My favorite fabric is wool - warm, soft, and comes from sheep! I also like things with a little stretch in them for comfort. I adore organic cotton because it feels and smells so nice. I'm not fond of silk because it feels fragile and a little sticky (figures - it comes from caterpillar butts). I love flannel sheets for the bed. And canvas is wonderful for shoes and curtains.
What are your opinions on different fabrics?
Also, where can I find wool reasonably priced? I need to have a new winter cloak made.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I like those stretchy jersey knit cotton sheets for the bed. My favorite skirts for winter are those microsueded ones made out of who-knows-what. For the summer, I like the crinkly gauze.
I'd like wool better if it were better suited for the washer and dryer.
I've also been crocheting for myself, friends and family, and am enamoured with some of the gorgeous yarns. Chenille and mohair both whip up into scrumptious confections.
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
I've never liked flannel sheets or the jersey knit ones. Crisp, cool, percale for me!
I've become fond of tencel lately. Easy to care for, looks great.
I like the microsuede skirts too, Tante.
Posted by martha (Member # 141) on :
Jenny, you can get wool pretty cheap if you buy in bulk (a bolt of fairly good quality for $4 or $5 per yard). If you only want four yards for a cloak, you can probably get good quality wool for $12/yd.
When I need wool, I go to Osgood's in Springfield MA -- it's the best fabric store in the area, outside of NYC. Not cheap, but good quality and good selection.
If you don't have a good fabric store in your area (chains like JoAnn's don't have cloak wool), you can get what you need online (fabric.com and other sites), but you should definitely have them send you a swatch before you buy, because it's hard to tell by the website whether it's the right color and weight for your purposes.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I haven't heard of any good non chain fabric stores in your area Jenny (or mine, or anywhere in this freaking state for that matter). Hancocks tend to be better than JoAnns (and around here Hobby Lobby has nothing).
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
My cloak-making friend found some wool for $10/yd from the Amish when we made my last one. Might use them again.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I have no suggestions.
We don't have wool here, so can't even think about anything along those lines... We have cotton, rayon, silk, and polyester. We have really decent Chinese cotton, though, that I really like, although we also have a lot of really nice silks. Yum!
And as I think about it, I'm still waiting for my mother in law to take me fabric shopping to her favorite fabric stores. Hmm. Ah well, after the wedding...
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Oh that's good, I hadn't thought about Amish Fabric stores in a while, but I've been to one in Shipshewana, has nice stuff, of course the wool will be black or grey, that's nice enough fo a cloak.