How to determine the right side of fabric

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The right side of the fabric in textile materials can be difficult to determine. Today we will talk about how to find it. We will take into account only textile materials. That is, we will not consider knitwear in this article.

The question of determining the front and back side arises every time you start sewing.

And it’s good when the face is significantly different from the backside:

- colors on the face are brighter;

— the drawing is clearer;

- the texture is denser...

But what if it is difficult to determine the front side?

For visual learners, there is a video at the end of the article.

The right side of the fabric in a roll

It is better to take care to find out how to distinguish the reverse side from the front side of the fabric at the stage of purchase in the store. When the fabric arrives in a roll, the seller knows exactly where the right side of the fabric is. Although different materials do not fold the same way.

Most fabrics are packaged face inward to avoid accidental damage during transportation and to prevent the fabric from fading if the roll is exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Woolen, silk, printed fabrics and most others are rolled inside. Only cotton fabrics are folded face up.

Raincoat fabric: basic properties

Raincoat fabric can be plain or patterned, smooth or quilted. Stitching is used mainly for clothes with insulation, and the thickness of the puncture should be minimal so that fluff or padding polyester does not come out.

At the same time, the raincoat fabric “breathed,” that is, it allowed air to pass through. After this, gabardine trench coats became fashionable among ordinary people, they were transformed into raincoats, jackets of various lengths and styles, and then into coats and even overalls.

Now the composition of raincoat fabrics can be different; they are mainly made from mixed fibers. Domestic ones consist of cotton and lavsan, foreign ones are made of cotton and polyester. Also, raincoat fabric can be 100% synthetic - from lavsan and polyester (polyester base) or lavsan (polyester) and nylon (polyamide).

In the mid-twentieth century, the Italian organic chemist Giulio Natta invented isotactic polypropylene, which was subsequently used in the production of bologna fabric (the name from the Italian city of Bologna).

In order to prevent the inside from coming out, you need to put a stitch inside the cap along the edge, this way we will secure our seam.

Turn it right side out and carefully run the iron along the seams in order to later lay a finishing stitch along the upper edge of our cap.

Now we need to insert the parts into each other with the front sides inward.

And here's the front one.

And stitch along the top edge straight in the circle.

Next, iron the seams again and add a finishing stitch along the top edge.

Front view.

How to sew a fabric mask with a filter? Sewing exactly repeats the algorithm of method No. 1. However, during the manufacturing process it is necessary to insert a filter between the layers of the mask. This protection will help avoid even the smallest particles.

In a pandemic, a person can only protect himself from infection with a dangerous virus. Unfortunately, this is not so easy to do, because it is difficult to buy in a pharmacy. There is nothing left to do but make a mask with your own hands from fabric. To do this, you need to buy medical fabrics with the desired properties, and our online store for sewing materials Decobay will help you with this.

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How to determine the right side by the edge of the fabric - a universal method

Edge – a narrow (1-1.5 cm) edge of the canvas, which is necessary in the production process. The first sign of how to recognize the right side of a fabric by the edge is to look for punctures on it. They are clearly visible and will have either a convex or concave appearance. This is how the front side of the fabric is determined by the holes. Since the material is placed on the machine inside out, the bumps of the punctures will be on the face. This method of determining the wrong side and right side of the fabric is suitable for most fabrics.

If the punctures are not visible, look at the surface roughness: the face will always turn out to be smoother.

When the front and back sides of the fabric cannot be determined by touch, pay attention to the color - on the front side of the edge you can usually see inclusions of threads of a different color from the main color. They will not be visible from the inside out.

Another marker is possible technological inscriptions. The manufacturer can write the batch number and country on the edge. But there may be only one or two such inscriptions on a roll.

Double-sided fabrics

A large number of fabrics produced today can be classified as double-sided or double-faced. As a rule, the front side of the fabric is very difficult to determine. In this case, understanding exactly which side is which can only be achieved in one of the universal ways: along the edge or at the stage of purchasing a roll. It is difficult to distinguish, for example, the sides in tartan - this type of variegated fabric looks exactly the same on both sides.

Determining the face and back of fabric

These are the main signs that can help you choose the right side of the fabric. The main thing is to pay attention to details and you won’t go wrong! Use your senses - tactile and visual. And if it’s really difficult to decide, then rely on your intuition, and it won’t let you down!

Sometimes it may be that you initially like the inside side more than the front side. This is entirely your choice, and you have the right to do as you want. If you disagree with the fabric manufacturer, and you find the backside more attractive, then use it as the face. Don't create unnecessary problems for yourself. The main thing is that you like it. Anyway, no one will know about it except you.

Also on our YouTube channel we have prepared a video for you on how to find out where the back is and where the face of fabrics is. Watch and subscribe!

You can easily identify the right side of jacquard and printed fabrics. In the process of weaving threads on the machine, a relief is formed on top. The underside is smoother. On it you will not see the knots typical of Chanel and bouclé fabrics.

These include:

Weaving factories also produce double-faced fabrics; in this case, the seamstress independently chooses which side to cut on.

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Instructions on how to determine where the front side is for different fabrics

In addition to universal methods for determining the front and back sides, there are also individual ones for each type of fabric. First of all, the material needs to be laid out on the table and one corner bent so that you can closely compare the face with the back. It is better to do this in daylight. Some fabrics will show both sides well even in artificial light. But there are some that look deceptive and can let you down in the evening light.

Printed fabrics. They are easy to work with. Even a beginner in the sewing craft can guess what criteria are used to determine the front side of a fabric with a print. The printed design looks bright and clear on the front side and dull and faded on the back. In addition, your face will feel smoother and more even to the touch, perhaps with a little shine. From the inside, the fleecy (fluffiness) of the fabric will be felt more and there will be no shine.

Defects on fabrics. Today there are not many fabrics with defects produced, but they do happen. If you see a knot or a barely noticeable thickening of the thread somewhere, this is the wrong side; all defects during the production process are hidden there.
Plain fabrics. On the front side the edges have colored threads, which are not present on the back side.
Textured fabrics. These are materials with a voluminous pattern such as jacquard or boucle. This also includes all lace fabrics. Here the method of determination is simple - the front side of the fabric has a large convexity of the pattern, which is easily determined by touch. The color will be brighter on the face, but this difference is not always noticeable, especially in the evening under lamp light.
Atlas. The front side of this type of fabric is always glossy or shiny. Where the surface is matte is the reverse. However, the beauty of satin fabrics is that both sides look spectacular together in finished products. But this does not eliminate the need to strictly monitor the correct cutting.
Satin fabrics are rougher on the inside and vice versa, smooth and shiny on the outside. Here, on the reverse side, the hairiness is especially noticeable, which is not present on the face.
Crepe fabrics. It is impossible to visually distinguish the face from the back, only by the edge, but this is not particularly necessary - both sides are almost the same.
Fuzzy fabrics. What is the front side of velvet type fabric? This is the side where the pile is longer. Very easy to determine
Blended fabrics. They pay attention to possible defects and roughness (knots and weaves). The front side is shiny and looks perfectly smooth, the back side is matte and faded.
Curtain fabrics. As a rule, the front side of the fabric is determined by the greater convexity of the pattern, looks perfectly beautiful and does not have any defects or the slightest imperfections.
Transparent thin fabrics. In them, the brightness of the pattern is usually difficult to discern - the face and back of chiffon and cambric can only be determined by the edge. It is also not always possible to visually understand materials such as cotton and linen.
Knitted fabrics. As a rule, in most of them, due to the large curvature of the threads, the back side of the cross-knitted fabric is more matte than the front side.

The most reliable option for determining the front and back sides of a fabric is to ask the seller to mark the back with chalk when purchasing. This will eliminate unnecessary doubts and save a lot of time.

Marking of parts when cutting

When sewing, situations arise that make it difficult to determine the front side. For example, loss of lobes, poor vision or lighting. In production, cutting details are marked in the preparation area.

In everyday life, it is also important to mark the cutting details as soon as they are cut out. The parts are stacked in pairs and you know where the face is and where the back is. The mark is made on the wrong side.

Marking is done with chalk or etiquette tape on the reverse side of each cut detail.

Sometimes, for example in high-quality plain weave fabrics, it is extremely difficult to determine the right side. In such cases, you need to choose the side of the fabric you like best and consider it the front. However, you shouldn’t ignore the markup in such cases either. In a product exposed to light, the fabric may show different shades.

Share your experience in the comments! This will help beginners (and not only) not to make mistakes and not lose their creative enthusiasm before completing the project!

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Discussion: there is 1 comment

Maya:
September 6, 2021 at 09:09 pm
Thank you!

More complex signs of determining the front side

Not all pile fabrics have pile on the front side. Bumazea has a pile side on the reverse side, but usually this fabric has a printed pattern and a beautiful smooth surface on the face. But velvet, corduroy, velor are beautiful from the pile side, so it is difficult to make a mistake in identifying the front side. For example, plain flannel is a reversible fabric—it has the same coloring, plain weave, and lint on both sides.

The drape has smoothed pile on the front side, and it is located in one direction, or there is a dense lint-free pattern. This type of fabric may have a looser weave on the reverse side.

This also applies to cloth. In most cases, it is heavily tufted, which leads to some difficulties in determining the front side. It is necessary to forcefully run your fingers from different sides and in different directions, and the side where the pile is less dense, of lower quality, is the wrong side.

What to do if all of the above methods on how to determine the front side of the fabric did not give an answer? You can identify a side by the quality of the surface of the material. That is, the front side will be the side where the surface of the fabric does not have fluffs or knots, it is smoother. The presence of fluff is inherent only in fabrics made from natural fiber.

To determine the presence of fibers or brightness of color, the material should be brought to eye level and looked at the light. If it was not possible to detect pronounced defects, then such fabric can be classified as bilateral.