The 5 Best Summer Fabrics

Podcast Show Notes

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Podcast Transcript

Sarai

I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio. Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy.

Today, we're talking about our five favorite summer fabrics, so we will cover what makes these five fabrics ideal for the season, plus give you tons of ideas about what to make with each of them.

All right, let's start with our icebreaker for today. Haley. This one came from Helen M. And Helen asks, “What is a favorite thing that someone else has sewn for you?”

Haley
Well, I have to be honest, Helen, people don't really sew for me. I have very rarely received hand-sewn gifts. When I had my daughter, she was gifted a couple quilts, but they're not really mine. They're hers. But I do really cherish them.

I have a few, one from the team at Colette/Seamwork, and it's really cute. And then one that my auntie made her. And those are treasured pieces, for sure. Other than that, like, things that people have sewn for me are maybe more things I've gotten at, like, naked lady parties that happen to be sewn. They weren't sewn specifically for me, or a sample that I've taken from work. Cause we're getting rid of it for one reason or another. Again, not sewn specifically for me.

Sarai
I have a couple of those, too, I think. For me. So when I first decided that I wanted to learn how to sew, and I was 16, I wanted to make my prom dress, but I did not have the skills to do it. So my grandmother ended up making my prom dress and then taught me how to sew.

So that's probably my favorite thing that somebody else has made for me. It was exactly what I wanted, and it was cute. It's not what I would choose today, but I loved it at the time, so that's probably the thing, just because of the story behind it and what it led to, and that was my inspiration for wanting to learn how to sew in the first place, that it means a lot to me.

The other thing that came to mind was my mom's friend Lisa made us when we were little kids, made me and my sister these dolls with little satin dresses. When I say dolls, they were huge. They were bigger than we were, these big, like, life-size dolls that she had sewn. And I just thought they were so cool. And it was so cool to have a doll that was the same size as me.
Yeah, it was fun. I mean, it was like, I don't know how to describe how more of a rag doll style doll.

Haley
Oh, my gosh. I remember those.

Sarai
Yeah, it was pretty cool. Had a little satin dress, and it was fun to play with.

Haley
It had yarn hair, probably I ruined mine because I brushed her hair out or attempted to.

Sarai
Oh, that's funny. People don't sew for me now so much anymore, but when I was younger, they did. Thanks for that question, Helen. That's a good question.

Haley
I like to think that they don't sew for me. They're intimidated. It's not because they don't love me. Like, oh, no. She's going to examine it too closely, which is totally untrue, I think.

Sarai
I'm the sewing gift maker in my family and my circle.

Well, thank you, Helen. And if you have an icebreaker for us, you can leave it at seamwork.com/go/icebreakers. If you're a member, that'll take you to a thread on the community where you can drop your question, and we'll probably use it on a future episode. All right, well, thanks again, Helen.

So getting into our topic for today, we're going to be talking about the best summer fabrics. This is going to be a fun conversation. So I like summer dressing a lot because I think it's really easy. I think getting dressed in the summer is super easy, but only if you've sewn with the right fabric. So if you use the wrong fabrics. It can be not so pleasant and not so easy. So I think if you don't have those summer fabrics in your wardrobe, you don't get that easy summer feeling that I cherish when the weather's warm.

Haley
I just feel an annoyance to get dressed on those hot, sticky days.

Sarai
Yeah, definitely. And I think one of the number one questions we get at Seamwork is about what kinds of fabrics to sew with. So today we're really going to be dedicating this entire episode to just talking about our favorite fabrics for summertime for this time of year, why they're so great, and then what to sew with them. So we're gonna be getting you tons and tons of ideas, and I think you'll come away with this with a lot of new thoughts about what you might want to make this season. So, Haley is there a fabric that you will never wear in the summer, no matter what.

Haley
Wow. Never is strong. But I would have to say I really steer clear of synthetics in the summer, except for athletic wear and swimwear.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
So I guess it's not a never, but. But it has to be, like, a technical moisture-wicking fabric. But as a rule, I really, even if something is, like, mostly cotton and has a little bit of polyester, I can always feel it. You feel that fabric when it's not hot outside, it feels totally fine, feels great. The moment there's, like, any, like, moisture in the air and it's over 75 degrees, it just has a different hand feel to it.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
You can, like, feel the, like, petroleum product in it.

Sarai
That's very true. So I would say the same. I think you raised a good point about swimwear and activewear. So I would get more specific and say, like, the fabric I can imagine never wearing in the summer would be, like, a polyester double knit. Like those seventies dresses that I definitely got at the thrift store when I was in high school.

Haley
But I used to be obsessed with them, and I lived in southern California, and I must have stank.

Sarai
I remember those dresses would get very stinky.

Haley
Yeah, they would.

Sarai
Yeah. So that's something I would not at all wear in the summer. I mean, I really wouldn't wear it anytime now.

Haley
Acrylic knits.

Sarai
Oh, acrylic knits. Yeah.

Haley
Or things with synthetic linings, like an acetate lining. Those also, I have, like, the heebie-jeebies thinking about wearing those in hot weather.

Sarai
In hot weather, yeah. That sounds terrible. Yeah. So basically, those kinds of synthetics, I think, are things I wouldn't wear. I would say wool just because, you know, obviously that's more of a cool weather fabric for most people. But I wear merino when I'm hiking, so I can't really say that.

Haley
Lightweight wool knits are, like, surprisingly good for warm weather.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
It's like a very specific, though, context in which I will wear wool in the summertime.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
On the other hand, what do you love to sew and wear in the summer? I mean, this could be garments, too.

Sarai
Yeah. Dresses. I wear tons of dresses in the summer. I love it because it's just, you just throw it on and go. Dresses and shorts. I definitely wear a lot of shorts in the summer. Shorts and T-shirts are a big staple in my wardrobe. Cotton. I wear a ton of cotton in the summer. Cotton knits and cotton wovens. Just lightweight cottons, quite a bit.

Haley
Yeah.

Sarai
We're going to talk about more specific fabrics. But those are my mainstays.

Haley
Yeah. I would say I stick to the natural fibers, specifically the cellulose fibers, like cotton and linen and things like that.

What I like to sew and wear, I would say dresses. I like really unfussy dresses for the summertime. Maybe less fitted, less seaming in detail, especially at that peak summer spot. Like, I just don't want to be bothered with a lot of fuss. I love shorts and an oversized linen button-up. I like that layered with the shorts or the dress.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
And I like that because I'm very sensitive to the sun. I'm a big baby. I'm very fair and, like, ginger complexion, freckly. And I just, like, cannot tolerate the sun. So I have to have something with long sleeves on me at all times as a backup to my SPF 75.

Sarai
Yeah, that's a good point. Button-ups are definitely a mainstay for me, too, for that same reason. They're great for gardening.

Haley
Oh, yeah.

Sarai
If you do a lot of gardening, you might not think to put on a button-up because it covers more of your body, but it's great for protecting your neck from the sun.

Haley
Yeah. I get a farmer's tan because I always roll up my sleeves when I'm gardening to three-quarter length. And so, like, the bottom quarter of my arms get, like, really freckly in the summertime. My mom used to call it, like, screw-on arms and screw-on legs because there's, like, a line of delineation.

Sarai
That's funny. I also wear a lot of, now that I think about it, I do wear a lot of knit dresses when it's really hot, just cause they're easy to throw on and comfortable.

Haley
I think pull-on things are great. You're not fussing with a lot of closures and things like that.

Sarai
Yeah. And then as far as color goes, I wear a lot of white in the summer. White and cream, but also some black. White, cream and black and denim, of course.

Haley
I'm a blue girl.

Sarai
Yeah. I love blue.

Haley
I wear, like, a, like, I feel like that's, like, the primary color in my summer palette is blue. All sorts of shades of blue. You can see me in head-to-toe denim in the summertime.

Sarai
I mean, I love blue year-round. I do wear a lot of blue.

Haley
Yeah, totally. It becomes a little more pronounced in the summertime.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
Is there a fabric that you thought, like, at first glance, you feel like, sounds good on paper for summer, but actually it isn’t?

Sarai
That's a good question. I think silk is one of those, and we talked about that a little bit before, but silk, it seems really lightweight and soft. And perfect for summer, but it can be kind of sweaty and sticky. It can kind of stick to you.

Haley
It suddenly feels like what it is, like spider webs. When you're hot.

Sarai
When you're hot, it can be a little bit much raw silk, I think, can be okay, but it is very insulating. So it can be a little bit. I find it can be a little bit warm.

Haley
Yeah, I agree with you. Silk. Another one that I'm cautious with is certain types of rayon because depending on the weave, I think that they can be not as breathable. Challis is usually nice, but I find that in, like, the tighter weave, you know, rayon was developed to be, like, a synthetic version of silk. And so sometimes in certain contexts, it can almost perform a little bit like it.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
So I'm always just, like, a little bit cautious. I try to make sure I'm choosing ones that have that hand feel of more of a cotton, even if they have the drape of rayon.

Sarai
Yeah. There's also the cool rayons that have that kind of cooler hand feel to them. Or sometimes they're called cold rayons, and those can be nice in the summer.

Haley
Yeah. But that's one that I just always execute some caution with because I feel like it can swing one way or the other.

Sarai
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I think silk is the big one for me, though.

Haley
Yeah.

Sarai
I really do love silk. I love to wear silk, but it's more of a fall-spring layer in the winter.

Haley
All right, well, now that we've talked about all the fabrics we don't like, let's talk about the fabrics that we do like. And I'm going to kick it off with really, like, the fabric that has my heart kind of year-round. I'm a sucker for linen. So let's get into why it's so great.

Linen has this tendency to feel really, it's very cooling, it's very breathable, so it's wonderful for hot weather. It comes in a bunch of different weights, so it makes it, like, a really versatile fabric. So you can find it in really lightweight handkerchief linens. You can also find really heavyweight bottom weights that are, like, great for pants and things like that.

I find it incredibly easy to launder. It's something that you can definitely toss in the wash. Toss in the dryer, of course, with the caveat of that, you need to pre-wash it correctly and pre-wash it on how you plan on treating the garment.

I'm in love with the way that linen wears over time. It just gets better and better with each single wear. And because of that, I find that it just has a lot of longevity in my wardrobe because of the way it wears and also because it's so classic.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
And I just think it's, like, the most versatile. For all of those listed reasons, the weight, the ease and laundering, the longevity of it all, I think it's wonderful.

Some of the things that I like to sew with it include button-down shirts or button-up shirts. Shirt dresses, I think are really wonderful. I know I said I like mostly pull-on garments, but I think anything linen with buttons is the exception to that rule for me. I also love an elastic waist pant, short skirt, anything like that, or drawstring. Just like a nice, easy, breezy pull-on bottom.

I also, speaking of bottoms, love, like, matching sets, I think is really fun. Or a jumpsuit or a romper is really great in linen.

Sarai
Yeah, I like that idea. I am a big romper person as well. I mentioned shorts earlier, but I have a favorite romper that I wear all the time in the summer, every summer. And I just feel so cute in it. It's really pretty. It's a rayon vintage romper, and it has little pink roses all over it, and it's really cute. That's really fun.
But I think linen jumpsuits. I have a couple linen jumpsuits that I've made as well. They're just so comfortable to wear, and they are similar to a dress, just kind of like a one and done. Plus, you can layer them in other seasons.

Haley
Yeah. I actually have a pair of linen overalls, and I have a linen jumpsuit that's more intended to be a layering type jumpsuit, like a pinafore jumpsuit, I guess. And I really like that because I love layering my clothes, and I feel like you don't have to give up layering just because it's hot outside. And linen, I think, layers really well.

Sarai
Yeah, that's true. I think when it comes to layering in the summer, it's all about, for me, keeping the sun off. And linen is a great way to do that because it's so breathable and light, and so it keeps the sun off of your skin while at the same time letting you breathe and not get superheated.

All right, well, linen is definitely high up on the list. I love that one.

The next one that I want to present to you all for your consideration for summer is gauze. So I'm talking specifically about a cotton gauze. So what's so great about cotton gauze is that it gives you that cozy, soft feeling, but it also allows you to keep a comfortable body temperature. It's still very nice and cool on you.

And you can find some really fun prints in gauze. That's one thing I really, really like about it. Some of the prints, because gauze is so often used in children's stuff and baby stuff, some of the prints sometimes can lean a little bit that way. You find a lot of cutesy babyish things and baby colors, and some of those baby colors are very pretty.

I found some really nice gauze at Joann that was in the baby section. It was really, really lovely, soft, muted, kind of pastely colors. And sometimes those prints can be really cute, too. But you kind of have to look, because sometimes it can be a little bit childish or a little bit juvenile.

But there are also a lot of other prints, too. There's nani IRO prints and all kinds of stuff you can find in cotton gauze. You can find single and double-layered gauze. I've even seen triple-layered gauze, which is even thicker. So there's a lot of different weights that you can play with. And they still have body. They're lightweight and breathable, but they have enough structure to provide just a little bit of body for your garments.

So that's what I love about gauze. It's just one of those fabrics that is so easy and comfortable to wear, especially when it's hot out.

So there's a lot of things you can sew with gauze because it is a more delicate fabric. You want to make things that have ample ease. So probably not something that's going to be super fitted on your body.

It's probably not going to work very well. I do find that they can tend to shift and grow a little bit over time, too. So that's something to keep in mind. And that's why things with, with a little bit more ease can work a little bit better in gauze.

Some ideas there might be, like a peasant blouse or a smock dress. You could do a loose tank top. You could do some summer PJs or loungewear. You could do a day robe. Just something very light and breathable, those kinds of fluid layers that you can put on. I saw a pair of pajamas just recently on Etsy, really cute, that were cotton gauze with little hearts all over them. And I thought that'd be something really fun to sew in the summer. Some nice summer pajamas like that. So comfy.

Haley
I could totally see that being an easy print to find at Joann in the gauze section, too.

Sarai
Yeah, I'm sure. There’s just so many things that you can do with it. I think the fact that you're often making those kind of looser garments out of it just adds to the ease and the wearability.

Haley
Yeah. Yeah, it does definitely have that tendency to grow. And then another reason I can think of that you don't want to have something really fitted is I find that gauze doesn't handle a lot of strain on the seams really well because it is a more open weave. So if something has a little bit less ease and you're straining against the fabric when you're moving, you might be a little bit more prone to, like, busting seams or a bit of fraying at the seams.

But as long as you're sticking with those more oversized garments, it's really wonderful to work with.

Sarai
Yeah, I think a lot of the things that you might make in linen could also work in gauze.

Haley
Yeah, I agree. I think, you know, sometimes people put things in a box of, like, good fabrics and bad fabrics, that it's really, what you're making out of it, you know?

Sarai
Yeah, that's true.

Haley
Okay, so the next fabric that I'd like to talk about is, like, also another summertime favorite of mine. Actually, it's kind of a year-round favorite of mine, but it just really does scream summertime. And that is gingham.

Sarai
Love gingham.

Haley
One of my most. I make a lot of mood boards, but one of my most recent mood boards that I've made was just like, I always start my mood boards, just kind of, like, throwing things at them and then edit from there. And I was like, wow, so much gingham.

Sarai
It's such a classic, though.

Haley
It is so classic, and I love that it never goes out of style. I feel like some version of it is always in style. It shifts from, like, the scale, like, maybe the scale or the color that's really trendy, but it is such a classic.

I feel like you can find it in a lot of colors outside of that basic white with black or white with blue. So you don't necessarily have to feel like Dorothy when you're dressed up in your gingham. And it comes in a lot of fiber contents now.

Most classically, it's made out of cotton, but you. There is a ton of linen gingham out there right now. I think it adds a little bit of interest to it. When I see it in a different fiber, I always really love that.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
And you can make a lot of different kinds of garments again, because it does come in some different fiber contents, and it does come in some different weights. So you have some versatility there.

Things that I like to sew with it in general, most ginghams are going to be about, like, a shirting weight, I would call it. So you're going to want to use it for things, either that you want to add body to, you want to utilize that crispness to help you create a silhouette or when you want to create a more tailored shape.

So things that work really well are structured shorts, skirts, dresses, I mean, even shirts or something that you want to add, like, a little extra drama to, like, if you wanted to make an oversized, boxy, woven tee, making it in a gingham, would 1) make it feel really playful and 2) add, like, a little oomph to the silhouette? And then lastly, another favorite of mine, I love a pair of gingham pants.

Sarai
Oh, yeah, me too.

Haley
I think you can go kind of, like, cool and vintage and make, like, a cigarette pant. I think you could also make something more wide-leg, and that could be, like, really chic and breezy as well.

Sarai
Yeah. I have a gingham jumpsuit. It's knit, actually, with a gingham print on it, and it's definitely a statement. It's got a big, big check on it. So I love that. I think another thing to mention about gingham is it depends. So I mentioned that knit, and the gingham was actually just printed on it. But a lot of ginghams, you find it's a woven pattern, so it's reversible. So it's really great for garments where you might see the underside of the garment. So maybe a skirt with a high low hem or an unlined jacket, for example. Or an unlined robe-style jacket or a wrap shirt, maybe where there's a tie, you're gonna see both sides. Something like that. It's just something you can keep in mind. Cause it is. Have that pattern on both sides.

Haley
Yeah, definitely.

Sarai
Also makes it great for, like, curtains, napkins, things like that.

Haley
Oh, it's so good for home goods.

Sarai
Yeah.

Haley
Actually, the next thing on the list is another favorite of mine for home goods.

Sarai
So that brings us to that one, which is seersucker, another real favorite of mine in the summer.

So seersucker is a fabric that you probably have seen a lot of times. In summer garments, it's kind of got that puckery texture to it. It's cotton, usually, and it often has stripes on it. Not always. It doesn't have to. Sometimes it's a shadow stripe. Sometimes you'll often see, like, a classic blue and white stripes seersucker. There's a lot of variations, but that's sort of the classic look.

And it just makes any garment look more like a summer garment. So if you're making a suit, make it in seersucker. And now it's a summer suit. It's instant summer in a fabric.

It's got a tight weave, so that lends itself to really crisp and tailored looks, which is why you often see it used in suiting for men's suits and for women's. So it's very breathable.

Like I said, it's usually made from cotton. It doesn't have to always be made from cotton, but usually when we think of seersucker, we're talking about, like, a cotton seersucker most of the time. So it's really easy to launder.

And because it has those natural puckers to it, those natural wrinkles, it makes it really good for travel, because it looks good even if it's a little bit rumpled.

So I really, really like seersucker, and I think it's a real classic.

There's a lot of things that you can sew with it. Some of the things that you might consider are like a blazer. If you wanted to do some kind of a summer suit or a summer blazer, it's a great choice for that. An unlined blazer could work well. A vest, any kind of trouser, also works really well in seersucker.

So we're talking about those kind of more tailored types of garments. But you could also do a fitted summer dress that will also work really well in seersucker just because it does have that crisp, tight weave. Or you could do even, like, a full skirt, something like that. It will lend body to it, and you'll get that nice, big, voluminous shape out of a fabric like seersucker.

Haley
Yeah, it's kind of similar to the recommendations, almost, for gingham, is that if you want to work with that crisp, you want to work with that structure of it. So you can create structured garments, or you can add structure to a garment that might be maybe a little more floppy otherwise.

Sarai
Yeah, I like that idea.

Haley
Okay. And then last on the list is eyelet. Why is eyelet so great? Well, I like to call it built in air conditioning. It has lots of little holes all over it, so it's really great at keeping you cool.

I love eyelet because it does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the design of a garment because it can add so much design detail to a simple garment because of the texture and motif. I just also find it to be really pretty to look at. I really love it. It often has border designs, like scallops along the selvages, so that can be really fun to work with to create kind of a border trim on the hemlines of your sleeves or your skirts, things like that.
And I think that it also has a lot of, like, variety. Sometimes you can find ginghams that are really, really dense, really open lots of eyelets on them, and sometimes they can be a little bit more sparse, more of, like, an embroidery embroidered fabric with an occasional eyelet on it, so you can kind of tailor it to how much of a peekaboo you want to give.

Speaking of peekaboos, you can leave it unlined for, like, a more daring look, or you can layer it over a solid color to create a little bit of depth there.

Sarai
Yeah, I've been thinking about that, because I know we're going to get into what to sew with it, but I kind of want to make a pair of eyelet shorts this summer, and so I've been thinking about how much skin that's going to reveal, and if I want to maybe do a little bit of a, like, a lining that matches my skin tone just to cover it up without disturbing the look of the eyelet.

Haley
Yeah, totally. I think that's always interesting to think about when you're working with eyelet is how much contrast do you want when you're thinking of your lining? So some of the things that we like to sew with it, I think most of the time, people choose to do something lined.

When it comes to eyelet, you, as always, I will always tell you to do you and wear what you feel comfortable with. But most of the time, people are seeking out things that are lined or can be lined easily.

Dresses and skirts are really popular options.

And then the other thing that I really like to do when I am working with eyelet is I like to seek out garments that can maybe be partially lined or things that have details like sleeves or yokes that I can leave unlined. So I can have that contrast of texture of the unlined with the lined. And I think it can be, like, a really cute, even like leaving the back of a blouse unlined, I think, can be a really lovely look.

Sarai
Yeah. I think another thing to keep in mind is you mentioned before that they often have scallops along the selvages, so playing with that and the placement of that can be really, really fun. And seeing if you can place those scallops along the hem of a shirt or a dress, for example. I do that a lot. Or you can use that border to add some trim somewhere else on the garment. Add a little bit of trim to the sleeve, head, or, you know, whatever it is. There's a lot of different ways, and it's almost like having a matching trim to your fabric. That can be really fun to play with.

Haley
Yeah. You make a really good point about the border print. Seeking out things specifically that have a flat or nearly flat hem so you can utilize that border is really great, and I love using it as a trim too. Such a great idea.

Sarai
Yeah. It's one of my favorite fabrics for summer, for sure.

All right, well, let me recap the five fabrics that we talked about today for summer, and hopefully you guys got a lot of good ideas.

Number one was linen.

Number two was gauze.

Number three was Gingham.

Number four was seersucker.

And number five was eyelet.

So we did have a mix of different fiber content, and some of these more about the print, and some of these are more about the weave. But I think these are all some great ideas of things that you can look for to incorporate into your sewing and then the various types of projects that you can make with them.

All right, what's your big takeaway from today's episode? Haley?

Haley
I think my big takeaway is something I started getting out earlier about. Like, there's no bad fabrics, just bad uses for fabric. But I think that what's just as important as your fabric choice is how you were using that fabric. So that would be my, like, big takeaway that I would offer up to our listeners from today's episode.

Sarai
My takeaway, mine's pretty simple, which is just, this got me really excited about sewing with gingham and eyelet, which I. I'm already incorporating into my sewing plans a bit, especially eyelet.

So very excited about that, and it just has me excited for summer sewing. I think these fabrics are really fun to sew with and really fun to wear, and they offer a lot of creative possibilities, so it just has me happy for summer.

We talked a lot about fabric today, and one thing that I want you guys to be aware of is that our members get discounts at some of our favorite indie fabric stores, and you can save anywhere from 10 to 20% off your purchases if you're a Seamwork member. And a lot of people say that these discounts alone pay for their entire membership, which is pretty cool.

So if you would like to see a list of participating fabric stores, you can find that at seamwork.com/deals we have dozens of fabric stores all around the world. These are all awesome independent fabric stores that we've added ourselves. And we shop there personally and absolutely love these guys. So take a look. You'll see a lot of names you recognize on there that have great fabric choices.

So we love these shops. They're really fun places to shop and fun shops to work with.

All right, if you like this episode, you can leave us a review. We have a review today from Colo Farm Girl. This person says, “Thank you for having a refreshing podcast, informative, and a great variety of topics.” Oh, thank you so much. That's really, that's really kind.

Haley
Thanks, farm girl.

Sarai
Yeah, thank you, farm girl. It's Colo Farm. I think it's probably Colorado is my guess as what Colo stands for.

And that does it for us this week. I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio.