Choosing fabric for a first collection

Choose the fabric before finalising the styles, because the cloth helps determine how the clothes hang, which maker can make them, the minimum quantity and the cost. A drawing can describe a shape. The fabric has to make that shape possible, survive sewing and behave as agreed after washing.

Start with what the clothes need to do. A shirt that holds a pressed edge asks something different of its fabric from a top that stretches with the body. Use that intended behaviour to choose cloth, then develop the sample and its measurements around the choice. The fabric decision belongs near the beginning of the collection.

01The fabric structure decides how the clothes move

The first distinction is between knitted and woven fabric. Knitted cloth is made from interlocking loops. Woven cloth has yarns running along its length and across its width, passing over and under each other. These structures affect how the material stretches, folds and holds its shape.

Knitted fabric usually has give because its loops can change shape under tension. Jersey, commonly used for T-shirts, can stretch even without an added stretch fibre. The ability to return to its original shape varies with the yarn and finish, so check both the stretch and what happens after the pull is released. They are separate questions.

Woven fabric generally has less give along its length and width. That stability helps a collar or waistband hold its shape. A woven can still stretch if it contains elastane, a stretch fibre, or is cut diagonally across the cloth. It remains woven and needs to be handled accordingly.

The fibre name cannot settle this choice. Cotton jersey and cotton poplin can both be cotton, yet one follows movement while the other holds a pressed line. Ask what the cloth is made from and how it is made. Both answers belong in the document that tells a maker what to make.

02Weight helps describe cloth, but a sample shows the drape

Fabric weight is recorded in grams per square metre: how much a square metre of the cloth weighs. This allows fabrics of different widths to be compared on the same basis. A heavier cloth usually contains more material within that area and may feel denser or look less transparent. Those are starting expectations, not guarantees.

Weight does not describe drape, meaning how the fabric hangs and falls, on its own. A soft, brushed fabric can feel bulky while a more tightly made cloth of the same weight feels compact. A fluid woven and a firm woven can also hang very differently. The way the yarns are arranged matters alongside their weight.

Compare a physical piece of fabric with the intended result. Check the feel and how much can be seen through it, then look at the sample on a hanger and on the body. A photograph can communicate a colour or shape, but cannot settle the fabric's construction.

More weight is not a quality target in itself. Adding weight may make a T-shirt too warm or too structured for its intended use. Nor does choosing knitted or woven cloth settle breathability. How closely the yarns sit together and the finish also affect that behaviour.

03Choose a maker who can handle the selected cloth

Fabric changes the work at the cutting table and sewing machine. Knitted cloth can move and relax during cutting. It may need to rest before cutting and be laid out without pulling, so the pieces do not change size when the tension is released.

Its seams also need to accommodate the movement of the clothes. A rigid seam in a place that must stretch can break during wear. Necklines and cuffs need their own checks: their materials and stitching have to work with the main fabric.

Woven clothes bring different demands. Stripes or checks may need to line up across joined pieces. Collars and waistbands may need an extra supporting layer, and pressing helps establish their finished shape. Accurate sewing and clean edges are part of the result.

These differences mean knitted and woven clothes commonly use separate production lines and may need separate makers. At the first enquiry, confirm that the proposed maker can handle the chosen fabric and the seams it needs. Ask how they will cut it and finish the clothes. Settle that match before asking them to make the sample.

04Confirm the minimum for the fabric and each colour

The minimum order needs checking while the collection can still change. A fabric producer may set a minimum by colour, yarn or construction because preparing a run involves materials and process setup. A fabric choice therefore needs a quantity check alongside its appearance and feel.

Ask the maker to confirm the minimum they will run for each style, then ask how the fabric requirements fit that order. Establish whether the quoted fabric quantity applies to each colour or to the total requirement. Record the answer against the cloth being considered. An overall quantity without that detail leaves the colour decision unresolved.

Keep this check connected to the proposed styles. The maker calculates fabric use from the shapes of the pieces to be cut, the usable width of the cloth and its weight. Those details connect the number of finished clothes to the fabric required to make them.

Confirm the minimum before finalising the collection. Otherwise, a selected cloth can reach the production-order stage with a quantity or cost assumption that does not work. A promising sample still needs an agreed route to making the full order.

05Fabric cost follows more than weight

When the fibre, construction and finish are comparable, heavier fabric uses more yarn per metre and more material weight in each piece of clothing. That changes the fabric cost. It can also affect sewing where joined layers become bulky, or change the work involved in washing and finishing the clothes.

Lighter fabric can still cost more. A specialised yarn, a difficult colour or a complex finish can outweigh the difference in weight. A small colour run also affects cost. Treat weight as one part of the comparison.

Width matters because it changes how the pieces fit across the cloth during cutting, and therefore how much length is needed for each item. Ask for the usable width after finishing. Compare quotations using the same fabric details and the same colour quantities, with the intended finish included.

Also establish when the quoted weight is measured. Cloth before dyeing and finishing is a different reference from cloth ready to cut. Washing can change dimensions and weight per area again. If the finished clothes will be washed as part of making them, record whether the agreed weight applies before that wash, after it, or at both points.

06Approve fabric behaviour in a sample of the clothes

A piece of cloth is a useful reference, but the sample shows how it behaves once cut and sewn. Check the finished shape and the way it hangs. For stretch fabric, check the direction of give and whether it returns to the intended shape. A description such as “stretchy” leaves that return undefined.

Wash the sample using the agreed care method and review the result before committing to the production fabric. Knitted cloth can shrink differently in length and width, and a side seam can twist after washing. Woven cloth can shrink or become slanted too. Agree acceptable changes for the particular cloth with the maker and record them beside the measurements.

The measuring method needs to be clear. A jersey sample should be measured relaxed on a flat surface, without pulling at the measurement points. Its ability to stretch means a measurement taken under tension can give a different result.

Where clothes combine materials, approve them together. A woven jacket with knitted cuffs needs checks on both fabrics and on how they behave when joined. Identify each material separately, including the lining where there is one. A broad description such as “cotton trim” does not tell the maker enough to reproduce it.

07Keep one agreed fabric record through production

Turn the choice into a record the maker can follow. Give the fabric an identifying code and keep a dated physical piece with the approval. The written record should state the fibre content and construction, with the finished weight and usable width. Include the colour reference and the finish that produced the approved feel.

Agree how much variation is acceptable for the chosen cloth. Weight can vary within a roll and between runs because making, dyeing and finishing affect the result. Record the condition in which it will be measured, along with the washing and stretch checks relevant to the clothes. The maker needs a defined basis for checking production.

Keep the sample that production is checked against with those instructions. If a fabric changes during sampling, revise the written record and send the same version to everyone making or checking the clothes. An old weight beside a new instruction to use heavier fabric gives conflicting directions.

For a first comparison, put two candidate fabrics into the same sample design. Record how each hangs, how much cover it gives and how its measurements change under the agreed wash. Keep those observations beside the cost and minimum quantity. Choose the cloth that meets the intended use, then retain the approved sample and fabric record before booking production.