fabrics. Be careful with the thread direction with this fabric, if you are going to use the fabric for a sewing pattern! Herringbone is also sometimes called 'chevron' or 'zigzag'. In Dutch is it called: 'visgraat'. Pied-de-Poule or Houndstooth Pied de poule, means chicken legs. Also called: houndstooth, or: dog teeth. There are a lot of terms for this symmetrical pattern. The pattern is usually in black and white but can come in many other color combinations as well. Always two-colored and characterized by broken squares in an abstract pointed shape. Absolutely symmetrical from large patterns to very small checks. The design is very recognizable and is widely used for woolen fabrics, cotton and jersey. In a rare case, the design falls under 'chef's or baker's fabric', because the uniform (the trousers) of a cook is often made in this black and white pattern. 'Vichy checks' is also a two-tone check, but ordinary squares. It is often used to make custom patterns because the checks often have standard sizes and there is a good explanation on the patterns about how you can make the sewing pattern completely your own size. The squares are working here as an extra help with the sizes. Vichy checks is mainly seen in cotton fabrics and soft chambray. Animal or animal fur Fabric designs 'animal motifs' cannot be compared to 'animal fur'. Animal fur is always the well-known tiger print, zebra stripe or the pattern of the skin of giraffes. Sometimes the categories 'camouflage', 'safari' or 'army' fall under the same filter or category. The design animal fur is mainly found in colorful fabrics, from fake fur to real fur ... Animal motifs can be anything, as long as an animal is recognizable. Garland Garland is used in multiple senses. On the one hand, 'garland' means nothing more than a flower garland. Wherever designs are flower garlands, this fabric is therefore called 'garland'. But it also applies to slightly 'vintage'-style designs with the atmosphere of flowers depicted in soft colors and a romantic atmosphere. Finally, 'garland' often coincides with 'Christmas fabrics'. This is mainly because Christmas is often associated with lights, garlands of flowers and lamps. The atmosphere is therefore also called 'garland'. Garland is therefore a broad concept and is used for several types of designs for fabrics. Geometric Geometric designs have everything to do with circles, triangles, squares, pentagons, honeycomb, rectangles, triangles, etc. The designs are always symmetrical and usually multicolored. Sometimes there is a kind of 3D effect, the fabrics seem to give depth as soon as you look at them or the fabric moves. Retro Retro designs mainly remind us of the sixties and seventies. Bright colors, lots of orange, green, brown, pink and yellow. Round shapes, psychedelic or imaginative. Any letters are convex and open and are usually outlined. Retro designs can also be adapted to this modern time. It is then a combination of the shapes and slightly more modern colors. Or the reverse: the typical, strong colors of the flower power era, cast in a slightly more modern design. Especially with dark blue, retro can be a very good combination. They are often ideal, cheerful designs for summery cotton fabrics. In some cases 'Batik' also is known as retro design. Batik is the design of dyed fabric in the typical round shapes and colors that blend into each other. Vintage Vintage designs for fabrics are often pale in color and look 'fragile' and old. They have beautiful floral motifs, old photos or just a combination of old-looking colors. You often see vintage designs on canvas or gobelin. They are timeless fabrics that always remain beautiful. 'Nature' also often falls under 'vintage'. These are often the fabrics with botanical drawings of flowers, leaves, birds, gardens and animals. The colors are never harsh, glaring or bright. Last but not least: Chains
The name says it all: the design is based on chains, watches, belts, horse bits and fringes which are print on the fabric. The 'chain' motifs have a chic look that is a bit 'Hèrmes' style. In a few cases the design also falls under 'Chanel-like fabrics' because of the golden chain that symbolizes the classic famous 2.55 bag. Summarized: Fabric designs come in many colors, patterns and variations. From beautiful symmetry to an image that can be purchased in 'panels'. This means that the fabric is cut per image, which is for example 1.25 meters. The 'panel' is then not interrupted if it is sold from the roll. You do not buy the fabric per meter but per panel. More and more search filters are being used to find the right fabric online at fabric stores. That is of course a good thing. We would like to keep you informed of new terms. If you know a category / term that is not self-evident and is not listed here ...? Please let us know and we will gladly add to our list. Bouclé fabrics are our absolute favorites. The beautiful woven fabric with different colored threads and thicknesses are typical for Chanel-Style jackets. That's why we often use these fabrics and we can not get enough of it! Do you want to know everything about Bouclé fabrics? In this blog we have some tips and tricks for cutting and sewing Boucle fabrics without problems or frustrations. Sewing Bouclé fabrics is a challenge It is one of the biggest challenges of a seamstress; to sew those lovely but very loose, supple, loose, soft, unstructured, weak and unmanageable fabrics. Why? The fabrics can be loose or tightly woven. Between the two, loosely woven Bouclé is harder to sew. To work successfully with the fabric it is necessary to adjust your hand- and machine-sewing techniques to better accommodate the fabric. We are talking here more about the loose woven version of the fabric because the rigid variant is rarely used for clothing. This stiff version of the bouclé fabric is better suited for furniture upholstery or to make a nice pillow. It may be that you bought it by accident, and you can indeed make it a jacket, but the jacket will not be so nice and wearable. And probably only suitable for occasional clothing such as evening wear. Loose woven Bouclé fabrics, as our example, are very unmanageable but also very suitable for our purpose: the beautiful Chanel cardigan jacket. Coco Chanel worked a lot with those fabrics because she new it would be worth it and the heavenly feeling of wearing the comfortable jacket would be the best in Couture: luxurious but comfortable as well. We now know, especially from Claire Shaeffer's books, that the inside of the Chanel jacket kept a lot of secrets. She reinforced the fabrics in many places with special interfacings and even accentuated the curves (the skirt) to prevent wrinkles and darts. Tips & tricks:
You will need a lot of interfacing. Interfacing can be fusible or sew-in. We also love to work with heavy weight cottons. But make sure they will not shrink. Hems should be overlocked, there is a tendency for some of these fabrics to fray and ravel badly Closures of all types can be used. Bound-buttonholes will be the most beautiful option if you need to sew buttonholes. Interfacing them and work carefully. Use little stitching here. Bounded buttonholes are the best choice All types of closures can be used. Bound buttonholes are the best option if you need to sew buttonholes. Use small stitching here. How to make a hand-tied knot [hole] is also explained in detail on the sewing patterns and in the books of Claire Shaeffer. And most sewing books with instructions often have clear explanations for this sewing technique, with accompanying photos or drawings. It is quite a job, but worth it, bounded buttonholes look much better on a Bouclé jacket than normal buttonholes. Do you want to avoid buttonholes? Then use snaps on the back of the fabric and possibly a decorative button on the front. It is less 'couture-worthy' but sometimes a great alternative for very loose-threaded Bouclé fabric. Summarized:
Once you get to work with Bouclé fabrics, it will not be that difficult anymore or frustrating. Buy some extra fabric for testing and practice, but soon you will love to work with it. Just make sure you think before you sew. Interfacing or extra interfacing should be done in first place, It is too late when you already have sewn the lining on the fabrics. Also iron and pres a lot fusible interfacing on the fabrics. It will look better in the end and the garment will keep its shape. Good luck ! Couture Chanel jackets are very often made of Bouclé fabrics. Bouclé fabrics are woven fabrics, always unique in terms of composition and in terms of colors and yarns. The name Bouclé actually refers to both the yarn and the fabric made from the yarns. But what exactly is Bouclé fabric? Bouclé Fabrics How to describe bouclé fabric? Bouclé is both a yarn and a fabric made from it. The yarn is made from a length of loops of similar size which can range from tiny circlets to large curls. The definition is not easy. If you try to find bouclé in stores or on the internet in fabric-online-shops, it is often named differently. Sometimes it is categorized under:
In other languages the fabric is mostly called Bouclé as well but sometimes it is better to search for "Chanel fabrics" because the fabric is mostly used for Chanel Couture, jackets and skirts. On google "Chanel fabrics" are even more searched than "Bouclé fabrics". "Chanel fabrics" are protected by proprietary rights. Most fabric stores do incorporate the association of the name Chanel into it. Sometimes you can find Bouclé fabrics under names such as: Channel, Chanellook, Chanella, Chanelli, Chanello. This is because the customer often searches under 'Chanel' and still ends up with the relevant fabrics. And for the very simple reasons that the seamstresses who want to make a Cahnel-style jacket often search under the name 'Chanel' and hopes she will find the type find the type of fabric which is typical for the jacket. French orgin Bouclé fabric is characterized by it's curly, knotted appearance that is created by it's open, woven weave; with fancy yarn, lurex threads, trims, ribbons, sequins in various colours. The fabric is original from the era of French 1950s fashion trends. Most Couture Houses loved the fabric because of its fashion appearance and a feeling of freedom which Coco Chanel used for designing her famous cardigan jackets and skirts. In modern Couture the fabric is even used in dresses, trousers and coats. It is always quite expensive because it is even a challenge and demands couture sewing techniques and a lot of working-hours to create the garments. On the catwalks the couture, based on Bouclé fabrics, are the real show-stoppers, even in Spring Collections. The bouclé is a statement of pure couture and luxury tailoring. More characteristics: Bouclé fabric are soft, airy and elastic, existing of various threads, such as wool or cotton, including metallized fibres and sequins. Mostly gold or silver accents. Tweed boucle is all about soft ànd bold colours, as well as the classic combination of black and white. Comfy, elegant and always luxurious. Bouclé fabrics are very supple and often loosely woven. However, they can also be very stiff, especially if they are actually fabrics designed for furniture upholstery and furniture upholstery. So pay attention to the texture. Too flexible and loosely woven fabric is very difficult to process (like our example below). Too stiff or solid is easier to work with but not nice to wear and not comfortable at all. Unless, for example, it is used for the creation of an open-front jacket or occasional clothing such as festive clothing, gala jackets or other luxury jackets. Pay particular attention, if you buy Bouclé fabric that you buy enough fabric because you will have to cut everything so that the loose threads do not disturb the pattern and sizes. In other words: buy extra fabric; cut the pattern with a few centimeters seam extra and keep in mind that there will be a lot of waste of fabric. Bouclé fabric is also very suitable for the beautiful fringes. You can have them nicely fringed but also completely un tied and crochet or even knit. Braiding is also often done. It is a perfect and beautiful idea if you use the same fabric and make creative fringes with it. Colors Bouclé fabrics are famous and beloved because of their beautiful structure with loose threads, loops and sometimes gold or silver threads added. Therefore uni-colors are not very common but they are out there on the market. Mostly bouclé fabrics are fabrics which do not have prints or patterns (almost impossible) but sometimes they have a squared pattern or a simple pattern of the woven threads. Sometimes the fabrics have a woven pattern or a kind of rhythm of recurring colors. Styling Bouclé
Bouclé fabrics are very nice and creative fabric to make great combinations with a beautiful lining, buttons and the fringes. Tips & tricks:
It is a big thing in the Netherlands, Germany Belgium, France and Luxembourg. Maybe in other countries as well. A giant market place, mostly indoors; goods fair specialized for the hobby sewing- and fabric world. You can see it as a sort of fabric fair, but for consumers. It is an event where various nationally and internationally known fabric suppliers present and sell the latest fabric collections. The average size of our exhibitions is 5,000 square meters, some smaller, some much larger. Every spring and autumn on the same location in a big city, in the big cities of Europe, where event halls are present and an enthusiastic audience. So, now you know how it works. And there you are, walking around with a girlfriend who has the same hobby, a part of the website/blog team of a nice neighbor or daughter. It is overwhelming. What do they offer? “Women's fabrics, children's fabrics, lining fabrics, Haute couture fabrics, bridal fabrics curtain fabrics, lace curtains, furnishing fabrics, decoration fabrics, imitation or imitation leather, imitation fur, oilcloth, polyester foam and haberdasheries”. “Fabrics from well-known fabric brands and ready-to-wear workshops. Many fabric suppliers have patterns and patterns books available through their suppliers. There are also specialists in patterns that offer everything in the field of patterns. Because there are fabric dealers from all over the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and / or France at such an event, a unique offer is presented”. And what is happening around us? “Many demonstrations are given at Fabric Show. For example, the regional BERNINA sewing machine dealer demonstrates how to manufacture the best clothing with the latest machines. Known but also new techniques are discussed. It also shows how you can customize clothing by embroidering or applying applications. Fashion schools are sometimes present, to show you how you can train even better in the manufacture of clothing”. A Perfect day out ? “It is a great day out for everyone who is actively engaged in self-making fashion. At every location there is an opportunity to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Whether on the exhibition floor between the fabrics, or in the local Grand Café around the corner”.Yes indeed a perfect day out if you want to look for something special (A beautiful Bouclé fabric?) or you need to buy some bulk (linings, threads, inter-facings, etc. Etc.) It is unlikely you can not find the things you are looking for... But how to survive this day? It takes a lot of condition to shop around for hours and a lot of strength to walk around with your bags full of fabrics or other stuff. The problem with Bouclé and Tweed fabrics is also the fact that they are heavy and bulky. Three meters beautiful Woolen Bouclé and you already need a giant shopper. Some tips: To prevent you from becoming overloaded with too much goods and getting completely crazy about the events with all its impressions. 1. Plan travel and parking It will be a long day and exhausting as well. Before you even enter the market halls you have already had a long journey and a lot of traffic and parking stress. It seems unnecessary to report but look in advance especially to the website where you can park, how much it costs and how you can best travel there. Event halls are often located on the industry area's of the cities and are therefore not within walking distance from the central station. Often there are buses, sometimes even organized buses. These events also often give you the opportunity to register online for carpooling. Just as easy; traveling with someone, shared costs and less stress. 2. Make a shoppinglist The funny thing with our brains is the fact that if they are overloaded, you suddenly lose a lot. You are looking some haberdasheries or some special fabrics, but the minute you walk into the event halls, you have forgotten it because you because suddenly everything comes to you and you come across an overload of supplies and goods. Keep you shopping-list in your pockets or your small fabric samples ( if you're looking for the right combinations so that you have exactly the right color with you.) On such days, impulsive purchases are of course great and it is wonderful to find or discover new things, but also look for what you have been looking for or need in the short term. 3. Take your time It is a day off. So take your time. Do not stress around or get exhausted before the end of the day. Treat yourself and your company to a nice lunch or dinner. No need to run around or to hurry. These event-days are only once a year. 4. Go with the flow Or do not. We have literally turned it around; walk against the flow, start at the last market-shop-table instead of the first one. It can work if it is not the rush hour. Going with the flow sounds easier but on an event it can be very irritating as well if you have to wait, wait and wait before the market-seller has the time to cut your fabrics and you are able to pay for it, without needing to jell or push away fifty other jelling women.... Avoid rush-hour is a good idea as well. Start early and leave before closure-time. A great idea to avoid the big stress. (And lunch too early or too late, if your stomach agrees) It might be interesting to wait for the last hours; sometimes goods will be sold very cheap. But quality fabrics will never be given away and you do not want to leave the halls when everybody else is leaving as well... 5. How to find what you are looking for ? First of all; there is always a website. On the website there is plenty of information and sometimes even a plan of the participants or a map of the event halls. Then there is the link page. You can always call upfront to the store or address of the participants to get more information if you are looking for something really special. Plan to visit these participants first. If you already have bought some nice but not-planned stuff, it will be exhausting to start looking for your specials at the end of the day. If it is really a burden to find where you are looking for; just ask around. Al these ladies; they just know. Or they might even help you.... 6. Practical necessities It sound a bit stupid but these days it is better to be prepared than to assume everything is going to be fine. We all know fair or event days are always exhausting and that has nothing to do with your physical condition, but more with the fact that it is days that are overloaded with impressions, products and offers. And of course with unknowing facts like: how to get there, where to park my car, how to find th toilets, where to eat, how to carry around my stuff and how to make sure we will stick together or where do we get back at the exit? A list of things that you are glad you have not forgotten about: 1. Comfortable shoes! Sure you knew already, but really NOBODY will take a look at your shoes, the shoes need to carry you all day, so just take the most comfortable shoes you have and forget about styling .... 2. A bottle of water Yes, really. Somehow on these days it is almost impossible to prevent getting headaches because of the too strong coffee, too little drinking on the way and the too dry air. Drinking a bottle of water, during the day, will be a great help. How do you know it did work? If these days do not end driving back home with a terrible headache, or the next day... A healthy snack will also be a good idea. Do not expect to have a healthy diner in the café of the event-restaurant. Mostly they offer quick fastfood and a lot of sweet stuff. A healthy sandwich is a far better idea to have a great day with a lot of energy. 3. Enough money and your mobile Easy but truth. Buying some extra fabrics will not hurt. Buying too little will be a shame because you know you can not go back the next day. in case you changed you mind or want the fabric for another sewing-project. Also on these fairs, there are always a lot of sales. Better to buy some haberdasheries and fabrics for the long terms as well.... 4. Shoppingbags, a shopping troley Yes sure, it looks silly and you do not want to be seen with a shopping trolley. But who cares. All the ladies are looking at the beautiful fabrics, not at you... Wear eyeglasses and a hat, if you want to be sure you will not be spotted with a shopping trolley and comfort-shoes............ Haha. ........... 5. Last but not least: Know the measurements of the fabrics you need Write them down or keep them in your mind. How much fabric do you need for a jacket? A skirt? A coat? How much lining do you need for the jacket, or two or three? It will be wise to know because you will not be able to exchange the fabric or buy extra the next day or week, if your measurements were not correct. Summarized:
Fabric events are great to buy fabrics. Be well prepared and enjoy your day! If you really want to buy a 100% Silk fabric but you are not sure about the fabric you want to buy in a store or on a market, here some help to recognize it. Do a Touch test. This is a quick spot test that one can do especially before buying a silk fabric. The idea is to rub the silk with your hands. If you feel warmth on rubbing it, go buy it! It’s real. With artificial or synthetic silk, it is impossible to experience warmth on rubbing. One more thing, real silk sounds like walking on fresh snow. It crisps. Think about crisping a piece of tin paper. Aluminum foil; now you know. Perform a Ring Test. If the silk that you are planning to buy is not very heavy, this test is perfect! Genuine silk can be easily threaded and pulled through a wedding ring because silk is naturally flexible and smooth. On the other hand, artificial silks would scrunch up and would be impossible to pull through. Consider the price. Of course, real silk is almost ten times costlier than the synthetic ones. Sometimes the synthetic silk is priced much higher and looks like silk to an untrained eye but mostly low price is a very good indication of its poor quality. The reason you should know the secrets to recognize a real Silk. It happens to us more than once. You think you buy a real Silk, but it isn't.... The Lustre of the material. Silk is especially known for its lustre. The lustre is usually because of the combination of threads which gives a particular sheen to the material. The colour on the surface appears to change as the angle of the light changes. Artificial silks, however, gives a white sheen no matter what the angle of light falling on it. Look at the Weave. Hand woven silk boasts of uniqueness. There are minor variations in the evenness of the texture which is quite noticeable. But fret not! These are natural and expected. These imperfections are what lend distinction to the product. Machine woven silks look perfect. They are flawlessly even in texture and hence… lacks character! Synthetic fibers look perfect too even though sometimes slight imperfections are deliberately included so that they could pass off as real silk. Note that Dupion silk looks a bit "messy". But that is correct. Look at Dupion characteristics to understand the difference. Perform a Burn Test, if possible... This is perhaps the best and most definitive test to find genuine silk. You can take a few threads from the material and burn it with a flame. Genuine silk burns with smell of burnt hair. When you burn the edge of real silk fabric, the flame is invisible and it will stop burning as soon as the flame is removed. The ash produced hence, is black, crispy and brittle. It turns to powder when twisted in fingers.With the artificial silk, it is quite the opposite. When synthetic silk is burnt, there is a flame and smell of plastic. No ash is produced. Needless to say, you might need to exercise caution with this step. You don’t want to end up setting fire to the silk shop or a marketplace. If you really need to know, consider a Chemical Test. If you have a lab with necessary chemicals on the standby, ready for some experimentation, what’s stopping you? Or maybe you know a chemical student who wants to do the test for you ? For starters, you need: Mix all the below and dip a small piece of silk that you want to test into the solution. Real silk dissolves in a few minutes while artificial silk would not dissolve.
Remember that Old is Gold.
The older the silk gets, the more beautiful it becomes. With the fake silk, it is quite the opposite. The fake silk tends to fade with time. But again, it is a better idea to buy a genuine silk rather than end up with a fake one.Now that you are armed with some really good tips for the next silk shopping spree, sleep easy. You are going to get the silk fabric you so rightly deserve. |
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