Discovering fabric types through the collection created by Nerida Hans

I received the Nerida Hansen collection in the shop and I find it truly stunning... but beyond that, Nerida is quite a remarkable woman to discover, and her values are worth sharing.

A successful businesswoman, influential in the field of respecting textile artisans and designers, sharing her vision of handmade and slow fashion... in short, the more I read about her, the more I wanted to meet her in person and become good friends!

And the icing on the cake, Nerida doesn’t mess around with quality! You can’t fool her! Indeed, her textiles are beautiful but also high quality! Since we received part of her new collection, I wanted to revisit the overview of the different textiles and also tell you more about this extraordinary woman.

Let's get started!

Who is Nerida Hansen

Nerida Hansen is an Australian entrepreneur (Torquay) who started her first business in 2008 with her own sportswear brand for men and women.

She became a junior licensed bedding buyer for a major retailer. It was in this role that she met manufacturers in South Korea and India and, above all, discovered her passion for fabrics and design. She then presented her idea of supporting independent artists and designers to major textile retailers. There was no interest in her idea, but Nerida was unstoppable! Believing in herself and her vision, she left her job and began representing independent artists. Shortly after, she launched her first digitally printed fabric collection in 2017. Nerida Hansen Fabrics was born!

Slowly, Nerida has built her team of designers, some of whom are long-time partners while others join the team along the way. Nerida continues her search for local and international illustrators and art designers to support, license, and represent, while ensuring they perfectly fit her brand. Nerida is a very savvy businesswoman who knows what she wants and puts her heart and soul into her work. Her integrity and commitment to her brand and team are truly inspiring.

Nerida is also committed to running a transparent business with minimal waste, adopting more sustainable practices, and reducing harm to the planet. Thus, the fabrics (weaving and fibers) and designs are carefully chosen with a focus on longevity rather than trends. Her goal is for the garments made with their textiles to last season after season and be worn with love over time.

As creative director, Nerida places crucial importance on the quality and durability of her fabrics. Her careful selection revolves around considerations such as environmental sustainability, wearability, design versatility, and ease of sewing. Every choice reflects her commitment to ethical practices and sustainable fashion.

She has her fabrics produced in companies chosen for their respect for the environment and fair working conditions. The collection available in the shop was printed and coordinated in the Netherlands for all of Europe.

Nerida Hansen has a fun and colorful world and her fabrics are of high quality. Let’s explore together the materials and weaves she offers in her new collection.

Cotton poplin

Poplin is not a fabric but a weave with a particular thread composition; that is, a way of weaving the thread to create a piece of fabric. This weave is made of warp and weft threads interlaced in a grid. Poplin is a toile weave because a weft thread passes under only one warp thread and vice versa. The warp threads are finer and therefore twice as numerous as the weft threads.

Cotton poplin has many advantages:

- it is lightweight,
- it is breathable
- soft on the skin
- it has a certain fluidity while maintaining structure
- it comes in all colors and patterns
- it is easy to cut and sew
- ironing is very easy
- it is easy to care for

and it is for all these reasons that I really enjoy sewing it!

Cotton poplin is suitable for all sewers and especially beginners who will find great satisfaction sewing this material.

It is used in clothing: shirts/blouses, tops and camisoles, dresses, skirts, boxer shorts, summer shorts and pants... but also in accessories for bag linings, pouches, furoshiki, cases...

Cotton voile

Cotton voile is a fabric made of cotton, using a toile weave (like poplin) with a loose weave. It is a finer and lighter fabric than cotton poplin. It can be slightly transparent depending on the weave but also on its shade; lighter fabrics being more transparent. Cotton voile has a soft drape.

Since the voiles we offer are 100% cotton, the advantages of this product are the same as for poplin. This weave is used to make lightweight tops, tunics, blouses, and shirts for women and children, flowing dresses, light skirts or petticoats for women and children, tunics and shirts for men, as well as linings for other garments, jackets, or skirts. For accessories, cotton voile is very suitable for making scarves and handkerchiefs.

Cotton satin

Satin is a weave just like toile. The traditional way to weave satin is with one vertical thread underneath for every three horizontal threads on top. This weave gives satin its shiny and silky appearance. Cotton satin offers a glossy look and is more associated with luxury.

The satin we offer in-store is 100% cotton, so it has the advantages of cotton. However, due to its weave, satin is more delicate than poplin or voile, which have plain weaves. It is therefore more suited to sewists with some sewing experience.

Like its cousins, cotton poplins and voiles, it can provide excellent support for making dresses, skirts, blouses, and more fluid, satin-like shirts.

We love its luxurious and chic feel!

Viscose poplin

You now know what poplin is, so let's explore viscose.

Viscose is an artificial fiber made from cellulose. More precisely, it is what is called a chemically produced artificial fiber; its production is chemical but based on natural fibers. So, viscose shares with cotton and linen the fact that it comes from natural fibers (cellulose) and shares with polyester the fact that it is obtained through chemical treatment.

Viscose, often criticized for its production waste, now has more environmentally friendly certifications. These are the labels: LENZING™ ECOVERO™. These labels represent a significant advancement in environmental respect. LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose fibers come from certified and renewable wood sources, integrated into an environmentally friendly manufacturing process and compliant with strict environmental standards. Nerida Hansen has chosen this more sustainable viscose as part of her commitment to minimizing ecological impact.

By choosing LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose, the collection offers a more eco-friendly alternative for sewing enthusiasts who care about the environment and want to sew flowing fabrics.

The advantages of viscose are:
- It is breathable, unlike polyester
- It has a beautiful drape with a heavy fall
- It is smooth, silky, and soft
- It is light and comfortable
- It does not accumulate static electricity

With viscose, you can sew pretty blouses, skirts, and flowing dresses with loose cuts, as well as light and summery pants.

Viscose linen

As its name suggests, viscose linen fabric is a blend of two textile fibers: linen and viscose, with varying percentages.

We already talked about viscose earlier, so now let's talk about linen, a material dear to my heart.

Linen is a natural fiber, the only one still produced locally: a true short supply chain product! Always in search of quality products that are as environmentally friendly as possible for my shop, it is only natural that it is part of my selection. When you think of linen, you probably imagine thick heavy toiles or wrinkly clothes... no no, I stop you right there! Technology has evolved greatly and has been used to improve textiles to counteract the small flaws that linen can have.

Linen provides us with absorbent and insulating textiles, making it particularly pleasant to wear both in summer and winter. In summer, the fiber brings freshness; in winter, it perfectly insulates against the cold. Linen is also a very durable fabric that does not deform or pill.

Viscose linen fabrics combine the best of both materials! With such a fabric, your creations will be supple, light, and extremely soft while showcasing the beautiful weave of linen. Moreover, its weight, thickness, and composition make viscose linen fabric comfortable to wear all year round. What are the advantages of viscose linen fabric?

The appearance of the viscose linen fabric retains that of natural linen; it is a fabric with a heavy and full drape, making it easy to work with. The viscose linen fabric is suitable for making dresses, pants, blouses, long-sleeve or short-sleeve shirts, flowing jackets, as well as curtains and drapes. Finally, the viscose linen fabric wrinkles less than pure linen and is much easier to care for.