12 days of sewing: #2: A brief History of Cotton fabric

The Thrifty Stitcher 26.12.2024 Blog, Fabric focused posts 0

It’s our 2nd day of my 12 days of sewing series for 2024, and I expect you’re full of food, and enjoying some downtime? I figured today’s post should be a nice easy one to read, rather than a prompt to actually sew. I’m taking a deep dive into Cotton Fabric, the beginner friendly easy to sew fabric.

Scroll down to the end for my free fabric guide booklet

12 days of sewing: #2: A brief History of Cotton fabric

How our damp British weather helped to spin perfect cotton!

At one point Great Britain was the world’s leading manufacturer of cotton, despite the fact that our climate was unsuitable for growing it. Much of the success of the British cotton industry can be attributed to the damp rolling hills of Lancashire.

Raw cotton arrived onto our shores, and was taken to spinners in the north of England.

In order to create cotton cloth, wool or linen was required for strength, and as Lancashire also produced wool, it was a perfect area for spinners to work. The damp weather proved an ideal asset to spinning cotton.

The fibres were less prone to breakage when spun together in the humid hills of Lancashire, so it became a centre of cotton production. In the 18th century spinning and weaving was mostly a cottage industry, with spinners and weavers working from their homes.

The industrial revolution brought the invention of 2 spinning machines that revolutionized the manufacture of cotton, first the spinning jenny, and then the spinning mule. Cotton production moved away from homes and into large mills and factories. Cotton was now produced in vast quantities

Sadly the British cotton industry declined, as other crop growing countries such as the USA began to develop their own mills and factories. These days there are few working mills left in the UK, and most of the cotton fabric we wear is produced in China or America

Cotton is the best fabric choice for anyone who is new to sewing, yet there are enough variations of cotton cloth to afford endless possibilities for even an experienced dressmaker. Cotton is the most used fibre for textile production, and is generally believed to be the most popular fabric in the world. There is evidence that humans have cultivated and used cotton crops for over 7000 years

Cotton itself though isn’t a type of fabric, it’s a FIBRE.

Fibres are always included in a fabric description, because each fibre can be made up into many fabric TYPES.

For example-

Cotton Lawn.

Cotton is the fibre, lawn is the type of cloth, ie the way it’s woven.

Cotton/Viscose Jersey

The fibre in this example is a cotton BLENDED with Viscose. The type of cloth is a knit or jersey.

One of the reasons cotton is a great fabric for a beginner sewer, is that it has a high burn rate, which makes it robust and less sensitive than other fabrics. This is great news for when you’re getting started and you’re still getting used to “pressing”

Aside from ease of sewing, cotton is really pleasurable to wear. It’s a natural fibre, and allows the wearer’s body to ‘breathe’. Many begin sewing because it’s getter harder and harder to find clothing on the high street that is actually made from natural fibres. The desire for fast fashion has prompted the creation of cheaper manmade fabrics, which are not always as nice to wear as they look!

Interested in learning more about fabric types? I’ve got a free fabric guide below that includes lots of tips and tricks for preparing your fabrics, and how to work with different fabrics too.

Download my free fabric guide

Do feel free to share with someone you know who might need help with their fabric choices too.

Happy Stitching CL :)

Catch up on Day 1– Getting started guide

Read Day 3– Make a simple zip bag

PS- If you’d like my exclusive sewing tips and tricks then don’t leave without becoming a Thrifty Stitcher “Insider”

MAKE ME AN INSIDER

I've not only gained overall competence, but learnt better garment construction as well as new methods for altering patterns
Mandy- An elevator member