How many times have you had to stop and think about which is the correct side of the fabric? Today I am going to explain my tricks on how to identify it.
Although I am going to give you the tricks to distinguish it, think that at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. The correct side will be the one that you like the most but keep in mind that you will always have to use the same side because although they are similar, the color is different.
If you are lucky enough to be able to send your garments to factories, you will have to do the same thing that the big fashion brands do and mark which is the wrong side for you.
First of all, these tricks change depending on the type of fabric, you can’t use the same tricks for a woven fabric or stretch fabric (if you want to know more, check out this post). So I’m going to divide this answer into different types of fabric.
Woven fabric
This category is very extensive:
– If it has some type of shine, the part that shines more intensely.
– If it has any decorative element, such as a striped fabric, it will be the side where you see them the clearest.
But I will say it again, choose the one that you like the most.
The selvedge
The myth that I have been hearing for years is that if the selvedge is sunk in the fabric it means that it is the correct side. Whilst this might be a good general rule, beware because there can be exceptions to this.
The myth seems to exist because when factories dry the fabric their machines which make the selvedge work with the fabric facing upwards to avoid staining or damaging the correct side of the fabric.
Jersey fabric
– The correct side of the single jersey, as you can see in the photo, is the one that you can see an ascending “wheat leaf”. The wrong side is the one that you can see horizontal “stripes”. At first, it is hard to see the difference, take a T-shirt and look at it you will see what I am talking about.
– The double jersey is a type of fabric that is thicker than single jersey and both sides are very similar. As both sides are similar just choose the side you like best.
Interfacing
This is one of the questions I get asked the most – “What is the face that you stick down?”. This is very easy to answer, just run a finger over the fabric. If it is smooth, that face has no glue but if it is rough, then that is the face that has the glue.
Treatments
As you already know when making fabrics, chemicals are used to give them certain properties. To know which is the right side to use, you will need to check with the company that is selling you the fabric. If you don’t, you might not get the results you intend.
What to look for when buying fabric
If you go to a store and the fabric is rolled up, the correct part of the fabric will be the inside because it is the most protected and so they try to avoid it becoming stained or collecting dust.
If when you go to buy it it is folded in cardboard, the correct side will be the one that is inside the folded fabric so that it is best protected.
You have come this far, thank you very much for reading this post. You already know that you will doing me a great favor if you could please share my articles on your social networks.
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