Design Yourself, Informed
The Best Summer Shirt for Men: What Fabric, Cut, and Pattern Work in the Heat
There is a case to be made that the men’s summer shirt is the most important garment in any warm-weather wardrobe…
Can You Sew Your Own Swimsuit? Everything Beginners Need to Know
The swimsuit is one of those garments that most sewists think about making at some point — and then file under “too complicated” without quite being sure what the complication is…
The History of the Swimsuit: From Bathing Machines to Bikinis
Of all the garments in a woman’s wardrobe, none has changed more dramatically in two centuries than the swimsuit. In 1800, a woman entering the sea wore a full-length gown of heavy wool, weighted at the hem to prevent it from floating upward…
How to Pre-Wash Your Fabric Before Sewing — and Why It Matters
Pre-washing fabric before cutting is the sewing step most often skipped by beginners — and the one most consistently regretted. It takes an afternoon. It is genuinely important…
The Best Fabrics for Hot Weather: A Sewist’s Guide to Staying Cool
There is a difference between a fabric that looks summery and a fabric that feels summery — and for anyone sewing their own clothes, understanding that difference is what separates a beautiful garment you wear constantly from a beautiful garment you make once and then discover is uncomfortable above 25°C…
Summer Fabrics You Should Avoid — and What to Use Instead
Most fabric guidance for summer focuses on what to wear — cotton, linen, viscose, the reliable natural fibres that have kept people comfortable in warm weather for centuries…
What Is Viscose and Why Do So Many Dress Patterns Call for It?
You are reading through the fabric recommendations on a Fabrico pattern — or any dress pattern — and you see “viscose” in the list of suitable fabrics. You might also see it listed as rayon, viscose challis, or viscose crepe…
How to Choose the Right Fabric Weight for Your Pattern
You have chosen your pattern. You know what colour you want. You are standing in the fabric shop — or scrolling through an online fabric retailer — looking at a beautiful cotton print that seems perfect…
Linen vs Cotton: Which Fabric Should You Choose for a Summer Dress?
This article goes through the comparison systematically, category by category, so that by the end you have a clear sense of which fabric is right for your next summer dress — and why…
Why Navy, White, and Linen Are the Colours of Summer — Every Summer
Every spring, without fail, the same colours appear. Navy blue and white in every window. Linen in cream, natural, and pale sand on every rail. The Breton stripe on a hundred different garments in a hundred different shops. And every year, without fail, the same thought arrives: haven’t we seen this before?..