The best fabric depends on how you want the finished project to look, feel, drape, and perform. Start with the end use, then consider weight, fiber content, texture, stretch, and the amount of structure you need.
This guide is designed to help you narrow the choices. For exact fiber content, fabric weight, printable width, care, and current printed pricing, visit Our Fabrics.
- Order the Ground Fabric Swatch Kit
- Compare full fabric specifications & pricing
- Explore apparel fabrics
- Explore upholstery fabrics
How to Choose a Fabric
Think first about the finished project. A blouse needs a very different hand and drape than a tote bag, upholstered chair, quilt, or outdoor cushion.
These five characteristics will help you narrow the options:
- Weight: Lighter fabrics generally drape more easily; heavier fabrics provide more body and structure.
- Hand: Consider whether you want the fabric to feel soft and fluid, smooth and polished, naturally textured, firm, stretchy, or plush.
- Fiber: Cotton and linen offer the feel and character of natural fibers, while polyester bases provide specialized options such as stretch, fleece, easy care, and outdoor performance.
- Structure: Garments, drapery, cushions, bags, and upholstery each require different levels of body and support.
- End use: The way the fabric will be worn, handled, washed, or exposed to the elements matters as much as appearance.
Choose by Project
Blouses, Lightweight Dresses & Loungewear
Best starting points: Cotton Pima Lawn, Cotton Sheeting
Choose Pima Lawn when you want the lightest, smoothest option with graceful drape. Choose Cotton Sheeting when you want a light woven cotton with a little more body and versatility.
Shirts, Summer Dresses & Easy Sewing Projects
Best starting points: Cotton Quilting, Cotton Sheeting
Both are stable woven cottons that are easy to cut, sew, and press. Cotton Quilting has a familiar quilting-cotton hand, while Sheeting is slightly broader in use for apparel, costumes, bedding, and everyday sewing.
Dresses, Skirts & Polished Cotton Projects
Best starting point: Cotton Sateen
Cotton Sateen has a smooth surface, subtle luster, and a more polished drape than our plain woven cottons.
Pants, Jackets & Structured Garments
Best starting points: Cotton Twill, Cotton Linen 90/10, Linen Cotton 55/45, Linen 7 Ounce
Cotton Twill offers durability and flexibility. The cotton-linen blends add natural texture, while Linen 7 Ounce gives a more distinctly linen look and hand.
Quilting
Best starting point: Cotton Quilting
This is the most familiar choice for piecing and quilting projects, with a smooth, stable woven surface that cuts, sews, and presses easily.
Activewear, Swimwear & Athleisure
Best starting point: Poly Spandex 4-Way Knit
This lightweight performance knit provides four-way stretch, flexibility, and quick-dry performance for fitted garments and movement-focused projects.
Sweatshirts, Jackets, Loungewear & Blankets
Best starting point: Polyester Fleece
Polyester Fleece has a printed face and plush back, making it the softest and warmest option in the current lineup.
Drapery & Decorative Cushions
Best starting points: Cotton Sateen, Cotton Duck, Kildare Linen, Linen 7 Ounce, Polyester Linen
Choose Sateen for a smoother, more polished look; Duck for more body; Kildare for a refined linen appearance; Linen 7 Ounce for relaxed natural texture; or Polyester Linen for an easy-care linen look.
Residential Upholstery & Slipcovers
Best starting points: Cotton Duck, Cotton Twill, Cotton Linen 90/10, Linen Cotton 55/45, Linen 7 Ounce, Polyester Linen
These fabrics provide useful body for cushions, slipcovers, and residential upholstery while offering different combinations of texture, fiber content, and flexibility.
More Substantial Upholstery
Best starting points: Cotton Sailcloth, Libeco Linen P445
Sailcloth is our heaviest cotton base, while Libeco Linen P445 is our heaviest linen. Both offer more body for projects that call for a substantial woven fabric.
Outdoor Cushions & Upholstery
Best starting point: Polyester Outdoor
Polyester Outdoor is water repellent and UV lightfast to 500+ hours, making it the best choice in the current lineup for outdoor cushions, upholstery, heavy drapery, and accessories.
Totes, Bags & Structured Accessories
Best starting points: Cotton Duck, Cotton Twill, Cotton Sailcloth, Polyester Linen
Duck and Twill offer sturdy cotton options, Sailcloth provides the most structure, and Polyester Linen offers a practical easy-care alternative with a woven linen-like appearance.
Choose by Feel & Structure
Light & Fluid
Cotton Pima Lawn — our lightest cotton, with a smooth hand and graceful drape.
Light & Stable
Cotton Quilting, Cotton Sheeting — easy-to-handle woven cottons for projects that need softness without excessive drape.
Smooth & Polished
Cotton Sateen — smooth with a subtle luster and a more refined surface.
Midweight with Natural Texture
Cotton Linen 90/10, Linen Cotton 55/45, Kildare Linen, Linen 7 Ounce — natural-fiber options with increasing linen character and texture.
Firm & Structured
Cotton Duck, Cotton Twill — durable woven cottons with useful body for structured garments, slipcovers, bags, and upholstery.
Heavy & Substantial
Cotton Sailcloth, Libeco Linen P445 — the heaviest cotton and linen choices in the current collection.
Stretch & Flexible
Poly Spandex 4-Way Knit — built for movement, recovery, and fitted garments.
Soft & Plush
Polyester Fleece — printed on the face with a plush soft back for cozy apparel and blankets.
Easy-Care Woven Texture
Polyester Linen — a linen-like woven appearance with the easier care of polyester.
Outdoor Performance
Polyester Outdoor — water repellent and UV lightfast to 500+ hours.
Natural Fiber or Polyester?
Choose a natural-fiber fabric when breathability, natural texture, a soft woven hand, or the character of cotton and linen is important to the project. Our natural-fiber options range from lightweight Pima Lawn and Cotton Quilting to heavier Cotton Sailcloth and Libeco Linen P445.
Choose a polyester or synthetic base when the project requires a specialized performance characteristic such as four-way stretch, fleece warmth, easier care, or outdoor durability.
Neither category is universally better. The right choice depends on how the finished piece will be used.
Compare Similar Fabrics
Cotton Pima Lawn vs. Cotton Sheeting
Choose Pima Lawn for lighter weight, a smoother hand, and more drape.
Choose Cotton Sheeting when you want a light cotton with a little more body and broader everyday use.
Cotton Quilting vs. Cotton Sheeting
Choose Cotton Quilting for traditional quilting, piecing, and familiar quilting-cotton handling.
Choose Cotton Sheeting when apparel, costumes, bedding, or general-purpose sewing are the priority.
Cotton Duck vs. Cotton Twill vs. Cotton Sailcloth
Cotton Duck: firm, sturdy, and versatile for upholstery, cushions, and bags.
Cotton Twill: substantial but more flexible, with a distinctive diagonal weave.
Cotton Sailcloth: the heaviest and most structured of the three.
Cotton Linen 90/10 vs. Linen Cotton 55/45
Cotton Linen 90/10: more cotton character with a touch of linen texture.
Linen Cotton 55/45: more noticeable linen character, texture, and natural-fiber feel.
Kildare Linen vs. Linen 7 Ounce
Kildare Linen: refined, substantial, and especially well suited to drapery, decorative cushions, and table linens.
Linen 7 Ounce: a more versatile midweight linen for apparel as well as upholstery, drapery, bedding, and accessories.
Linen 7 Ounce vs. Libeco Linen P445
Linen 7 Ounce: a versatile midweight linen with natural slub and relaxed character.
Libeco Linen P445: a heavier, more substantial linen for upholstery, drapery, bedding, and decorative cushions.
Natural Linen vs. Polyester Linen
Choose natural linen when authentic fiber texture, natural variation, and linen character are important.
Choose Polyester Linen when you want a woven linen-like look with easier care and consistent polyester performance.
Cotton Duck vs. Polyester Outdoor
Choose Cotton Duck for indoor upholstery, cushions, bags, and natural-fiber projects.
Choose Polyester Outdoor when water repellency and added UV lightfastness are needed.
Sampling Before You Order
Specifications can narrow the choices, but hand, texture, drape, and structure are difficult to judge on a screen.
The Ground Fabric Swatch Kit includes a 5" x 5" unprinted sample of every current base fabric so you can compare them side by side before ordering printed yardage.
Once you have selected a fabric, the Custom Print Color Library can help with color planning. If color, scale, or placement is especially important, consider starting with a 1-yard test print before moving into a larger run.
Order the Ground Fabric Swatch Kit
Need Exact Specifications?
This guide is intended to help you choose between fabrics rather than duplicate the full technical specifications for every substrate.
For current fiber content, fabric weight, printable width, fabric width, care information, recommended uses, and printed pricing, visit Our Fabrics.
Need More Help Choosing?
If you want more project-specific guidance, use the dedicated apparel and upholstery guides or contact us with details about your project.