A Cosplayer's Guide to Fabric: Fibers, Weaves, and Treatments

* Section One: All you never wanted to know about the fibers you're using, but are going to learn anyway.

Fibers are what fabric is made out of. There are two sections of fabric: natural and synthetic. Natural fibers come from organic sources: plants or animals. Synthetic fibers are made-made, often from chemical bases, such as rubber or petroleum. Here are your basic fibers; there are lots and lots more, basically you can make fabric from any fiber, but the following are the ones you're going to see and work with most frequently.
Basic Natural Fibers:
- Cotton, made from the fibers of the cotton plant's seed pod.
- Linen, made from the stalk fiber of the flax plant.
- Silk, made from the cocoon of the silkworm.
- Wool, made from a variety of animal coats, but most commonly sheep.
Most natural fibers can be dyed, and will burn or smolder under high heat, releasing a scent of either burned wood (cotton, linen), or burned hair (silk, wool). Natural fibers 'breathe' best, are best at cooling or keeping heat close to your body, and are washable as long as you pre-wash before you sew.
Basic Synthetic Fibers:
- Polyester, most common, often blended with natural fibers, and has many other uses!
- Nylon, created in the '40s, first used in hosiery!
- Acetate, 'synthetic silk,' looks and feels like natural silk, but cannot be dyed.
- Spandex, elastic fiber that can stretch and retain it's shape.
- Rayon, a cellulose fiber, will dye and will burn, rather than melt.
Synthetic fabrics are usually created by extruding a liquid to create a fiber, and then weaving said fabrics. Most imitate natural fabrics very well in appearance, but cannot be dyed and will melt rather than burn at high temperatures, so be cautious about ironing. Synthetic fabrics also, for the most part, do not breathe as well as natural fabrics. Synthetic fabrics have the benefit of being stronger and more durable than natural fabrics.


* Section Two: Weaves, and we are not talking about bad hair.

The weave of a fabric (or knit, as it were) is what makes the fiber look the way it does. A lot of people new to sewing will mistake the style of weave for the type of fiber ("satin" isn't a type of fiber, it's a way fibers can be woven). Pretty much any fiber can be woven in any way, although there are a few standards for certain fiber and weave combinations. There are two main sections to weaves. An actual weave is making cloth by interlacing the weft and warp of thread on a loom. There are also knits, basically a series of joined loops, just like you might think of in knitting, only (for the most part) smaller.

- A plain weave is the most basic weave. This generally covers fabrics that don't have a pattern woven into the fabric. Muslin, broadcloth, and other such names are used for this type of weave, and it comes in almost all fibers, but you will generally run into it in cotton. Heaver plain weaves like twill, canvas, or duck cloth are also available.

- Satin, as we all know, is shiny on one side! A satin weave can also be used on any fiber, but you'll probably find most satins in rayon, polyester, or a blend. The very best satins are made from silk! Sateen is a satin weave used with cotton, and isn't quite as shiny as synthetic satin.

- Taffeta can be mistaken for satin, but has little ribs in the weave of the fabric. Its origins are in silk, but it's produced in many synthetics now.

- Crepe has a grainy surface and no sheen. It's often paired with matching colors of satin for formalwear, and thusly comes in similar fibers. You can also often find it in wool, which will be thicker than it's synthetic cousin.

- Velvet is fuzzy, soft, and luxurious! "Pile" is what makes a velvet weave soft and fuzzy. Many modern velvets are made from rayon, but the most elegant are made from silk. Velveteen is a cotton velvet, and is also very nice, and particularly economical!

- Jacquard, brocade, tapestry, and damask are all weaves that have patterns or designs actually woven into the fabric. Anything from apples to zebras may be pictured on this fabric. Jacquards are made from almost all fibers.

- Sheers, like organdy, chiffon, and gauze are transparent and light. Many, like crepe, are synthetic and created to match other fabrics, like satin.

- Felt is basically a tangled mess! Most felt available is acrylic, but wool felt can be found as well. It's VERY warm!

- Knits are made of interlocked loops, and have numerous styles, such as ponte. Stretchy knits may have spandex in them as well as other natural and synthetic fibers, and many 'dancewear' fabrics are made of nylon/spandex blends.

Other "special' fabrics like tulle, metallics, sequins, liquid lame, slinky, sparkles, vinyl, and other metallic or fancy fabrics often have a woven or knit back with the decorations attached to one side. These are often delicate fabrics and cannot be washed, and will almost always be synthetic. They can be very fun to use in cosplay, of course, but be warned, as they can be difficult to work with.


* Section Three: Treatments (you treat that fabric right!)

Interfacing is the cosplayer's best friend. What's interfacing? Well...
Interfacing is an extra layer of fabric that provides shape and support in detail areas of the garment. Interfacing is frequently used in collars, cuffs, lapels, necklines, pockets, waistbands and opening edges.
Because cosplay costumes are so often gravity-defying, interfacing will help you create a more true-to-life garment, not to mention making modern and traditional garments more... modern or traditional! A sailor collar should ALWAYS be interfaced, so it will hang neatly and correctly.

Interfacing can be applied with nothing more than a press cloth and an iron, or can even be stitched into your garment directly, depending on your needs. It even comes in different weights, from superlight to heavyweight.

As ALWAYS, ask someone at your fabric store for help if you're not sure about what you need. They are there to help you, and will probably not think you're a psycho for trying to make a costume; they've seen much weirder stuff, I promise. All the people at my Joanns know me by name, and know how crazy I am already. ^^

When you're choosing fabrics, take lots of reference pictures with you, color pictures if you can, and if you can't, get out some colored pencils and make color references on your black and white pictures.

Need more information? Visit fabrics.net for lots more information and details on fabrics and sewing! Best of luck, and of course, HAVE FUN!
                               


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