Testing Fabric For Shrinkage Part 2

Testing Fabric For Shrinkage Part 2

Sewing

Why Test Fabric Shrinkage?

You may recall that I began testing some new fabric for shrinkage. For fabrics that might shrink dramatically, I do this to make sure that (1) the completed garment won’t shrink when washed (or if I have to dry clean it instead), and (2) if I will have enough of the pre-treated fabric to sew the garment that I intend to sew. If I wash and dry a swatch of the fabric and the swatch shrinks dramatically, I will have to NOT pre-wash the fabric (otherwise I probably wouldn’t have enough of it) and dry clean the completed garment (so that it won’t shrink later).

I must admit, I don’t do this for all of the fabric that I plan to sew. I generally just go ahead and pre-wash and dry all cotton and linen fabrics (unless I want to maintain the finish of the unwashed linen) with out testing a swatch. That is because, after many years of sewing, I know that these fabrics tend to not shrink much. I simply purchase an extra 1/8th yard of fabric to allow for shrinkage, and pre-wash and dry the fabric as usual.

How I Test Fabric For Shrinkage

I began testing my fabric for shrinkage by tracing around a large swatch of the fabric, on a piece of paper (Step 1). Then, since this garment is to be washed on cold and hang-dried,  I put the swatch into a “delicates” bag, washed it on cold, and then laid it out flat to dry (Step 2).

I am now to Step 3, comparing the size of my washed and dried swatch to the traced outline. Here is how that looks.

Pre-washed Fabric

Pre-washed Fabric

As you can see, the swatch is smaller than the outline that I traced last week. Thus, I know that this fabric shrank quite a bit. Now I am concerned that it might shrink even more if I continue to wash the fabric. Further, if I wash the entire cut, I might not have enough fabric to make the garment. AAAk!

To find out if the fabric will shrink even more, I am repeating steps 1 and 2. Below, you can see what the new outline of the swatch looks like compared to the original outline.

First And Second Outlines

First And Second Outlines

If this swatch shrinks even more, I think I will go the dry cleaning route. I don’t want to, but I also want to make sure that I have enough fabric to make my blouse.

Sep 20, 2015
Testing Fabric For Shrinkage

Testing Fabric For Shrinkage

Sewing

Is That Fabric Washable?

Dry cleaning is expensive and bad for the environment, so I avoid it as much as possible. To avoid dry cleaning my clothes, I try to sew with only washable fabrics (except for wool). It turns out that many of the fabrics that I would like to sew might or might not be washable. This means that if I washed the fabric, something bad might happen to it, such as shrinking or changing the finish.

Since it would be a shame to put in all of the work (not to mention expense) necessary to make a fabulous custom-made garment and then ruin it in the wash, I test wash all of my washable and possibly washable fabrics. Here is my preferred method. I am using a fabric that I purchased from Emma One Sock. You can see it on my Pinterest board here or purchase it from Linda here. This fabric is a drapey 100% viscose-rayon crepe, so it might shrink a bunch. If it does shrink, I will need to dry clean the finished garment, which will be a blouse for work.

Step 1: I cut out a swatch of the fabric. I prefer fairly large swatches, such as at least 4 or 5 inches square. If there is enough fabric, I will test an even larger swatch. The larger the swatch, the more accurate I will be when determining how much the fabric shrinks.

Tracing Around Fabric Swatch With Pencil

Tracing Around Fabric Swatch With Pencil

I then place the swatch on a sheet of paper and trace around it with a pen or pencil. When I am finished tracing the fabric, it looks something like this (below). Notice the little pencil tic lines around the edges of the swatch.

Cut Out Fabric Swatch

Cut Out Fabric Swatch

When I pick up the swatch, I have an outline of the swatch before washing. I save the outline for later.

Pre-Washing Swatch Outline

Pre-Washing Swatch Outline

Step 2: I wash the swatch using the method I plan on using to clean the finished garment. I would like to wash this garment on cold and then line dry. So, that’s what I will do tonight. To keep from losing it in a load of laundry, I put the swatch into a mesh bag, such as you might use for washing delicates.

Check back later this week for Step 3, when I compare the washed and dried swatch to the pre-washing swatch outline (for shrinkage) and the unwashed fabric (for changes in hand, texture).

Sep 14, 2015

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