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When you get home from the fabric store, it’s tempting to start sewing on your fabric right away.
But don’t do it…
There are things you need to do to prepare your fabric before using it. Some fabric needs to be preshrunk, some needs to have the grain straightened, and some needs to be ironed.
It’s hard to wait when you have a sewing project in mind, but your results will be better if you don’t skip the fabric prep stage. Let me walk you through four important steps to prepare your fabric for sewing.
Step 1: Preshrink Your Fabric
Fabrics made from natural fibers will shrink when you wash them for the first time. This is especially true for 100% cotton fabric. That’s why the first step to fabric prep is to preshrink your fabric.
To preshrink natural fabric, simply run it through a cycle in your washer and dryer. You don’t have to use laundry detergent, but I usually do because it helps remove excess dye and chemicals that were left on your fabric during the manufacturing process. The heat from the dryer is what does most of the shrinking.
Some fabric will get ruined if you put it in your washer and dryer. So, check the fabric care label on your bolt of fabric at the fabric store before buying. If your fabric is supposed to be dry cleaned, you should take it to the dry cleaners before sewing on it. Similarly, if your fabric is supposed to be hand washed, you should do that before sewing on it.
Preshrinking your fabric is important because it prevents stretching and shrinking in your finished sewing project. Have you ever bought a shirt at the store that fit perfectly and then it was smaller and shorter after you washed it? That’s what can happen if you don’t preshrink your fabric before you use it.
For more information, read: What Everyone Ought to Know About Preshrinking Fabric
Only skip the preshrinking step if you’re making something that will never get wet or washed. This is a rare scenario.
If you buy several cuts of fabric at the fabric store, wash them all individually. This prevents the dye in each fabric from bleeding and staining other fabrics. That extra dye can also leave residue in your washer and dryer, so you might want to rinse particularly dark or vibrant colored fabric in the sink to get out excess dye before putting it in your washer and dryer.
Step 2: Straighten the Grain of Your Fabric
After your fabric is washed and dried, you should straighten the grain to make it easier to fold and layout pattern pieces. What I mean by this is to line up the selvage edges and make sure the fabric has a straight edge on both of the cut sides.
Straightening the grain of your fabric is important because raveled edges can cause your fabric to be uneven on your cutting table. Plus, you might not notice that plaids and other patterned fabric are off when cutting out pattern pieces.
Once you’ve straightened the grain, you may want to serge the cut edges to prevent raveling. You could do this before washing and drying, too.
Every type of fabric requires a different method to straighten the grain. First, you need to find the crosswise grain by looking at the threads that run perpendicular to the selvage edge of your fabric. Plaids and stripes are the easiest to spot, but some fabrics also have very visible crosswise threads.
Once you’ve found the crosswise grains, use one of the following methods to straighten the grain of your fabric:
- Cut Along the Print Pattern: If you can spot the crosswise grain because of a pattern on your fabric, use that as a guide for cutting a straight line that is perpendicular to your selvage edge.
- Pull a Thread as a Guide: If you have a loosely woven fabric, you can pull out one of the threads that runs perpendicular to the selvage edge of your fabric. Then, cut along the line that is left behind by the missing thread.
- Tear Your Fabric: If you have a tightly woven fabric, you can sometimes tear straight along the crosswise grain of your fabric. All you need to do is make a small cut into the selvage edge of your fabric and rip across the crosswise grain. Be quick for the straightest tear.
Step 3: Iron and Fold Your Fabric
After you have preshrunk your fabric and straightened the grain, you should also iron it. Use the correct setting on your iron so you don’t damage your fabric. Then, simply fold your fabric so it is ready when you want to lay out your pattern pieces. If you don’t plan to use your fabric soon, I recommend rolling it for storage to avoid creating permanent creases.
Yes, it does take extra time at the beginning of your project to iron and prepare your fabric for sewing, but it makes your finished project come out better and last longer. If you iron your fabric, your pattern pieces will lay flatter and your cuts will be straighter.
Step 4: Store Your Fabric Properly
If you don’t plan to sew something with your new fabric right away, you need to properly store it so that it does not get damaged by moisture, light, and pests. I recommend storing all fabric in plastic bins out of sunlight.
For more information, read: Best Practices for Storing Fabric Indefinitely
Don’t skip the fabric preparation stage. Your sewing project will turn out better and last longer if you preshrink, straighten the grain, and iron your fabric before sewing on it. Fabric prep does take extra time, but it is worth the effort.
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Great information! I always wondered about pre-washing the fabric. I have 2 projects to start but I don’t have the washing instructions. The fabric is from an upholstery fabric shop so I may dry clean to be on the safe side. I’ll be making short casual jackets so they could be dry cleaned items.
Thanks again..looking forward to more useful information.