How to measure and cut fabric

How to measure and cut fabric? Sometimes when you’re almost done with a sewing project, you discover that the result won’t be what you had in mind. When such a thing happens, you don’t have to start blaming yourself. You might have made a mistake before you even started to sew.

When you’re learning how to sew, it will take you a long time to know how to cut fabric. That is why cutters are well paid. They help to interpret sewing measurements, and they apply them by cutting out perfect pattern pieces. Even though cutting is a little bit difficult, it doesn’t mean that you should learn it for too long. With the tips listed below, you can learn how to measure fabric effectively within a short period

Know how to measure well

Before you cut, make sure that you measure twice. It is one of the things you would be told if you learn how to cut clothes before sewing. If you have time, you should learn how to cut fabric accurately. Before you start a new project, make sure that you take accurate measurements. That is the foundation.

If your measurements are wrong, you might end up with a bad result. Clothes are of different sizes and patterns. So there is no uniform way of measuring and cutting them. You can even learn how to cut fabric for sewing pattern.

When you get the right measurement, you can always avoid purchasing too much fabric. The reason is that you would’ve known how to cut fabric accurately. When measuring, you only need to consider where the cloth would be worn. For instance, you don’t need to measure your customer’s chest if you want to make him a pant. Some things are important, no matter the type of cloth that you’re making.

You’ve to measure the height, hip, waist, and shoulder of your customers. Even if you’re not going to need those measurements, they will give you an idea of your customer’s body structure. Those things can even help you to create clothes for an entirely new design.

Measurements should be done by two or more people. It is nearly impossible to learn how to measure fabric yourself. That is why you should get a friend to help you if you want to measure yourself. For measurements, you are going to use a measuring tape. Make sure you purchase a measuring tape that doesn’t stretch. If you can’t get a measuring tape, you should purchase a dressmaker’s tape. Since dressmakers are made for sewing, it is easy to use them.

Create room for extra

After you’ve finished measuring, you should create room for extra. Even though changing your measurement looks strange, you have good reasons to do that. The reasons are listed below

Allowances

If you want to sew perfectly, special attention should be placed on seam allowances. If there are no seam allowances, your result might be a little bit different from your measurement. If you’re just getting to know how to cut fabric for sewing pattern, you might have to include a seam allowance in all seams.

Ease

It is the word used to identify the extra space in clothes. If you don’t include ease, your project would be the perfect representation of your sewing measurements. So your clothes would be a little bit tight. You might find it difficult to put on your clothes. Even if you’re able to put it on, you won’t feel comfortable inside. That is why ease is important in clothes. Without ease, you won’t be able to move freely in your clothes. That kind of ease is referred to as wearing ease.

There is also an ease called style ease. Style ease is used to change the look of your clothes. You need different amounts of ease in clothes of different fabrics and shapes. If your cloth is the loose or baggy type, you might not need ease at all. The pattern of your cloth also matters. The majority of the patterns released recently have wearing ease. So you don’t have to worry about them.

Take time to study your fabric

After learning how to measure fabric, you have to consider your fabric. If you choose the wrong material for a project, you might not get a good result. That is why you have to ensure that you always choose the right fabric. To choose the right fabric, you have to consider the width of your fabric. You will compare it with what your pattern needs. Even though you can decide how to cut the fabric at any height, you can’t change the width anyhow you like.

When you purchase a new pattern, you’re going to see a list of suggestions of materials that can be used for that design. Even though you don’t have to follow those suggestions every time, you have to know that they were mentioned for a reason. All materials can be categorized into three types. The three types are listed below

Woven fabrics

When you start sewing, you’re going to work with woven frequently. Woven is gotten from the word weave. Weaves are made by joining different threads in a particular pattern. The things that determine the property are the threads and type of interlacing used. Some of the most popular woven fabrics are silk organza, twill denim, and sturdy.

As some woven fabrics can stretch well, others can only stretch a little. The thing that makes woven fabrics to stretch is the presence of elastic fibers. If you take time to experiment with your fabrics, you would determine the length to which your fabric can stretch. You will also be able to determine its direction of stretch.

Non-woven fabrics

Non-woven materials are vinyl, felt, and leather. Unlike woven materials, they were produced without any form of weaving. They can’t stretch for long. If you’re going to use a non-woven material to make clothes, you should be ready to create as much ease as possible.

Knits

When threads are looped, they give knits. Knits can be easily stretched for a long time. That is why they can be used to make almost all kinds of clothes. From sweatshirts to t-shirts, knits are perfect for almost everything. Even though knits can stretch, they don’t stretch the same way in all directions. In some directions, they stretch long. In others, they might not stretch as long.

To make your garment perfectly, you should always examine the stretch of your fabric. You should be careful whenever you’re swapping materials. If you’re not ready to make adjustments, you shouldn’t substitute any one of your materials.

Prepare your fabric

To cut your patterns properly, you should make enough preparations for your fabric. The best way that you can prepare your fabrics is to wash and dry them. It would help to remove sizing. As the sizing is removed correctly, fibers would settle into their perfect shape.

Since almost all fabrics have maintenance instructions, ensure that you study and follow the instructions written inside. You can easily find them in the bolt. If you can’t find the maintenance instructions for your fabric, you should use the internet to search for them.

Be careful while cutting

When you’ve taken time to prepare your fabric, and you’re set for measurement, you can proceed to start cutting. To cut well, you should place your fabric on a table. After aligning the fabric well with the table, you should start cutting. To get a neat cutting, you should only work on a layer at once. If you want to cut at an incredibly high speed, you should purchase a rotary cutter. Learning how to cut clothes before sewing is important