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Sewing with stretch fabrics

An introduction to stretch!

Many people are a little fearful of sewing with stretch fabrics. But, if you follow these simple guidelines below, you'll soon realize that stretch fabrics are easier to work with than thought: they're simple to sew, they don't fray, are crease-resistant, and are more forgiving fabrics for beginner dressmakers as they rarely need zips, fastenings or darts.

Let's look at what gives the fabric its stretchy quality first.

Many stretch fabrics are knitted. The most common types are:

• Jersey This can be cotton or synthetic and is the kind of fabric used for sweatshirts.
• Fleece A polyester knit with a pile; think sportswear or baby blankets.
• Ponte This is a crease-resistant polyester fibre with a fine horizontal stripe in the knit. Heavier than Jersey, it's a good fabric for trousers and skirts.
• Rib knits These are usually used in cuffs, wristbands and necklines.
• Interlock A variation of a rib knit, this construction has been designed so that both sides of the fabric look the same.

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