What is Fabric Grain and Why Does it Matter? How to Improve Sewing Clothes
Having grain perfection, a garment cut and sewn with the grain of the fabric, will ensure your pattern pieces match together, your fabric is easy to sew and will result in well-fitting clothing.
A very brief history of weaving
Around 6,000 B.C.E., during the Neolithic era, people began settling in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia. They started building houses, planting crops, and taming animals. During this time early humans also began weaving reed mats, nets, and baskets. This skill lead to the development of weaving on a loom. The earliest example of a horizontal loom was found on Egyptian pottery dated 4400 B.C.E. This simple invention has not changed in basic structure since its invention.
What is grain anyway?
The grain of the fabric are the vertical and perpendicular threads which are woven together to create the fabric. Fabric is woven on a series of vertical threads, warp threads. To make fabric, a second series of horizontal threads, weft threads, are run between the warp threads in alternating directions. This concept is best illustrated in this image of a loom and traditional carpet weaving. The white vertical threads are the warp, and the colored threads creating the pattern are the weft. The woven threads, which run perpendicular to one another, make the grain of the fabric. Straight grain refers to the warp threads running parallel to the selvage, while cross grain refers to the weft threads running perpendicular to the selvage. The selvage is the finished edge of the fabric. Whether weaving carpets, tapestries, or apparel fabric, this process remains the same.
What does grain perfection mean?
Grain perfection occurs when the warp and weft threads are at a 90 degree angle. Having true grain perfection is essential to a well-made garment. If the straight grain or cross grain is out of alignment, the finished garment will twist on the wearer’s body and not lay properly. Cutting out pattern pieces with off-grain fabric means the pieces won’t match up together and putting them together will be very difficult. Grain was one of those early sewing lessons that I learned the hard way.
My very first sewing attempt was an A-line skirt with a side zipper. When told by my professor to make sure the fabric was “on grain” before cutting the pattern pieces, I thought that meant folding it in half, matching selvage to selvage, and ironing it so the top edge lined up. Spoiler alert, that’s not how to get fabric on grain. I cut out my pattern pieces and started sewing. I couldn’t understand why the side seams of my skirt didn’t match; the fabric was longer on one side than the other. But no worries, I just cut off the longer side and continued on my way. Once it was completed, I couldn’t figure out why the top of the skirt squeezed me and twisted to the right. It was uncomfortable and I never wore it. You’d think after that unfortunate experience, I learned my lesson. But I didn’t until a year later in a fashion draping class, because no one ever explained the importance of why I needed to get fabric on grain before starting to sew.
Why you need to get fabric on grain before sewing
Getting your fabric on grain is the very first step of learning to sew. The proper alignment of the fabric grain is essential for laying out and cutting pattern pieces. Each individual pattern piece has a specific orientation with the grain of the fabric. If the grain and pattern piece don’t line up when the fabric is cut, putting the garment together with be difficult. The cut pieces won’t line up or fit together the way they are supposed to. When the pieces don’t fit together it’s harder to sew. And once the garment is finished, various pieces will twist or pull and not fit the wearer. No one wants to wear clothing that bunches or constricts movement. Take the time to get your fabric on grain from the beginning, and all of your sewing efforts will be rewarded with great fitting, comfortable clothes!
Alright, you’ve convinced me. How do I get my fabric on grain? Keep reading
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