The Lazy Wench's Favorite Fabrics

This is a list of commonly used and not so commonly used grounds for embroidery. If some of these words are new to you, check out the Lazy Wench terminology page for definitions. Many of the links on this page will take you right to the definition.

Aida

is an evenly woven fabric, but it isn't plain weave. The Aida pattern results in evenly spaced holes in an otherwise dense fabric. Aida is usually 100% cotton. I no longer do much at all on Aida. I used to use it a lot. I have other fabrics I like more.

British satin

is 100% cotton and a special type of twill that gives a very smooth, shiny face. The back is different from the front, it's rougher looking. This fabric is a finer weave than linen twill and will work very well for surface embroidery or stumpwork. It can be worked in a hoop or on a frame.

Canvas

is usually cotton, stiff and more hole than thread. It is not the fabric used in tote bags, though that is also called canvas. Canvas for needleworkers looks like a very coarse screen. Interlock canvas is woven with the warp threads twisted in pairs around the weft threads. This prevents the weft from shifting around as much. Penelope canvas has threads grouped in pairs, and can be used as a large or small count by stitching over the pairs of threads, or over each single intersection. Mono canvas is plain weave. If you are stitching on canvas, you are doing canvaswork.

Congress cloth

is in that blurry area between cloth and canvas. It is plain weave. I think of it as a special type of canvas more than I do a cloth. Congress cloth doesn't hoop well at all, I put it in a scroll frame or I use stretcher bars. Here's another tricky bit about congress cloth. It doesn't forgive sins. Pass a needle through congress cloth and it leaves a slight hole that will never really go away. If I stitch and have to frog, it will show unless I stitch over it. Since many designs that call for congress cloth are very open and lacy, with unworked areas throughout, I have to be very careful when I count.

Evenweave

Evenweave to a Lazy Wench means a plain weave fabric that is not 100% linen. It has the same thread count for warp and for weft. It may be a blend of natural and man made fibers, or blends of natural fibers. They have specific names like Lugana or Quaker Cloth that help identify the fiber and sometimes the thread count. When in doubt, Wenches to go the Zweigart web site and check. I recommend evenweave as a ‘stepping stone’ from Aida to linen, because it is less expensive than linen and the very even threads are easier to count than the slightly uneven threads of 100% linen.

Huck, Huck toweling

is a specialty fabric, usually cotton, that has thread floats on the front. It is used for Huck embroidery (Duh!) where fibers are passed under the floats but not through the fabric from front to back. There is no pattern on the back, all the work is on the front. My grandmother did a few guest towels in this technique. They are on display in my powder room. I expect guests to actually use them but so far, ony one or two have had the nerve.

Linen

to this Lazy Wench means plain weave fabric that is 100% linen. Usually it has the same thread count for warp and weft. If it doesn't, it is usually noted in the description.

Linen twill

is a 100% linen used for crewel or surface embroidery. It is dense, doesn't drape and can be worked in a hoop or a frame. It is not a plain weave, but a twill and looks the same on both sides.

Silk Gauze

is a canvas that is woven out of silk and used for miniatures and jewelry. I have some that is 72 threads to the inch. More usual counts are in the forties and fifties. Yes, it looks like gauze, but is stiffer. Often worked in a cardboard holder, not a hoop.

Lazy Wench Favorites I like to stitch on linen, evenweave that has a low polyester percentage, congress cloth, huck and canvas that is 18 to the inch or finer. I like to work with fabrics that feel good, drape well and will wear well when necessary. I prefer to use linen that is 32 count or finer and evenweave that is 25 count or finer. I'm an opinionated Lazy Wench, couldn't you tell?

What makes a fabric good quality fabric? There are several things I look for when fabric shopping. I want fabric to have very consistent characteristics. Cheap fabric is often off grain, meaning woven on a diamond, not a square. Cheap fabric can have areas where threads are packed closely and then areas where they are loose. It's OK for linen to have some thick and thin threads, even a slub or two. If the fabric is dyed, the dye should not rub off on a hanky. Fabric should not be fuzzy, nor should it become fuzzy with just a little bit of handling. It should be clean, not excessively creased and cut on grain. In general, I do not buy fabrics that come precut, folded into a square and hung up in Zippie plastic bags. I expect to pay between 30 to 70 dollars a yard for fabric and rarely buy less than a half-yard at a time.

A good shop knows that Wenches want useful rectangles of fabric and will cut 'fat quarters' or 'fat halves.' For example, a 60" wide fabric would be cut in half down the middle and instead of getting a 9" by 60" ribbon for a quarter yard, you get an 18" by 30" piece. A fat half is not 18" by 60", but is 36" by 30" instead. The Lazy Wench has never heard of a 'fat three-quarter'.

Storing fabric at home means taking it out of the plastic shopping bag to allow the fibers to breathe. Sometimes I hang fabric up using skirt clips or a cushioned hanger. Most of the time it is neatly folded and put on shelves in my closet, out of the light. Crushable stuff like congress cloth and canvas is stored rolled up and laid down, not on end.

When cutting fabric for a project, I like to allow from 4" to 6" on each side for framing and fraying and edge finishing. For a project with a finished area of 16" by 20", I'll cut a piece of fabric 28" by 32". I like that much extra because I often frame using both mats and glass. The mats will hold the glass away from the surface of the finished work, but also add size to the whole framed piece. If the cost of the fabric prohibits cutting a lot extra, it is possible to sew extra fabric to the ground, but there is a lump from the seam allowance that cannot be avoided.

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