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Cotton material is a perfect choice for dressmaking. Cotton material is easy to sew and does not slip easily. You can use a standard sewing needle, along with a good quality polyester or cotton thread, and achieve perfect results. Cotton irons easily and a well ironed fabric has a crisp, professional finish. Cotton material is easy to wash at a 30 degrees to keep the shrinkage and colour fading to a minimum.

The best cotton fabric for dressmaking is combed cotton poplin or lawn. These are lightweight, soft cotton materials using the longer cotton fibers. This fabric is perfect for dresses and blouses. It is also easy to iron and holds its shape very well.

There are many positive reasons to sew with cotton, but, for dressmaking, the main advantages are: Cotton is great to use whatever the season. The material will keep you cool in the summer but is a good insulator when the weather turns colder. Cotton is breathable and comfortable whatever the weather. Cotton fabric is versatile, very stable and easy to work with. Depending on the way cotton is woven it can be a stiff and heavy material (e.g. denim) or it can be light and super soft (e.g. cotton voile). Cotton actually gets stronger when it is wet which means it is durable. However, cotton material is not perfect! The main disadvantages in using cotton for dressmaking are: Colour cotton fabric fades over time and the colour can bleed when washed. However in really good quality cotton material the chances of this happening are very low. Cotton fabric do shrink and the hotter the wash, the greater the chance that the material may shrink. However, many of the better quality cotton you can buy are prewashed and you should not have a problem with your favorite items getting smaller! Cotton fabric is susceptible to wrinkles and creasing and requires ironing with a hot iron.

Cotton fabric is a very easy material to sew. Most standard cotton fabric needs a standard sewing needle, as well as a good quality thread. Using these on your sewing machine will give you a crisp, professional finish. Heavier cotton material, such as denim or canvas may need a stronger sewing machine needle, If you use a thicker thread then perhaps a topstitch needle should be used. The truth is though, getting a good stitch on some fabrics is a matter of trial and error. We suggest you have a mix of needle types on hand and sew a few samples to choose the right needle and thread combination. Do not assume there is a problem with your sewing machine if a stitch does not look good, there may be a chance that your sewing needle needs to be changed!

Both cotton and viscose is 100% cellulose. The reason that cotton and viscose have such a different feel to each other is that cotton has staple fibers; these are natural and short in length. Viscose fabric is either made from construded long fibers, similar to silk or short staple fibers like cotton. The onger length fibers is what can give viscose a shiny finish with a soft handfeel.