After introducing you to stretch fabrics for spring/summer sewing projects in part 1, it is time to move on to beautiful woven fabrics, perfect for nice weather! Indeed, woven fabrics made from natural fibers are very pleasant to wear in summer.
They are breathable and available in many materials, weaves, patterns, and colors! I do not recommend artificial materials like polyester which are not breathable. On the other hand, we will enjoy natural materials (cotton, linen,...) and artificial ones (lyocell, viscose...)!
So let's see together what is best!
Cotton popeline
Cotton popeline is one of my favorite materials to work with and wear. It is easy to sew and therefore very accessible to sewing beginners. Since it is cotton, it has all the benefits of its breathable properties. Moreover, it is an easy-to-find material in stores and offers a very wide choice of colors and patterns.
It is quite affordable and therefore perfectly suited for beginner sewers.
It is a lightweight fabric that generally has a weight between 110g/m2 and 140g/m2. It is perfect for blouses, shirts, skirts, dresses, lightweight pants, lightweight jumpsuits...
I really like using patterns in my summer creations, especially for my dresses.
For that, I use Japanese cotton popelines. With their beautiful structure, they allow you to make shirt dresses like Adeline by Coralie Bijasson, simple dresses, camisoles like Ségur by Cozy Little World, pleated skirts like Servane by Coralie Bijasson... very original... the guarantee of wearing a unique garment.
You will find lovely Japanese cottons in the shop here, feel free to take a look!
Want to learn more about cotton poplin? The full article is here.
The Festival blouse by Nerida Hansen
My boyfriend’s retro-chic shirt in Japanese poplin
The Epoque dress by Coralie Bijasson
Cotton lawn and cotton voile
Cotton lawn has a slightly more elegant look than cotton poplin. Due to its fine, tight weave, it has a silky appearance. Like poplin, it’s 100% cotton and therefore has all the benefits of cotton in summer!
It’s also beginner-friendly for sewing because it frays very little. This allows you to make chic-looking garments without using more difficult fabrics like silk.
Cotton lawn has a light weight between 110 and 130g/m2 generally, so it’s comfortable to wear in summer and its soft, silky feel is very pleasant against the skin.
Cotton voile resembles cotton lawn; it’s common to confuse them. The main difference is the thread count and weave. Cotton voile is also lightweight but doesn’t have the silky look typical of cotton lawn. Cotton voile is also a very pleasant fabric for summer!
Want to learn more about cotton lawn? The full article is here.
My Flo dress from La Maison Victor in Japanese cotton lawn Kokka
My Angela dress from Atelier Bernie in Japanese cotton lawn Kokka
My Eugénie blouse from Atelier Bernie in English cotton lawn
Broderie anglaise and other embroidered fabrics
Broderie anglaise belongs to the white embroidery family. It features eyelets (holes) where the fabric highlights the empty spaces. It’s the empty spaces and the embroidery surrounding them that create the pattern.
It can be used as a "full" fabric, as a trim, or with fabric re-embroidered along the width.
Broderie anglaise fabric is perfect for making lightweight summer outfits: dresses, blouses, tops, tunics,... It’s a timeless fabric, a true basic, ideal for making ready-to-wear for women or children.
Historically, broderie anglaise is white but today, it can be found in a wide range of colors and patterns, including neon!
Today you can also find other fabrics with embroidery along one or both fabric edges. There are cottons, viscoses, double gauzes... with or without patterns.
The Norma blouse by Fibremood
The Angela dress by Atelier Bernie
In-house pattern
Viscose and tencel: in poplin, twill, serge, crepe...
Viscose like tencel come from natural wood fibers (beech, birch, eucalyptus, bamboo...). They both have the advantage of natural fibers. These two fabrics are much more fluid than poplin and a bit more fluid than cotton lawn; they will therefore be a little more difficult to work with and less accessible to sewing beginners. Nevertheless, these materials are very interesting, especially for making flowing and lightweight garments like loose blouses, dresses with a beautiful drape, flowing pants...
Want to learn more about viscose? The full article is here and the one about tencel is here
The Addie jumpsuit by Fibremood
The Nikki dress by Maison Fauve
The Soho dress by Maison Fauve
Now you know a bit more about breathable and comfortable fabrics to wear in summer.
Have you already chosen your next fabric/pattern combinations? Here at the workshop, our brains are buzzing because we received lots of new patterns and we want to sew them all 😂 Anyway... we’re going to have a hard time choosing again!
Get your needles ready!
