Thursday Tip with Katherine - Sewing with Wool
If you’ve been waiting on the fabrics for The Fabric Collective to drop, you have undoubtedly noticed there is SO MUCH WOOL. Wool coating, wool suiting, wool sweater knit. So here’s a little bit about wool and some tips to help you sew it!
First, I would not know nearly as much about wool and ethical wool production in Manitoba if I hadn’t met Anna Hunter from Long Way Homestead some years ago. A dedicated farmer, activist and passionate educator, not to mention mill owner, Anna has been at the forefront of wool education in Canada. Want to know something about wool? Check out the Long Way Homestead website, starting on this page about choosing wool.
Wool is an all natural fiber that boasts many positives such as durability, temperature regulation, odour resistance, and fire retardance. Sure it can be a bit scratchy in some fabrics, a lot depends on the quality of wool, the weave and how long the fibers are in the yarn. Different types of sheep grow different types, thicknesses, kinkiness, and lengths of fleece. It’s a renewable resource from sheep that based on photos of them on Anna’s farm, are living their best sheep lives.
Let’s go over some of the different kinds of wool we have in The Fabric Collective: coating, suiting and sweater knit. Don’t forget that normally you would wash your fabric in the way you would wash your final garment BEFORE you start to sew. Maybe that means giving it a gentle wash, or handwash, maybe that means finding a drycleaner, but either way, expect that the wool is going to shrink! For coatings especially, steam pressing the fabric before sewing is a good idea to get some shrinkage out. Of course, we have great tools to help your sewing including the Treevival Tailor’s Clapper, Bamboo Point Turner, All Purpose Thread, and Universal Needles.
Wool blend coating in a red/black mix with the Treevival Clapper
Wool coating is a usually a densely woven fabric that generally has a low pile but brushed, fuzzy surface. Made from 100% wool or blended with polyester for a lighter-weight fabric (not to mention, cheaper), melton in particular is the go-to for most coats because it’s also fairly weather resistant due to its extremely thick weave. While it barely frays, it’s best used for lined projects as it’s not always the softest on the skin.
When sewing with coating, you can use a very steamy press to shape it, especially sleeve caps, hems and elbows. A sturdy hardwood clapper will be invaluable for getting a clean press on the thick fabric. Make sure to grade your seam allowances and even consider hand catch-stitching them down through the high pile to create clean, crisp lines on your coat.
Houndstooth suiting in tan/cream that I found in a thrift store in 2016!
Wool Suiting comes in a variety of different weights and weaves for different looks, sheens and projects. TFC has quite a few twill weave suitings that are suitable for jackets, blazers, pants, skirts, vests, hats and more.
From summer weight wools that are light and breezy and smooth on the skin, to heavyweight double weaves that are good choices for more structured and warm clothing, we have lots of different suitings to meet your needs (and more to come!). Always use a press cloth and some steam when pressing, and don’t forget to make sure your seam allowances aren’t being pressed through to the right side. With thinner wools like this it can be easy to forget that those seam allowances are easy to see from the right side of the garment. Make sure to grade your seams!
The internet seems to be divided on cotton/all-purpose/silk thread for sewing suitings, so I’m going to do some testing and let you know in another TT.
Soft and cushy and oh so soft, wool sweater knit
Wool sweater-knit is super cushy and will require some testing to make sure you get your machine/serger settings correct! You can widen the seam on your serger if needed to make sure you’re getting a good seam allowance and make sure you test the differential too so you don’t have wavy seams to press out.
Using your normal sewing machine, make sure you have a brand new ballpoint needle installed and test your stretch stitches, or zigzag, on a couple pieces to make sure you aren’t snagging the fabric or creating too much tension on the seam.
A serged seam in sweater knit.
Hope this helps you feel a bit more confident sewing with wool! There are also a ton of resource books in the studio that you can use as part of our Community Nights, including ones on knits and outerwear!