How to sew, design, and create with Bare Cloth:
Bare Cloth fabric is handwoven in the northern woods of Minnesota. It is designed to be worn, loved, and durable, ready for any event or adventure. Below are my recommendations both as the weaver and designer of this fabric! I love using my own fabrics in my designs and also enjoy getting to live in Bare Cloth fabric all throughout the year.
Pressing and Prep for Cutting: All Bare Cloth fabric is finished, fulled, pre-shrunk and pressed when it leaves the studio. This means that it is ready to cut when it arrives.
Where to find Fabric Specifics (EPI, weight, and thickness of fabrics): When you initially purchase Bare Cloth fabric, this information will be listed on the product page. For all fabrics this page will remain on the site so that you can return to it at any time to review the specs. This information is also included in your email order confirmation and printed out and sent to you with your physical order. At any time, feel free to reach out to Bare Cloth and Keila is happy to confirm any specs or field any questions.
Projects best suited for Bare Cloth fabric: Bare Cloth is a woven fabric and is best suited for draped garments, like skirts, flowy dresses and skirts. This fabric also does will with interfacing (woven is preferred) for more tailored garments like blazers, vests, or elevated outer-coats. Being that this is a medium thickness wool fabric... You may of already had this one in mind, and yes, a classic button down for layering is also ideal. : )
Cutting fabric for pattern pieces or draping: This fabric does have a small amount of stretch and that is helpful to keep in mind when cutting for a final garment or piece. When cutting be sure not to pull or put any tension on the cutting line. When cutting out flat pattern pieces be sure have the fabric laying flat without any tension. When working with a piece on a dress form all the fabric to hang without tension when cutting. This fabric can fray after cut if you work a lot with the fabric, thus for cutting out flat pattern pieces, please serve or finish edges as soon as possible after cutting. For draping, allow excess seam allowance when making cuts on the dress form and after the pieces are finalized and removed from the form please serge or finish edges as soon as possible.
Choosing a seam type best suite for Bare Cloth: All seams should be finished when working with Bare Cloth fabric, unless being used for a personal aesthetic (then I trust ya to run with it!) For longevity of a piece, serging, zig zagging, using french seams, or flat felled seams are recommended to get a sturdy and reliable seam for your piece. When finishing the edges of piece please be mindful not to stretch fabric as that will alter the final look and potentially change the fit of the piece. Allow the fabric to naturally go through the sewing machine without tension, letting the natural momentum of the machine to pull the fabric through. If hand sewing, please be mindful not to hold the fabric seam tight while making your stitches.
Pressing, ironing, and steaming notes: It is recommended to press every seam for your garment or piece. Putting a direct iron on wool will change the textile texture and appearance to have a permanent sheen. Because of this, put a linen or cotton cloth between the iron and any part of the wool you are ironing. It is recommended to iron the inside of the garment or piece so that you cannot see a seam allowance line on the outside of the fabric. If you do need to iron the exterior side of a seam, the part on the outside of the piece, please do so sparingly and lightly so that any internal seam allowance doesn't create a crease.
For any skirts, or large pattern pieces cut on bias: LET THE BIAS HANG OUT. All woven fabrics have a bias where the fabric has more stretch, this is any part of the fabric that is at a 45 degree angle from an on grain line.