Sustainable sewing: fabric quality

Have you ever experienced this before? You buy a nice shirt, wash it for the first time, and suddenly the side seam turns to the front. Annoying, right? If you sew your clothes yourself, you can avoid such surprises by choosing high-quality fabrics.

But how do you recognize good quality? Here are a few things to help you:

Optics – The first impression counts

Take a close look at the fabric! The texture should be even, with no distracting thickening or thinning—unless that's part of the design, as with linen or wild silk. Hold the material up to the light to detect any irregularities.

Printed patterns should be clean , not distorted, and clearly visible even at the selvedge. This makes cutting easier later, as you have to consider both the grain and the pattern. Fabrics with woven checks or stripes are particularly high-quality – as opposed to simply printed lines.

Haptics – How does the fabric feel?

A good fabric should feel comfortable —not just on your hands, but also on sensitive areas like your neck or the inside of your arms. Does a smooth fabric itch at first touch? Short fibers could stick out, which is a sign of poor quality. High-quality fabrics are carefully combed during production to remove such fibers.

Also pay attention to how the fabric behaves: Does it wrinkle excessively? While this is normal for linen, it can indicate a lower quality fabric for cotton.

If you want to test jersey , stretch it slightly – it should spring back to its original shape . If it stretches during this test, it will continue to do so with wear. Pure cotton jersey is generally slightly less stretchy than jersey with elastane.

For knit or fleece fabrics, you can do a simple test: Rub two layers of fabric together vigorously for about 10 seconds. If small balls or lumps form after a short time (known as pilling), this could be an indication of poor quality. Synthetic fibers are more prone to this than natural fabrics, but wool can also be affected.

“Sniff” – What does the fabric smell like?

An unusual odor can be a warning sign. If the fabric smells chemical or pungent , it may have been treated with undesirable substances. Sometimes chemicals are used to soften the fabric, improve wearability, fix colors, or protect the fabric for import. These chemicals can potentially trigger allergies—so it's best to play it safe and avoid such fabrics.

In addition, a chemically treated fabric can feel and behave completely differently after washing than before washing.

Material & price – what should you pay attention to?

The price also indicates the quality of a fabric. Synthetic fibers are usually significantly cheaper to produce than natural fibers. Acrylic, for example, is often used as a wool substitute. Therefore, pure natural fibers are often more expensive than synthetic alternatives. However, this doesn't mean that synthetic fibers are automatically bad – their addition can have positive effects, such as better shape retention (e.g., in jersey) and less creasing.

When purchasing fabrics online, it's worth choosing branded fabrics or ordering from retailers whose quality you already know. Many suppliers also allow you to order small sample fabrics (swatches). This minimizes the risk of disappointment.

Conclusion

With these tips, you can make informed decisions when buying fabric and ensure you enjoy your sewing project. High-quality fabrics not only look better, they also feel good and last a long time – so you can enjoy your favorite homemade pieces for a long time to come!