Fabric
A woven cloth and a knitted one fail in completely different ways
Weaving interlaces straight yarns at right angles while knitting builds a fabric out of loops, and nearly…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Fibres, weaves and weights, and what each one does after a year of wear.
Fabric
Fabric weight tells you more about a garment than the fibre on the label
The composition tag names the raw material and stops there; the weight of the cloth is what determines how it drapes, how warm it is and how long it survives.
Fabric
Wool works because the fibre is crimped and covered in scales
Nearly everything wool does well, and the two things it does badly, come from the physical architecture of…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Elastane has a shorter life than the garment it is sewn into
A few percent of stretch fibre changes how a garment fits and moves, and it also installs a component that…
· 3 min read
Fabric
Cotton, linen and viscose are all cellulose and behave nothing alike
Three fabrics made from the same chemical substance differ so completely in strength, creasing and drape…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Gauge is why one jumper keeps its shape and another grows
The number of stitches in a given width of knitting decides how much a garment can stretch, how quickly it…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Three basic weaves account for nearly everything you own
Plain, twill and satin are the only ways of interlacing yarn in common use, and the choice between them…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Polyester and nylon are plastics and they fail like plastics
The two synthetics in most wardrobes are strong, cheap and stable, and the specific ways they let you down…
· 3 min read
Fabric
Colour fades three different ways and only one is the dye's fault
A garment loses its colour to light, to washing and to rubbing, and the three processes look different…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Interfacing is the cloth you never see doing most of the shaping
Collars stand, cuffs hold and lapels roll because of a second layer hidden between the outer fabric and the…
· 4 min read
Fabric
A blend inherits the worst of each fibre as readily as the best
Mixing two fibres in one yarn is done for cost as often as for performance, and the resulting cloth does…
· 4 min read
Fabric
Water repellent and waterproof are two different engineering problems
One treatment makes water bead off the outside of a cloth and the other stops it passing through at all…
· 3 min read