Buying Fabric in Person: A Shop Floor Guide

Buying fabric online is convenient and buying it in person is better, for one reason: drape cannot be photographed. Two cottons with identical fibre content and weight can behave completely differently, and you will know which one is right within three seconds of holding it.

Read the bolt end first

The cardboard end carries four things worth knowing before you unroll anything: fibre content, width, care instructions and price per yard. Photograph it. Fibre content is the piece you will want later, when you are choosing a pressing temperature, a needle, or whether the thing can go in a dryer.

Beware of blends described only as "poly blend" with no percentages. It is legal, it is common, and it tells you nothing about how the fabric will press.

The four hand tests

1. Drape. Pull two yards off the bolt and let it fall over your hand or your forearm. Does it hang in soft folds or stand away in stiff planes? Match that behaviour to the garment. A gathered skirt needs a fabric that falls; a structured jacket needs one that stands.
2. Crush. Squeeze a handful hard for five seconds and let go. Deep creases that stay are what your finished garment will look like after an hour in a car seat. Linen always creases and that is part of its charm. A poly blend that creases like linen is not charming.
3. Stretch and recovery. Pull crosswise, then lengthwise, then on the diagonal. Every woven stretches on the bias. If it stretches crosswise and does not spring back, expect a garment that grows through the day.
4. Light. Hold it up. Sheerness that is invisible on the bolt becomes obvious in daylight, and it decides whether you also need lining.

Check the grain before you buy

Look along the cut edge. If the crosswise threads run visibly at an angle to the cut, the fabric is off grain. Yarn dyed and woven stripes cannot be corrected by pulling and will make a garment that twists on the body. Printed fabrics where only the print is off grain are usually fine, because you cut to the grain and accept the print sitting slightly crooked.

What to say at the cutting table

Ask for what you need, plus your reason if it affects the cut:

• "Two and a half yards, please, and I am preshrinking, so can you give me a generous cut."
• "Can you cut on the grain rather than following the print?" Most shops do this by default. Some do not.
• "Is there more of this dye lot in the back?" Worth asking on anything you might need to return for.
• "Can I have the bolt end?" Many shops will hand it over once the bolt is empty, and some will let you photograph the label. It is the best fabric record you can keep.

Shops usually cut to the nearest eighth of a yard. Some have a minimum cut, often a quarter or half yard. Quilt shops sell precut bundles (fat quarters, jelly rolls, charm packs) that are a good way to buy a coordinated range without buying yardage of each.

Fibre content in one paragraph each

• Cotton. Easy to sew, presses beautifully, shrinks in the first wash, creases. The default for quilting and for learning.
• Linen. Strong, cool, presses sharply, creases proudly. Shrinks noticeably. Fray prone, so finish seams early.
• Wool. The tailoring fibre, because it can be shaped with steam and holds the shape. Needs a press cloth and patience with heat.
• Silk. Wonderful drape, unforgiving of needle holes, water spots on some weaves. Use fine sharp needles and test everything on a scrap.
• Polyester. Stable, cheap, colourfast, does not breathe, melts under a hot iron. Excellent for linings and for anything that must survive a school year.
• Rayon and viscose. Beautiful drape at low cost, weak when wet, shrinks unpredictably. Preshrink twice.
• Knits. Sold by stretch percentage and recovery, not just fibre. Buy the stretch the pattern asks for; substituting a 20 percent stretch for a 50 percent one changes the whole fit.

Before you leave

Check the receipt against the yardage on the bolt end, and keep it with the fabric until the project is cut. If you buy notions in the same trip, buy the thread against the fabric under the shop's light: hold a strand across the fabric and choose the shade that disappears. When in doubt, one shade darker blends better than one shade lighter.

Ready to work out how much to buy? Use the yardage calculator, and see how much fabric a project needs for the numbers behind it. To find shops near you, browse the directory.