What kind of material is stretchy

Breathable and exquisitely soft, with good crease resistance, texture is slightly raised, completely opaque. Opaque and crisp, with an exceptional drape and ability to hold shape, soft, with a matt sheen, usually medium or heavyweight. Soft, with a silky hand and gorgeous sheen, lightweight, semi-sheer, creates beautiful drape, durable.

Stretch lace is an openwork fabric, which contains elastic fibers. Lycra elastane is added to lace during production process to make the fabric durable. Stretchable lace is perfect for such details of apparel as sleeves, as lycra makes them less wearable.

It is an ideal choice for lingerie, overlays, shrugs and more. Stretch tulle is a lightweight mesh fabric with a touch of elastane. It usually has a wonderful 4-way stretch. The fabric is soft and features a fluid drape.

Stretch tulle is perfect for underlays and inserts. Choose it to decorate necklines, hems or use it as overlay material. Stretch fabrics are pure pleasure to wear, however, it seems quite challenging to sew with them.

Here are some life hacks that will help you with your design project. Tissura offers stretch fabrics from the leading European manufacturers. At our online store, you can buy stretch fabrics coming with the high quality and original prints from:.

Just like jersey stretch fabrics, elastane fabric has amazing stretch as well as great recovery, and is made of fibres which are man-made. The fibres are never used alone and are used in combination with other yarns such as polyester, cotton and viscose. Here at Fabrics Galore, we truly believe that the invention of this fibre changed things for the better throughout the clothing industry - especially for the performance and sportswear sector.

It is very lightweight and breathable, making it ideal as it still allows freedom of movement for anyone looking to exercise. Although polyester and cotton are often used for sportswear, the blend of viscose and elastane is the perfect balance to create a soft smooth finish which feels lovely against your skin. It is lightweight and drapes beautifully, so it can be used to make more flowing dresses and clothing garments which are skin-friendly and have the appearance of cotton or silk.

This type of jersey fabric is a heavier material and less stretchy than usual jersey fabric and is the perfect fabric choice for more structured and durable pieces - like blazers. Double jersey fabric is also commonly referred to as Ponti di Roma or Ponte Roma, which has a firm strong knit that holds its shape. If you are looking to start a dressmaking project, or even create fashionable accessories such as scarves, double jersey fabric would be ideal for you.

If you are looking to design and make a sweatshirt , the fabrics are often made from a blend of fabrics which create a smooth, soft surface which is stretchy and comfortable to wear. The material does come in a variety of colors, is not transparent, and should not unravel on you. This is a very fluid fabric that should have you wondering if you have any underwear on. It is not hard to put your outer layers over this material as clothing will glide over it and yet the fabric does not feel or act slippery.

If you are curious about this material, it is often sold by the half yard and in inch widths. It may be a great material to consider when you are thinking of making your own intimate clothing items. The one stitch you should avoid is the straight stitch.

While it is a very good, strong stitch for most circumstances, it doesn't stretch very well and doesn't have the strength to work with stretch materials. The straight stitch option you need to choose is the triple straight stitch. This pattern is made for stretch fabrics and has both the strength and stretch to keep your clothing items together. This stitch pattern is great for more form-hugging fabrics. Another good stitch to use would be the popular zig-zag pattern.

It's the go-to stretch option when your machine doesn't have a triple straight stitch pattern. Then there is also the 3 step zig zag which helps relieve the tunneling effect the regular zig-zag stitch creates in lightweight fabrics. Its design helps to prevent side-to-side pulling and creates a flatter stitch pattern. Also, there is the lightning bolt stitch pattern which works well with knit fabrics. This option helps reduce puckering and tunneling as well.

Honorable mentions are the honeycomb, the overlock or overedge stitch, the feather, and the top stitch options. Pick your favorite or find one that is the easiest for you to do while creating a very strong bond between fabric pieces. While you do not have as many needle options as you do stitch options for stretch fabrics, you do get some choice in which needle is good to use.

The right needle makes any sewing project, no matter the fabric, easier to do. The first choice you have will be universal.

This option provides you with the most flexibility and may cut down on the number of times you have to change the needle in your sewing machine. Your second choice would be the stretch needle and its smaller more rounded point makes it an ideal choice when you are working with very elastic fabrics. Those materials are spandex and scuba fabric. The third and last choice would be the ballpoint needle.

If you are not working with the aforementioned spandex or scuba materials, then this is the preferred or recommended choice. The good news is that you can find all three of these types of needles just about anywhere you shop for sewing accessories. Amazon is a good place as are all your locally owned fabric stores, mall department outlets, and the big box stores that are in almost every city in the nation.

It may surprise you that some people think that knit fabrics shrink more than woven ones do. It is a great possibility especially if you use the wrong water temperatures and dryer heat. Those conditions would apply to nylon as well. Since it can stretch it may shrink when laundered under the wrong conditions. Spandex is not known to shrink unless it is blended in with natural or other fibers that tend to shrink when washed incorrectly. Since lycra and elastane are also spandex that means that those fabrics under those names will react the same way as spandex does.

Synthetic fibers were constructed to resist shrinking. Woven vs. Knit Fabrics. Related Articles. Activewear Fabric Fabric Knowledge. What is Nylon Fabric? Eco-Friendly News Fabric Knowledge. Add to Quote. Remember Me. Register for a new account. Enter Password Confirm Password.