Now that the pattern has been released, I’ve finally allowed myself to start wearing the blue sample, and it certainly is a eye-catching garment. People aren’t used to seeing such a bold-coloured trench coat, it stands out in a crowd of black and grey!

Several people asked about fabric recommendations for the Robson Coat, and rather than have the answers buried in the comments, I thought I’d address fabric ideas in a separate post.

So, what kind of fabrics can you use? I’ll give you some ideas and examples, and hopefully that helps you get started with choosing a fabric!

The key is to find the right weight. Too stiff and thick will be uncomfortable, tight and won’t belt nicely. Too light and the collar will be floppy and limp. Also, I prefer if my coats aren’t too prone to wrinkles. I want to be able to throw it on and go, not worry that I’ve sat on it too long last time I wore it and left creases in the back. Your wrinkle-tolerance may vary!

Cotton twill

You can’t go wrong with cotton twill. It’s just the right weight (as long as you don’t pick one that’s too stiff) and it breathes, which is great in warmer weather. It washes well, it feels soft and it’s crisp enough to hold its shape. It also topstitches well, which is great as there’s a lot of topstitching on this coat!

Pros: breathable, soft, easy to care for, easy to press

Cons: requires pressing, can be on the heavy side, may wrinkle, may fade over time

(you can recognize cotton twill from the diagonal lines on the surface)

Cotton-nylon blends

The blue sample is a cotton nylon blend, called Monsoon from Telio. Cotton-nylons are more water-resistant than pure cotton, while not completely water-repellent it does help in the rain. Raindrops will bead on the surface rather than soaking right into the fabric.

It’s not very wrinkly, except for the intentional wrinkled texture. (Does that make sense?) The surface of the fabric isn’t completely smooth, it is shiny and picks up the light on the right side, but dimples quite a bit along the topstitched edges.

The only thing to consider is that with that water-resistancy comes a lack of breathability. If water can’t get it, then perspiration can’t get out!

Pros: lightweight, water-resistant. Less likely to fade than 100% cotton.

Cons: can be hot to wear as the fabric doesn’t breathe.

(cotton-nylon blends are a little bit shiny, with a more slick feel than plain cotton)

Nylon and other sporty fabrics

Nylon would be very lightweight and sporty. You’d have no problem with bulk if you chose nylon. It’s water-resistant and may even be waterproof! However, nylon is not very breathable so you may find it too hot to wear. Some nylons will leave hole-marks if you have to unpick your stitching, so be sure to test on scrap so you know what you’re dealing with.

Along the same lines as nylon are microfibers, Gore-tex, and non-technical, fashion fabrics that have the look of technical fabrics but have no special properties. (Think of those shiny, faux-sporty jackets in runway fashion shows. They have a sporty appeal but wouldn’t be practical for outdoor use!)

Laminated and coated fabrics fall in this technical and semi-technical category, too. Check to see if they will be too stiff to wear belted. If there is a rubbery feel on the inside of the fabric, think about whether you’d want that next to your skin as the Robson Coat is unlined.

Pros: can be waterproof or water-resistant, will resist wrinkling, lightweight, compact (you could fold a nylon jacket into a very small packet for traveling!), bright colours that aren’t likely to fade.

Cons: can be sweaty, some fabrics will leave hole-marks if you have to remove your stitching, some like Gore-tex can be very expensive.

Linen

For me, I don’t want my trench to get too wrinkly. I don’t mind a linen for a short jacket, but for a longer coat that will be sat on, I like a little less wrinkles. A linen-look that’s not 100% linen might be a good substitute, to get the look of linen without the maintenance. Cotton-linens would also be a better bet.

Pros: breathable, natural texture and look, easy to press

Cons: wrinkles galore!

(Here’s a linen version of the Cordova Jacket – you can see how much it wrinkles and it hasn’t even been worn!)

Cotton sateen

Cotton sateen will have similar features and benefits as cotton twill, but with a smooth, satiny surface. Because it’s cotton, it breathes, which is great in warmer weather. It washes well, it feels soft and it’s crisp enough to hold its shape. The smooth surface does make it a little more obvious when it wrinkles, as the light reflects off the slightly shiny surface and highlights the peaks and valleys. Cotton sateen comes in solids and prints. A printed trench coat would make a bold statements!

Pros: breathable, soft, easy to care for, easy to press

Cons: requires pressing, can be on the heavy side, may wrinkle

(an example of a printed cotton sateen – you can see that the surface does not have a distinct twill line, but is smooth)

Denim

Denim is going to have the same features and benefits of cotton twill. Denim comes in a variety of weights, from shirt-weight to stiff, unwashed denim that could stand up on its own! Pick one that’s not too stiff for best results, lighter weight than what you might want for jeans. Because it’s cotton, it breathes, which is great in warmer weather. It washes well, it feels soft and it’s crisp enough to hold its shape. It also topstitches well and it’s a great choice for contrast topstitching – traditional gold or yellow, white or tan, or a surprising bright colour!

Pros: breathable, soft, easy to care for, easy to press

Cons: requires pressing, can be on the heavy side, may wrinkle, fades over time.

(denim doesn’t have to be blue, or solid! You might find striped denim, colourful denim, or even smooth, slightly-shiny denim)

Silk dupioni?

Why not! Wouldn’t it be so elegant to make a gold silk dupioni trench coat, with gold metal buttons, as a lightweight evening coat?

(Silk dupioni is the most crisp silk fabric, but it’s quite lightweight as well! It catches the light with a dull sheen.)

Stripes and Plaids

So much matching! If I were to make this trench in a plaid, I’d turn some of the pieces on the bias so they didn’t have to match, for example, the flaps and maybe the pocket welts. A plaid trench would look amazing if you were to put in the effort though! How about plaid with solid-coloured piping around the collar and lapels? Plaid with a solid, coordinating belt, sleeve tabs and epaulets?

Pros: depending on the fibre content, cottons are easy to care for, easy to press, synthetics will resist wrinkling. It would be an impressive feat to sew a plaid trench coat and match all of those seams!

Cons: matching plaids and stripes, which in turn requires extra fabric and extra time. Here’s a link to a post on matching plaids and stripes if you’re feeling brave!

What about wool?

Could you make the Robson Trench Coat in wool? I would say it’s best for a lightweight wool, along the lines of a suiting weight fabric. Any thicker, and it’s going to be bulky and stiff. I would not say it would be good for a winter coat, unless you took off the storm flaps and changed the silhouette to be more form-fitting without a belt. Also, you may want to go up a size or two if you’re using a thick fabric. The armholes will be too tight, you won’t be able to put your arms down!

How about stretch fabrics?

Personally, I find that stretch fabrics are a little springier and stiffer than the same weight of fabric without spandex or Lycra. However, if you like the idea of stretch, the coat is unlined so the fabric will be able to stretch properly. It may be more comfortable to wear if you’re bending, stretching and moving around a lot in your clothes – like most people do!

For stiffer, thicker fabrics

You may want to line the flaps and other external pieces with a lining fabric. In the pattern it calls for them to be self-lined, which is why this pattern uses so much fabric! Again, you may want to go up a size or two if you’re using a thick fabric. You want to be careful to avoid tight armholes and restrictive sleeves.

Still unsure? Seek inspiration from real, finished coats.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what the perfect coat fabric will feel like while it’s still on the bolt. It may seem too light, but once you cut and sew 6 yards of it, it’s just right for mild weather. Or the opposite, it feels like just the right amount of crispness and structure, but once it’s covering you from neck to knee it’s way too much. Time to window-shop! Check out the mall, nicer boutique shops and look for trench coats. Touch them, make notes on which colours and textures you’re drawn to, and see if you can find similar fabrics at the fabric store. It’s the right time for trench coats to be in-store too!

I hope this helps! There’s a lot to consider when it comes to fabric selection, so here are some ideas to think about and suggestions to help you get started. What kind of fabric are you planning to use for your Robson Coat?

When I don’t know what I’m going to make, I know that 3 yards or metres will usually cover me. When in doubt, I buy three metres.

Unless I know it’s going to be a smaller item, like a blouse, then I’ll only get 2 yards or metres. 3 yards is my go-to amount unless I’m picturing it as a huge garment, like a long dress with a gathered skirt or a long coat, then I’d maybe get four. It’s not very accurate but that’s what I do!

(fabric bought on holiday last summer)

I also save the PDF envelope backs of my patterns to my phone, that way, I have them in the iBooks and can reference the fabric requirements when I’m out. (You can find the PDF envelope backs in the pattern store here, with both metric and imperial measurements!)

However, I am all right with having extra fabric, because I’ll either use it for facings and small pieces, or donate it to the high schools. So it’s never truly going to waste.

And if I’m about to buy something very expensive, I’ll do a better job of figuring out what to buy, by comparing it to similar patterns. Go to the pattern section of the store and look for something that’s close enough to what you want to make. Or, I will limit myself to making something I know the requirements for, like one of my own patterns.

(I did not buy three metres of these lovely fabrics – too pricey! I was smart and bought closer to what I actually need)

It may not be the most accurate guide, but that’s what I do! Three metres is my go-to amount for when I don’t know what I’m going to do with the fabric. It will cover a full-skirted dress, or a blouse and a skirt, or a long sleeve blouse, and leave me plenty for testing or to re-cut if I make a mistake. I err on the side of too much fabric, because there’s often no going back to get more!

What do you do when you see the perfect fabric but have no idea what it’s going to become?

One important thing to determine is whether your stripes are printed on top of the fabric, or if they’re knit into the fabric. How do you know? If your fabric was knit using two (or more) different colours of yarn, the stripes will be visible on both the right side and the wrong side of the fabric. If you stretch the fabric, the stripes stretch too. Most nice-quality knit fabrics that are striped will have stripes created by knitting with two colours of yarn.

However if your fabric is only one colour on the wrong side, with stripes only showing on the surface of the right side, and if you stretch the fabric the stripes crack like paint, then your stripes are printed on. (Or if you can feel the texture of the striped part, and it feels different from the non-striped part.) Your fabric started as a solid colour when it was knit, and the stripes were added later on. In this case, you’ll want to check if the stripes are printed straight on grain, or if the stripes are slightly off-grain. A good-quality fabric will have the print aligned with the grain so you don’t have to choose whether the grain is straight or the stripes are straight! (Although if I were to find my stripes were printed slightly crookedly, I’d probably still opt to have the stripes run straight and let the grain be off.. but I wouldn’t really be happy with either.)

Short story: your best bet is to pick stripes that are knit into the fabric!

Now, the cutting. Instead of lining up the ribbed lines, which are hard to see, we’ll be lining up the stripes. We can do this, because they’re knit into the fabric. They have to be on grain, it’s impossible for them not to be. So if we line up the stripes to be straight with each other, and our pieces have perfectly straight horizontal stripes, then our pieces cut on the fold will be perfectly on grain!

This makes sense when you can visualize it:

A while back, I wrote a post about how to match up plaids. This is similar but thankfully much easier!

We’ll line up the stripes, from top layer to bottom layer. Every couple of inches, place a pin through one stripe,

and turn it over to see if the stripes are still aligned through both layers. Yes? Good!

(If not, slide over one layer of fabric and re-pin until they are properly lined up.)

I’m going to pin every six inches or so, to keep the stripes lined up. Once this is all done I’ll start placing the pattern pieces.

When you get too far from the edge to check the back side easily, try this. Pin through both layers,

and lift up the fabric edge to see if the pin went through the bottom layer in the right place. If not, slide the lower layer of fabric until it’s lined up.

Now, when we place the pattern pieces, we’ll want to think about how the stripes will line up from piece to piece. We’ll also consider the stripe direction.

Stripe matching: lining up the stripes along the sideseams or underarm seams. (This photo shows how the stripes are matched from back to front.)

Stripe direction: deciding which way we want the stripes to go on the waistband or neckband. (This photo shows how I chose to place the stripe on the neckband, lining up the stripe with the long edge of the band piece.)

I like the stripe placement on my navy sample top, so I’m going to do the same thing on the new Renfrew top. This one’s going to be a V-neck with long sleeves. (Or perhaps three-quarter sleeves.. but not short. It’s too cold already!)

First, I’m pinning the back pattern piece in place. I’m only going to worry about matching the side seam here. The bottom corner of the side seam is placed on the lower edge of a white stripe.

I know that if I pin my lower corner of the front side seam on the same white line, the sideseam will line up! (For your fabric, it can be any colour of stripe and any section of the stripe pattern. It just has to be consistent from front to back!)

Next, I’ll pin my front piece in place, following the same lower corner sideseam placement. And if we check the armpit, we’ll see that the top of the side seam lines up in the same place, on both the front and back! (Trying to not go too heavy on the photos here, but you can see the top ends up at the top of a white stripe on the front armpit here, and also on the back in the previous photo.)

Why did I pick the bottom as my matching point? Because I care more about the lower side seam matching and less about the armpit matching. Most of the time my arms are going to be down, so you won’t see the armpit if it’s off, but you will notice if the waist stripes are off.

Next, we’ll cut. If you feel confident about the pinning job through the stripes, go ahead and cut! (If you are being extra cautious, follow these next steps instead.)

Cut along the cutting line of the pattern piece, through the top layer only. Remove the pattern tissue, and re-align the cut edge with the stripes.

Now cut out the lower layer of the fabric, using the cut edge as a guide.

And our piece is perfectly symmetrical! (I swear, the cutting is way harder than the sewing. It gets easier after this!)

The sleeve side seam will match if we cut it completely on-grain, with symmetrical stripes running across the sleeve.

Last thing to consider is stripe placement on the bands. Do you like the stripes running lengthwise, like my sample? Do you want them to go the other way, short crosswise stripes? (Do you want to avoid striped bands altogether and choose a coordinating solid knit for solid bands?)

For the bands, it’s best to cut them with the fabric single-layer, and line up the cut line along a stripe.

Once I’ve started cutting, I tend to take the tissue off and focus only on cutting straight along the stripe line. I’ll replace the tissue to cut the other side, but at least I know I’m staying on the stripe as I cut.

Replace the tissue and snip notches.

This is the best way to ensure your band has a nice, straight stripe running around the neckline. Think about which stripe you want on the fold, or in the centre of the band. On my sample I centred the white stripe along the band, with navy on either side. Depending on the width of your stripes, you might want a different look. It’s up to you!

Use the fold line marked on the pattern piece as a guide. This is going to be the folded edge of the neckband that touches your skin. I’m going to have taupe on the fold, one white striped line down the middle of the band.

If you have a hard time visualizing the neckband stripe and what it will look like on the finished garment, why not cut two? Try placing different sections of the stripe in the middle, and sew up both bands to see which one will look better and which one will get attached on the final top.

Here are more blog posts about the Renfrew Top. (Get the pattern here.)

• A Big List of Tips for Sewing Knits!
• Three Tips for Sewing Stripes
• Introducing the Renfrew Top
• Sewing the Renfrew Top: What Would You Like to See?
• What’s a Stable Knit Fabric?
• Assembly-Line Cutting and Sewing
• Cutting Knit Fabric: Making Sure Your Project is Cut On-Grain
• Make Patterns Last Longer: Iron Interfacing to your Pattern Pieces
• Renfrew Top: Choosing which View to Make
• Thoughts on Cutting Knit Fabric

Again, the fabric I’m using is from Télio and in the last month I’ve also seen it for sale at Fabricana and at Hart’s Fabric online in various colours. (Just in case you wanted to ask!) It’s a 65% Viscose, 30% Polyester and 5% Spandex blend. For some reason I get best results when the spandex content is 5% – it seems to be the magic number. The purple cotton also has 5% spandex.

Wow, that was a lot of information! I hope this helps you with your own striped knit tops. Stripes always seem to be in fashion, so it’s great to be able to sew with them confidently!

Do you have any tips on cutting striped fabric to share? (Stripe-cutting disasters or cautionary tales?) Any great sources for buying striped fabric, online or at your local store?

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Look at how the fused pattern pieces cling to the fabric! They’re not ‘sticking’ like they’re sticky, but seem to grip to the surface of the knit fabric and don’t slip around like tissue does. I could probably cut without pinning at all. (If you’re just tuning in, I’m cutting a Renfrew Top and I just fused interfacing to my pattern pieces. I’m posting a few tutorials as I make this top, based on reader feedback and requests!)

Yeah! Ok, back to talking about cutting fabric. Just a few little hints I thought of and wanted to pass on today!

One question that people have asked is ‘Why are there so few notches on the Renfrew pattern pieces?’ I’ll tell you why.

The main reason is because I like to snip my notches inwards, about 1/4″ (6mm) into the seam allowance or slightly less. Snipping into knit fabrics can cause the loops to unravel, especially if you stretch the fabric a lot, so we want to minimize the snips as much as possible. I’ve only included them where absolutely necessary. It would be so much worse to pull on your fabric and have several notches stretch out, possibly causing runs in your fabric.

Also, the pieces fit together well and don’t require a lot of notches to line them up properly. Most of the seams are short and straight, and if they’re longer like the underarm and side seam that’s sewn all in one motion) then there’s a major point or intersection to line up, in this case the underarm seam. In the critical places, such as the neckbands or cowl collar, there are notches in place to make sure the band and collar line up.

I jotted down a couple of notes while I was cutting to share today! Here are a few thoughts on cutting knit fabric.

Cutting Notes:

Pin carefully around the pattern piece. If your knit fabric is particularly delicate, you may want to pin only in the seam allowances to prevent holes in the main body. (Not sure if your fabric is delicate? Test on a scrap piece and see if the pin leaves holes.)

Remove the fold pins if they’re in the way. (If they’re hidden under the pattern piece you can leave them in for now.)

Cut with sharp scissors. Some people prefer a rotary cutter – if that’s you, let us know in the comments! I have one, but never use it because of the cutting mat. (Because the cutting mat is at home and the rotary cutter is here, and I never think about it when it comes time to cut a new project.)

Snip inwards at the notches. Make your snips about the length of the notches, on the shorter side if your fabric is delicate.

I tend to leave my pattern pieces on top of my fabric as long as possible. Especially if on your fabric, it’s hard to tell which is the right side and the wrong side. I’ll either take out most of the pins except for one or two, or I’ll take out all the pins and just place the pattern piece on top when piling the cut pieces.

If you are making View C, or creating your own top that includes the cowl collar from View C, be sure to cut two of the collar piece! That’s two collars, both cut on the fold.

Save your fabric scraps. They’ll come in handy for testing different stitches or thread colours, or even making mini-samples to try out different finishes. It’s much better to try a stitch on scrap, you can stretch the little fabric swatch as much as you want to see if your stitching will break and not worry about ruining your project.

Here are more blog posts about the Renfrew Top. (Get the pattern here.)

• A Big List of Tips for Sewing Knits!
• Three Tips for Sewing Stripes
• Introducing the Renfrew Top
• Sewing the Renfrew Top: What Would You Like to See?
• What’s a Stable Knit Fabric?
• Assembly-Line Cutting and Sewing
• Cutting Knit Fabric: Making Sure Your Project is Cut On-Grain
• Make Patterns Last Longer: Iron Interfacing to your Pattern Pieces
• Renfrew Top: Choosing which View to Make

I’m going to finish cutting the solid purple top, then I’ll cut the striped knit! If you’re wondering about cutting stripes, that’s the next thing on my list. I have a very thorough and long post planned to satisfy all of your stripe-related needs.

Any thoughts on cutting knit fabrics? Suggestions and tricks to make it easier? Let us know!

Finding the place

The flyer says at the corner of Commercial and Powell. Once you get to the corner, continue heading west on Powell. It’s on the north side of the street (the right side if you’re driving) and you’ll see a sign out front.

Parking

Lots of free, one-hour parking! Parking was no problem, I parked a block away but could have parked much closer.

Fabric

Fabric was either in boxes on the floor or on rolls. You could fill your bag with the box fabric, fabric on the rolls was $2/metre. (Excellent pricing!) The bags you get are nice and big. Bigger than a paper grocery bag I’d say!

A wide variety of everything from scraps to technical knits. I recognize some of the knits as really high-end technical fabrics, ones that would cost close to $30-$50 per metre if you were to buy them regularly. From what you guys said in the comments, I’d guess that the fabric selection changes at every sale. When I was there, the fabric on rolls was more interesting than the fabric in the bins, but that may be just because the best stuff was snagged by then!

I’d probably say by the speed that fabric was flying out the door, you want to be there right at opening. (I rolled in around 12:30, well after the sale had started.) Especially if you’re making the trip in from somewhere far. Go with free hands (no handbags that require your hands) so you can rummage through the bins easily. This is the kind of sale where you go with no particular project in mind, just an open mind to the possibilities of what you might find.

Did you go this weekend? What kind of fabrics did you find?

This happens because of several reasons: buying minimums (a company needs to order a minimum of1000 metres but only needs 850 metres to produce the line), shipping overages (fabric companies are allowed to send up to 10% extra, so if you only wanted 200 yards they might send you 220!) and changes in production (as sales come in, some colours are less popular than predicted so you’ll end up with more orange fabric leftover and not enough navy blue.) Do you find this interesting? It’s all part of the many factors that a clothing company has to consider when producing a line!

Anyways, enough about that. The point is, there is waste, a lot of it. And there’s a new, wonderful non-profit organization based in Vancouver, BC that is collecting all of this unwanted fabric and helping it find a new and happy home with someone who can make use of it.

Here’s the official ‘About’ from the website:

About Our Social Fabric

Our Social Fabric is a non-profit Vancouver group that helps recycle excess fabric from manufacturers, the movie industry, and more. Through monthly sales, we put the fabric into the hands of creators in our community.

Our storage unit at 1631 Powell Street is full of fabulous fabrics rescued from the landfill and ready to be repurposed! Most are high quality sample fabrics donated directly to us from the film industry, factories, and production facilities. The fabric is still on the bolt and unused. We have a wide variety of wools, cottons, linens, polyester blends, and technical fabrics from places such as Lululemon and Mountain Equipment Co-op.

We recycle fabric by holding monthly fill-a-bag fabric sales out of our storage unit in East Vancouver. Fabric sales are staffed by volunteers, and proceeds go to maintaining the storage unit and keeping it available for donations while we grow our organization and develop related programs.

And in the future, we hope to get involved in textile shredding and remanufacturing, while providing employment and social reintegration opportunities for Downtown Eastside residents.

What a great concept! I love the idea of connecting this unused fabric with the right people, who’d be so excited to score a good deal and help reduce textile waste. Fabric that’s no longer ‘current’ or useful to the fashion industry is perfectly useful to us, right? And who doesn’t love the thrill of the hunt, especially when it’s a good deal?

This is especially interesting for local readers, as you’ll be able to visit the sale and pick up great-quality unused fabric at fantastic prices. In fact, there’s a sale coming up this weekend! (Click the image to go to the website and find out more.)

One bag is $25 and you can get two for $40—all funds go to paying their storage unit rent and other administration fees.

Know what’s even better? A giveaway! Jhenifer from Our Social Fabric contacted me and wanted to offer a FREE bag of fabric to one lucky reader!

We are happy to give away a free bag of fabric good at any upcoming sale, which would both help us gain a bit more exposure and reward your readers with something fun. And we’d all be keeping more textiles out of the landfill!

So if you’re here in the Vancouver area and want to win a FREE bag of fabric at the sale on Saturday (or a future sale), leave a comment below to enter to win. To enter, how about you tell us the best deal you ever got on fabric? Jhenifer’s going to pick the winner at random before Friday at 6pm Pacific Time. Be sure to leave your comment before then to be eligible to win! (I wish there was a way to include everyone, not just local readers, but for this one it’s pretty hard as you kind of have to be here to pick up the prize. If you’re able to come to the Vancouver sale, you’re eligible to win!)

Want to know more about this organization? Visit Our Social Fabric’s website. They’ve also mentioned that the best way to stay updated on what we’re up to is through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and the mailing list.

The more we support initiatives like this, the more good they can do in the community!

So on that note, let’s talk about fabric!

On the back of the Renfrew Top pattern, the recommended fabric is a Stable Knit Fabric. As opposed to any old knit fabric, a stable knit fabric will work better with the self-fabric bands at the cuff and hem, and create a nicer looking neckline band.

So, what’s a stable knit fabric?

This is one of those concepts that has me waving my hands in the air, trying to gesture and explain how this fabric feels. It’s hard to put into words exactly, but I’m going to try. Here are some of the factors to consider when it comes to choosing a good fabric for the Renfrew Top.

Stretch

Stretch is important and necessary when it comes to sewing a pattern designed for knit fabrics! You’ll need to have some stretch to your fabric in order to make the Renfrew Top. However, a fabric with a lot of stretch and not a lot of recovery (which we’ll talk about in a minute) may end up growing, getting larger as you wear the garment, or stretching out permanently. You want a fabric with a little bit of stretch, but it doesn’t have to be super stretchy. Think of it this way – double knits are hardly stretchy at all but they’ll work great for this pattern. Bathing suit fabric is very, very stretchy and because it has good recovery, you could use it for this pattern. (But you probably don’t want to wear a tee shirt made of swimsuit material.) Something like a bamboo-rayon knit, very light and drapey with a lot of stretch, isn’t going to be the easiest to work with. Which brings me to the next point..

Weight

A fabric with a little more weight to it is going to work better for the Renfrew Top. Something like a cotton-spandex knit usually has a bit more thickness to it and feels sort of spongy and stretchy. (I hope that makes sense!) A double knit fabric is slightly thick and works well. A super light tissue-weight knit is going to be so light that the bands weigh it down, and you’ll notice the double layer of fabric as it will look very different from the main body fabric where it’s only a single layer. Medium weight knits are best, and light weight knits are all right as long as they don’t stretch out of shape, which leads right into the next point.

Recovery

Recovery is what happens when you stretch your fabric. Does it return to its original dimensions, or does it stay stretched out slightly? Is it now just a little bit wider than it was before? Has the fabric stayed permanently as wide as when you first stretched it? If it ‘recovers’ to the original size, or very close to the original size, then it has good recovery. Personally, I like all of my knit fabrics to have good recovery. I want them to return back to their original dimensions if I move or stretch. (Who’s ever had a knit top with saggy elbows, that get saggier as the day goes on? I know I have!) So if your fabric is very stretchy, it’s important for it to have good recovery for this top.

The more fabrics you touch, handle and sew, the more you’ll be comfortable choosing fabrics for patterns based on your own preferences. I tend to prefer substantial knit fabrics personally, so I’ll be looking for cotton/spandex knits, double-knits and anything else that feels thick enough for my liking. I like how thin knits look on models and mannequins but I dislike knit fabrics that pill quickly, so I avoid very light and very soft knits.

Look for keywords

What if you’re buying online, and can’t touch the fabric? What if my notes above are still confusing? Look for keywords that will help you find this type of fabric. Double knit, “hefty knit,” “beefy” and interlock are good words to note. Choose ‘midweight’ as opposed to ‘featherweight.’ Gorgeous Fabrics (link goes direct to the knits section) has great fabric descriptions and even links to patterns that might work well with the fabric, giving you an idea of what this fabric feels like in real life. Many places will let you order a swatch to feel the fabric first. This one from Hart’s Fabric looks exactly like the fabric I used on my striped Renfrew samples. (Hart’s has a great selection of knit fabrics as well.)

What if we use a different kind of knit fabric?

Well, then you’d end up with a slightly different result. That might not be a bad thing! Maybe you really like thin, tissue-like tee shirts and prefer a drapier, softer look. Maybe you have the softest bamboo-rayon knit that you’re dying to make into a cosy long sleeve tee. Fabric recommendations are there to guide you, but they’re not hard and fast rules. With a pattern that’s this easy to sew up, it’s a good time to try out different fabrics and find out what works for you!

Here are more blog posts about the Renfrew Top. (Get the pattern here.)

• A Big List of Tips for Sewing Knits!
• Three Tips for Sewing Stripes
• Introducing the Renfrew Top
• Sewing the Renfrew Top: What Would You Like to See?

What do you think? Have you made the Renfrew Top and what fabric did you use? What words would you use to describe a stable, not-too-stretchy, not-too-slinky knit fabric?

Here’s my reasonably-sized fabric pile:

Let’s start with the top!

Oooh look, Liberty cotton! This is from Bolt Fabrics in Portland, Oregon (a Sewaholic Patterns retailer!) There’s a lovely selection of Liberty prints, pricey of course, but gorgeous to touch and admire.

I have a specific plan for this one! (It’s so simple, I added the postcard from Bolt to spice up the photo.)  It’s a hemp-linen blend with a subtle stripe. Also from Bolt Fabrics. I went back to get more of it, because the secret planned project requires a lot of fabric, and when I did I accidentally picked up some of this one, too…

Printed voile and lawn seems to be my thing these days, I brought home this lovely souvenir from Salt Lake City as well:

From Yellow Bird Fabrics in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s a cotton voile print, with a very subtle design. From far away it almost looks like a solid. I also have plans for this one! I’m limiting my fabric purchasing only to fabrics that fit into my next year’s plans. If I can’t see myself using it in the next year, I probably won’t buy it.

It’s not fabric, but I came home with a couple of goodies courtesy of the Fashionable Stitch shop:

The rayon petersham ribbon is such a lovely golden mustard colour. I’m saving this for a very special project! A Fall project, probably. Mustard always makes me think of fall.

I also visited a couple of retailers along the way:

Cool Cottons. Exactly what it sounds like, cotton fabrics in a welcoming house! Rooms full of fabric. (That’s my hand grabbing at the Cambie Dress pattern.)

Bolt Fabric Boutique. You already saw what I bought at Bolt! Can you spot the Lonsdale Dress pattern in the window?

Modern Domestic was closed, but a Renfrew Top sample is in the window! I had to take a photo of it. So cool. (You can see a little bit of me in the reflection of the photo – proof that I was really there!)

And a couple of yarn stores, including Happy Knits in Portland, Oregon:

This yarn store thought of everything. In the back, there’s a quiet and spacious area for guys and kids to keep busy while we yarn-shop. Brilliant, right? I have no idea how long I browsed the store, but Mr Sewaholic was quite comfortable in a cosy chair with his book in hand. (I bought yarn. It totally made sense to, it was on sale! And no tax = 12% off on top of that! but I’ll wait to show you the yarn when it’s made up into something interesting…)

Reading over this post, it sure looks like I did a lot of fabric shopping for someone who said they weren’t going to do any. Ah well. What can I say? I love fabric, even when I know I may not get time to sew it up right away.

Do you shop for fabric (or yarn) on holidays? Does it make the things you buy feel extra-special?

First, an official bit about Télio from the company:

Télio is a Montreal-based textile wholesale company in business since 1952. Focusing in Fashion and Home-décor, they offer a wide range of fabrics for manufacturers and designers. Some notable clients are Denis Gagnon, Rad Hourani, Joseph Ribkoff, Monique Lhullier, Jacob, Reitmans and Bagdley Mishka. Their fabrics are often featured in Vogue and McCalls pattern magazines. With a very large collection they hold over 2500 active styles from high end haute-couture fabrics to eco-friendly innovative ones.

They sell to wholesale accounts as well as fabric shops across the continent. Visit their website at telio.com

(source – Telio website)

Pretty exciting, right? I’m excited to be working with a Canadian wholesale company, not to mention ordering the same fabrics that Vogue and McCalls Patterns use in their magazines! (Maybe one day I’ll have a magazine too. Although, I suppose that’s what a blog is, on a more personal level.)

I get to visit the showroom and browse through racks and racks of lovely fabric samples – heaven! It’s becoming a new favourite part of my job, picking out fabrics for new pattern designs. So far the bird-print is the only one I’ve posted about (and the dot fabric I found for my dotted Minoru Jacket) but I have plenty of fabric for new patterns on the way! (Luckily I have a small office which keeps me from over-ordering.)

So how does this affect you? Many local and online fabric stores carry Télio fabrics. Fabricana in Vancouver and Coquitlam is a good local option, Hart’s Fabric, Mood Fabrics, and Vogue Fabrics also stock many of Télio’s great fabrics. Have you ever been in a fabric store with a Vogue pattern in hand, and seen the exact same fabric for sale as the fabric in the pattern photo? It might be a Télio fabric!

Because I’m using current fabrics, there’s a better chance that you can find the same fabric I’ve used for my sample garments. Previously, I’ve used vintage fabrics, or fabric I’ve had in my collection for a long time, which makes it harder for you to find the same or similar fabrics around town. Wherever possible, I’ll mention an online source for the fabric.

I’m really excited to be working with Télio! Their fabrics are beautiful, modern and high quality, which is exactly how I want people to feel when they think of sewing their own clothes. It’s a great partnership!

It’s a polyester crepe fabric, slightly heavier than a blouse weight. Strange choice, I know! The dots are perfect though – not too large, not too prominent. (I stuck my hand in the photo so you can see how small the dots are.) It’s slightly lighter than I would normally pick, so I’m going to use a more substantial lining fabric to help add body and structure.

I’ve picked up a great gold metal-toothed zipper (from Dressew) and creamy flannel-backed lining to add a little more structure and warmth. I’m doing View B this time – no hood zipper – because I thought the zipper would weigh down the collar too much and I want it to stay drapey.

This jacket is going to be a cool summer layering piece, great for throwing over printed sundresses without looking too matchy-matchy. Perfect with just about any colour scarf or sweater (turquoise! mustard! magenta!) when Fall comes around again. If I were a white-pants girl, it would be excellent with white pants. Perhaps a white dress instead.

I’m so excited to sew this one up!