Fabrics 101: Holy Grainline
Hello my sweet disciples.
Today we will be focusing on the beauty of the Grainline.
Why is it important and why it must be followed in most instances?
The grainline is determined based of the weave of the fabric. The threads creating the fabric material are running as specific way, in order to build the structure of the material as well as flexibility.
There are three types of grainlines followed in the element of sewing.
Straight Grainline
Cross Grain
True Bias
The grain of fabric is important because it will determine how the fabric falls onto the body while being worn. In addition, if a fabric is cut off grain it can create an weird twist, or hang drastically different from one side to the other. We follow the grain of the fabric like sewing law (in most cases). Sometimes you can use different grains to create different effects in the sewing techniques and designs; however we will discuss that in future lessons.
The straight of grainline is parallel to the selvage of the fabric material.
What is the selvage you may ask? It is tightly woven ends of the fabric created during the process of finishing a length of fabric. It is visible different than the rest of the fabric in weave, texture, and/or color.
Fun Fact: If you ever get a multi-colored fabric with one selvage white, than there may be a helpful addition to your material. There will mostly be individual colored circles on the fabric, which match the individual colors within the fabric, itself. This is used to help find color matches for accents as well as just show the variation of each color separately.
If the selvage is torn of and/or not indicated, then you can find the straight of grainline based off the lack of stretch in the weaving of the fabric. This leads of to the determining the cross-grain of the fabric.
The cross-grain is determined by the slight stretch within the weave. When looking for the straight and cross grain, I usually try to stretch the fabric in each direction to see where the give and take are within threading.
If I get no stretch, then I know it is the straight of grain. If I get s small amount of stretch, then I know it is the cross grain. I would indicate this to myself with chalk or a pencil on the wrong side of fabric near the edging. Doing this will create a "selvage-like" indication for you when lining up your pattern pieces.
Now, the final grainline is the true bias, which is the stretchiest grain of fabric. It is used to create bias strips for finishing, more movement in dresses and skirts, and other fabric manipulation techniques.
Fun Fact: The cutting a skirt, dress, or pants on bias, it is advised to have your fabric pieces hang overnight in order to let the fabric "settle". This means while the fabric is hanging, the weight of the fabric will pull in places with the most stretch causing hems to change lengths in those place. By letting the pieces settle before putting the garment together, you are most likely to caught the change in hems early and know where to fix the issues during the fitting process. In addition, when cutting hems make sure to cut slightly longer just in case the fabric decides to bounce back into place. This way if you do leave wiggle room. you won't be left with a hem too short! (I can speak more to this later, if asked 😋)
The true bias is measured 45° from selvage to selvage. It will give you the best stretch for projects and manipulations. If looking for the true bias, then create a square on the back of your fabric (making sure to follow both the grain and cross grain). Once you have created your box, draw a line from one in to the other creating a diagonal line within the box. This is your true bias on the fabric. I've used this technique ever since I started sewing, especially if I want to make sure it is truly the bias. I can eyeball is and you will possibly be able to once you start sewing more, but it is always nice to make sure sometimes.
Now I know this post is already very long, so I will keep knits and non-woven short and sweet. I can go more in-depth in a future post if you would like, just comment below.
Knits follow the same rules as woven when cutting on the grainlines. The only knit that has a more flexible grainline is a 4-way stretch because it is developed to stretch the same way in each direction; however, I still always follow the sewing law of grainlines when cutting out my patterns. This just allows me to have more choice if I can running out of room or need to piece something together.
Non-woven have no grainline, but I treat the fabric as though it has one just to be safe rather than sorry.
My last detail I have for you that if you ever cut a complete garment on the cross grain instead of the straight of grain, be prepare for your garment to tear apart into pieces. I have never had this happen to me, but I will never forget the story my teacher told me in college about a student that created their whole project on the cross grain... The cross grain is not built to withstand a lot of tension and stress, so the student's model inhaled a deep breathe and unknowingly started to break apart at not only the seams, but everywhere there was too much stress on the fabric. 😦 (Dun dun dunnnnn)
Now is this a true story? I have no idea, but I don't want to find out and I don't want you lovelies to find out either. So Beware!
Until we hear from our Goddess again.
Praise Be the Needle & Thread -Demi 🖤