5 Things to Consider When Choosing Fabrics for Special Occasions

Podcast Transcript

Sarai

Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy. And today, I'm talking about something a little extra special, choosing fabrics for those big events and special occasions in our lives. So I'm going to cover five questions you can ask yourself to make sure you're picking the right fabric for your own special occasion garment that you're making. So whether it's a wedding, if it's a fancy party, upcoming holidays, make you want to feel like you're at your best, the fabric you choose can really make or break your outfit. And while it's tempting to go straight for that really luxurious silk or that stunning velvet, it can also get really expensive. So there are a few important factors to consider before you make your decision, especially when it's costing you quite a bit of money. So in this episode, I'm going to share five key things to keep in mind when you're choosing fabrics for special occasions. All right, so let's get started and dive right into these tips.

Okay, so these are the five questions I think you should ask yourself when you're picking out that fabric for your special occasion garment.

The first one is lighting. So how will your fabric look under different lights? So that's my first tip. Ask yourself about the lighting at the event. The way your fabric looks under different lighting conditions can completely transform your outfit. So it's something that's really worth thinking about. For example, if your event is outdoors and it's in natural sunlight, you might notice that certain fabrics, like satin or silk, can appear brighter, more reflective. Sometimes they even can be sheer in a way that you might not notice if it's not outside in natural sunlight. When the sun comes through certain fabrics, they can be much more sheer than they would otherwise appear. So at daytime outdoor events, you might want to choose a fabric that looks really beautiful in natural light, like a cotton voile or maybe a linen. Another one I really like for special events, especially outdoor events or something that's in the sun is a cotton silk blend. So like a cotton silk blend voile, something like that. What I like about that is that it has this floaty, airy quality of a voile, but the silk, because silk takes dye so well, can make the color super beautiful and vibrant and just look amazing during the daytime.

So that's one that I really like. I used to have this dress that I made. I made it from a 1950s pattern, and it was in this butter yellow silk cotton voile, and it was so beautiful and so floaty. It was just lovely but still wearable during the day. So that's one you can keep an eye out for if you're making something for a daytime event and you want that floaty look. It's especially great if you like color.

If your event is in the evening or it's indoors, artificial lighting can really soften or enhance the sheen of your fabric depending on what it is. So fabrics like taffeta or sequins can really sparkle in this really lovely way under evening lights, but they might look a little bit over the top in a casual or a daytime setting. So that's another thing to keep in mind. And remember to be wary of wearing bright whites if there's going to be black lighting, unless that's what you're going for. If you want to be glowing, then maybe you could go for white. But that's something to keep in mind if you're going somewhere that's going to have that black lighting, if it is more of a nighttime event.

One tip I really love is to take a swatch of the fabric outside or into different lighting environments before you make your final decision. And that way you can see how it reacts in both bright and dim settings. This can really help you to avoid any surprises and ensure that your fabric really just looks like you intended no matter the lighting. It's also really helpful if you're going to be at an event where you're moving between different environments. If it's partially outdoors during the day and then it moves into an evening event that's indoors, you might want to see how that fabric looks in those different environments and under those different lighting conditions in order to know if it's going to be the right fabric for the garment you're making. Because once again, you might be investing quite a bit of money in this garment that you're making. You might also just be investing a lot of time in the garment you're making, so you want to make sure that it's going to look the way that you want it to look in the environment that it's going to be in. So that's the first tip, is to think about the lighting and ask yourself about the lighting.

The next one to consider is mobility. Will you be able to move comfortably? This is such an important one, and I think it often gets overlooked when it comes to special occasions. When we think about special occasion garments, we often focus so much on how they look, but you want to be able to move and you want to be able to enjoy yourself, too. If you're going to be dancing, if you're going to be walking a lot, or even just sitting down for a long time, think about how the fabric is going to perform in those situations. I'll give you some examples. Stiff fabrics like or brocade, they can look really gorgeous, but they might restrict your movement, especially if you're wearing a fitted or a structured garment. You can have a limited mobility in those kinds of fabrics. But fabrics like stretch satin or Ponte knit or crepe have some give to them, and they make really great options if you do need to move around a lot. So lightweight fabrics like chiffon or Georgette can also give you a lot of mobility, especially in gowns or dresses that have fuller skirts or that have a lot of flowiness to them.

That can work really well. One thing that I like is a sheer dress over maybe a slip dress, either in a knit or maybe bias cut, something that offers a lot of movement. I'm making my dress for Stitch Fest right now, and that is a sheer gauze dress that I'm going to wear over a slip. So it's going to have quite a bit of ease to it, but because the fabric is sheer, it still looks a little bit fancy. It still shows off certain parts of my body. It's not completely covering, and it's not like a big tent. It does show a little bit of skin in a way, but it allows a lot of movement, and it's going to be very, very comfortable. So that's an option. I love a sheer dress over something that's a little bit more fitted but still comfortable. And consider the activities that you're going to be doing, and just choose a fabric that gives you the right mix of style and comfort for that particular event. So I personally, I love to dance. So if I can dance in it, that's going to make me a much happier person during the event than something that I feel really, really constricted in.

So I remember once I was a bridesmaid for a friend of mine, and the dress was lovely, but it was so constricting. It had a corsety top, and it was almost physically painful to sit down, and it was so tight and so fitted. And I just remember that whole event being very self-conscious about how I looked, but also about how I felt during the entire event. So comfort for me is something that maybe you might not think about as much in terms of special occasions because we are so focused on how it looks and really choosing that extra special fabric. For me, it's something that I absolutely need to consider if I want to be comfortable and want to have fun during the event. That's tip number two.

Tip number three is, how will the fabric look in pictures? So photos are usually a really big part of special occasions. So how your fabric photographs is something that you definitely might want to to think about. So some fabrics can reflect light in a way that makes them look different in photos than they do in person. And that's something that you might want to keep in mind when you're picking out your fabric in the first place.

For example, highly reflective fabrics like satin, metallics, sequins, they can catch the light in ways that make them appear shiny or even really washed out in flash photography. On the other hand, matte fabrics like velvet or crepe can absorb light, and they can reduce glare and give a softer and richer appearance. If you're choosing a lighter fabric like chiffon or lace, make sure it's not too sheer, because what looks delicate in person might become see-through under bright lights or a camera flash. That's another thing that you might want to just think about. You might need to line your garment if you want to avoid any surprises in photos. I think we've all seen those photos, and maybe you've had them taken of yourself where you can see a lot more than you had anticipated. You can see a lot more than the person wearing it had anticipated just because of that flash. That's something that you might want to keep in mind. It may just require, like I said, a lining or something. It may require different undergarments that offer you a little bit more coverage, but it's something to think about during those special occasions when there are going to be a lot of photos taken.

If you're unsure, it's a really great idea to snap a few photos of fabric swatches in different lighting conditions, both with and without a flash, and just see how it looks, especially if you're going to be the subject of a lot of these photos. For example, if you're in a wedding party, for example, you don't want to unintentionally taint the wedding photos with an unexpected piece of your body that people might not want to see, for example. So this way you have a better idea of how the fabric will look on camera, and you can make choices based on that.

Next is thinking about modesty and comfort. So how much coverage do you want? So that's really a lot about your comfort level, especially with regards to modesty. But special occasions often come with their own set of expectations when it comes to formality and dress codes. It's important to choose a fabric that aligns with both the event and your personal comfort level. If you're looking for more coverage, you might want to consider fabrics that are thicker or less sheer, like Ponte knit or wool blends or crepe. These fabrics provide structure and they provide coverage without feeling too heavy or too restrictive.

On the other hand, if you prefer something that's lighter, but you still want to maintain that level of modesty, consider using a lining or underlay with more sheer fabrics like cotton or like chiffon rather, Tulle, organza, those kinds of things that are a little bit more sheer. You might want consider how you can play with them and make sure that you get the level of coverage that you want. But your comfort is really key. So make sure the fabric feels good against your skin, especially if you're going to be wearing the outfit for an extended period of time, and that you're not going to be too hot. If it is something that you are going to need to line, for example, or you need it to be super opaque, make sure that it's going to be appropriate for the temperature as well. Also, scratchy or stiff fabrics can really detract from your enjoyment of the event. So opt for materials that just feel soft and feel really comfortable to wear.

Then finally, we have temperature and weather. You're going to be comfortable in the temperature or weather, and is it going to change throughout the event? I talked a little bit about that in the last tip. But this is really about thinking about how the fabric is going to perform in that particular climate at that particular time of year, at that particular event. So no matter how gorgeous your fabric is, it's not going to matter if you're too hot or you're too cold to have fun. So for outdoor events, especially in warmer months, breathable fabrics like cotton, linen, lightweight silk, those are all ideal, or blends of those things are really wonderful for those warmer outdoor events. But you also want to think about at events like that, coverage as well in order to be comfortable.

I know for me personally, I remember once I went to... This is right before I got married. This is quite a few years ago, but my brother was graduating from college, and the ceremony was outdoors at a big amphitheater, and I wore a strapless dress, and I put on sunscreen, but I did not put it down low enough on my cleavage, apparently, because the sun was directly overhead. I got very, very sunburned. I had, not scars, but it lasted for a long time, the brown tint after the sunburn pealed. I had it at my wedding as well on my cleavage.

Personally, I think covering from the sun is another thing that you might want to think about in those warmer outdoor events as well, whether that's sunscreen or it could be another garment. But you also just want to stay cool and comfortable at the same time, so balancing those things. You don't want to be stuck wearing a heavy velvet dress in an outdoor summer wedding, for example. It's something that you just want to think about at those events. But for winter events or indoor events, that might be chilly, some heavier fabrics like wool or velvet or brocade can really help you to stay warm. If the weather is going to be unpredictable or you're not exactly sure what the temperature is going to be, then you can consider layering options and think about how you can make extra pieces that you can layer on top of the main piece in order to handle different conditions that might come up. For example, in the summer, it can be maybe it's really hot out, but you're going to be in an indoor event and you don't know what the air conditioning situation is going to be like, and you can actually end up really cold. Having those extra options can be really, really helpful. If you're attending an event where the weather might change suddenly, like an outdoor wedding, bringing another me made layer can be really, really helpful.

Those are my tips, and I'm going to recap the five most important things to consider when choosing fabrics for special occasions. A lot of these can actually be applied to non-special occasion sewing as well, you might notice. But specifically for special occasions, I think they're really important. Number one is lighting. How will your fabric look under different lights? Number two is mobility. Will you be able to move comfortably? Number three is photos. How will the fabric look in pictures? Number four is modesty and comfort. Number five is the temperature and weather. Will you be comfortable in that temperature or weather, or will it change throughout throughout the event? So I hope these tips help you to select just the perfect fabric for your next big event so you can really feel both comfortable and really confident in your handmade outfit. So my big takeaway from this is that comfort is key no matter what. A lot of times, we put it aside for those big special events because it's just we feel like it's more important to have the dress of our dreams or look a certain way.

I think those things are really nice and really important, especially if you're making something yourself. You want to look the way you want to look, obviously. But comfort can really enhance the enjoyment of the event overall. And all of us have different levels or different things that help us to be comfortable. For me, mobility and the ability to feel properly covered up and be able to move around are all really, really important to me. And thinking about how I'm going to actually be spending my time while wearing this garment helps me to make those decisions. That's something you can apply to any sewing, whether it's special occasions or not, thinking about how you're actually going to be living your life in this garment. That's my big takeaway from this episode, and I hope that that's what you take away from it as well.

If you are looking for some special occasion fabric, Seamwork members get exclusive fabric discounts. So as part of your membership, you get discounts at some of our favorite indie fabric stores, and you can save anywhere from 10 to 20% off your purchases as a Seamwork member. A lot of people say these discounts alone just pay for their entire membership. So you can see a list of participating fabric stores at seamwork.com/deals.

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