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Home » Wotza? Wednesday – What’s a Directional Fabric?

Wotza? Wednesday – What’s a Directional Fabric?

July 3, 2013 by Nanny 8 Comments

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Today’s Wotza comes from Karlie who asks:

“Nanny, I am a newbie to sewing and was wondering if you could tell me:

What’s a directional fabric?”
 
Thanks Karlie – that is a great question and an important one for you to clear up before you get started.
 
The terms Directional and Non-directional usually refer to the design or print on the fabric (or the picture) – is it all going in the same direction?  If the answer is Yes, then it is a Directional fabric and this determines how we need to place our patterns.
 
Let’s take a look at some fabrics from my stash!
In this fabric, the trees are all standing up the same way – it is a Directional Fabric.  
 
Robert Kaufman: City Centre
If we turned it upside down 
 
Robert Kaufman: City Centre
Well it just looks wrong – and upside down!!
 

In this one, the butterflies are flying in all directions and if you look carefully, you will see the same butterfly, flying in different directions .

Michael Miller: Beau Papillon
We could turn this fabric upside down and it doesn’t look a whole lot different!  We can look from either side and it’s still the same.  It is Non-Directional. We can place a pattern in any direction (as long as it is on the grain)

Michael Miller: Beau Papillon
Stripes are another example:
 
In this stripe, you will notice that even when I turn it upside down, that the sequence of the stripes remains the same.  I could place my patterns facing either way as long as it was on grain and it would be OK,
 
Babushka
Babushka









 
whereas this stripe does not.  This one is Directional and would need the patterns all facing the same way.





Why is this important?

You need to consider the Direction when you are choosing your fabric for a project and placing your patterns.  For example, you need to cut all the pattern pieces with the trees standing upright and 
with the stripes going around a skirt, you want the stripes to match at the side seams.

Another place that you will meet this is when you are making a bag whether it be a simple library bag or a more detailed bag for yourself.  If the fabric is Directional, you will need to make a seam along the bottom so that you can have the fabric going up on both sides!  If, on the other hand, you choose a non- directional fabric for this you can use a long strip that goes down one side and up the other without looking “wrong”.

When you buy a pattern, you will usually find a mention in the  Fabric Requirements section that tells you that you may need extra fabric if it is Directional.

I hope that has answered your question Karlie, and that it helps you from making a very simple ‘mistake’ when you are using Directional prints.  Thanks for asking!

 

Remember, if you want to ask Nanny a Wotza question, you can send an email to me at Nannynotes2u@gmail.com
 

Until next time
Nanny xx

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Filed Under: LET'S SEW, SEWING/QUILTING, TIPS/TOOLS, TUTORIALS, WOTZA

Comments

  1. Mrs. Lucky says

    July 3, 2013 at 8:30 am

    I love your Wotza Wednesday questions and the throughly given answers Nanny!

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      July 3, 2013 at 9:43 am

      Thank you Mrs Lucky! I am really enjoying doing them! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Pam @Threading My Way says

    July 3, 2013 at 12:18 pm

    This is such a great idea to answer questions, Margie!!! You will give so much confidence to those new to sewing.

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      July 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm

      Thanks Pam! That would be wonderful – I hope it is removing some of the uncertainty! 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Make a 9 patch Sampler with Nanny - Nannycraft4u says:
    February 12, 2017 at 9:19 pm

    […] Note:  This is a good block to use ‘directional’ fabrics if you have them.  I had these Eiffel towers and thought the birds went well with […]

    Reply
  2. Make a Shoo Fly Block from Charm Squares - Nannycraft4u says:
    February 27, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    […] Note:  You will notice that I have used a directional fabric here, but because it is a busy print, I wasn’t concerned that it would spoil the effect of […]

    Reply
  3. Make a Churn Dash Block from Charm Squares - Nannycraft4u says:
    March 27, 2017 at 7:11 am

    […] TIP:  If you are using a Directional fabric, you will need to join one pair of squares in one direction and the other pair in the other […]

    Reply
  4. Make a Greek Cross Quilt Block from Charm Squares - Nannycraft4u says:
    April 3, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    […] TIP:  Don’t forget if you are using a Directional fabric, you will need to join one pair of squares in one direction and the other pair in the other […]

    Reply

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