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Madras Fabric – The Distinctive Cotton Ethnic Plaid Fabric
Madras fabric, what is it? Madras fabric is a light weight cotton fabric with a distinctive pattern, madras is has what is considered an ethnic plaid pattern. The name madras comes from Madras, India where the fabric was invented. Madras was originally mainly a black and red check fabric of East Indians, but now comes in a variety of plaid fabrics. Pure madras is 100% cotton.
Fabric Characteristics:
• As plaids, they must be matched • Are hand woven cottons • Have bold patterns that cannot be matched • Shrink as much as 10% • Some fabrics have small flaws • Some are dyed with vegetable dyes that bleed, so fabric should be laundered in cold water until the water runs clear
Working With These Fabrics Requires:
• Sewing machine needles recommended are 60/8-70/10 sharps • Sewing machine settings should be a stitch length of 1.5-1.75 mm • Sewing machine feet recommended are the even feed, roller and zipper foot • Thread recommended is all-purpose cotton, polyester or cotton/polyester blend • Markers recommended are tracing wheel and carbon, temporary marking pens, chalk • Tools and equipment recommended are sharp scissors, sharp shears, rotary cutter and mat, safety pins • Seams recommended are plain, lapped, to name a few • Edge finishes recommended are plain hems, bias facings, self-fabric facings, bindings and bands • Closures and pockets recommended are all types
These Fabrics Are Suitable For:
Madras is recommended for summer clothing such as pants, shorts, dresses and jackets.
For information about the notions, tools, and equipment required to complete a sewing project, click here to view the sewing notions home page
For more information about this family of fabrics some great references are:
Claire Shaeffer’s Fabric Sewing Guide
For more interesting information about madras fabric click here on Wikipedia.org
To continue exploring information about fabrics follow the links below. Muslin Fabric
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