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| How to Straighten Fabric Grain fabric, it’s important to make sure the grain of your fabric is straight, and if it’s not, to straighten it. How to straighten fabric grain Preshrink your fabric (if necessary), then press it.
factory-finished edge of your fabric). You can find the crosswise grain of your fabric in one of three ways:
stretch out of shape with this method.
way down to the opposite selvedge.
and pull it so that the fabric puckers. Continue to pucker your fabric all the way to the opposite selvedge. Cut your fabric along this pulled thread.
grain. The stripe or plaid must be woven into the fabric, not printed on for this method to work. Cut along one of these lines from one selvedge to the other, close to the cut edge of your fabric. Check your fabric's grain
just cut or tore doesn’t align, then your fabric is off-grain and must be corrected. If the edges do align, then your fabric is on-grain and you can proceed with your layout. Straighten your fabric’s grain
your fabric in half lengthwise. Align the freshly cut or torn edges and pin. Then pin your fabric’s selvedges together. Press the entire length of your fabric, pressing out any wrinkles you find. If your fabric’s grain is way off, gently pull the fabric on the bias (the diagonal) in the direction it needs to be straightened. Then refold your fabric lengthwise, matching the selvedges, and check that the freshly cut or torn edge aligns. You may want to dampen your fabric first (if it can be dampened without causing damage) to make it easier to stretch. You can dampen your fabric by folding it lengthwise and rolling it inside a damp sheet, letting it sit for a few hours, or you can dampen it by spraying it with water. After stretching your fabric, lay it on a flat surface to dry. Note that sometimes a fabric’s design is actually printed on crookedly. In this case, it’s possible to straighten the fabric’s grain, but the design itself will still be crooked. To avoid this, closely inspect any print fabric before purchasing. |
Sewing Information, Advice, How-to
| Woven fabrics consist of threads running horizontally and vertically through the fabric. These lengthwise and crosswise threads are supposed to form right angles to one another. However sometimes they don’t. And when they don’t, the fabric is considered to be “off-grain." If you were to cut your pattern pieces from fabric that’s off-grain, you’d be cutting them out slightly crooked. This would be most noticeable with a striped or plaid fabric. But even with a solid fabric, cutting pieces from off-grain fabric can result in a finished item that may not hang quite right on the body. Also, any topstitching you do may look “off” even if your stitching is perfectly straight. So before cutting your pattern pieces from your |
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