Why I Choose Natural Fabrics for Made-to-Measure Sewing

When someone asks why I choose natural fabrics for many commissions, I think about their feel and the drape I want for that garment. It is a preference I have developed one fabric offcut at a time, but it is not a rule for every project: each fabric needs to be assessed for its construction and intended use.

Cotton, silk, linen and wool aren't just an aesthetic choice. They're materials that breathe, that age with dignity, and that respond predictably to the needle, something you appreciate enormously when you're making a made-to-measure garment.

Over the years I've learned to tell, almost just by running my hand over it, which fabric will "behave" well on the pattern and which one will give me trouble. It's not magic intuition, it's simply accumulated memory from thousands of hours in contact with different fibres.

How they behave when sewing

How a fabric responds to ironing and sewing varies with its fibre, construction and finishes. Before marking darts or seams, I check which treatment it can withstand. The aim is to achieve the shape the design needs without damaging the surface or changing its drape.

Cotton can bring structure to a design; a suitable wool allows a jacket's volume to be shaped; a light silk can add movement to a skirt, and linen can work when its texture and creases are part of the desired look. Each family contains very different fabrics. That is why I test an offcut with a needle, thread and treatment compatible with its label before deciding how to cut and assemble the garment.

Thermal comfort depends on the fibre, but also on the construction, weight, layers and fit. A natural fabric may feel comfortable for one project, while a technical blend may work better for another. I therefore assess the specific fabric and how it will be used, without attributing the same behaviour to every fabric in a family.

Before confirming a fabric, I check its composition and care instructions and test an offcut where possible. I observe how it cuts, sews, irons and responds to suitable treatment. Fraying or a drop of water alone cannot determine its quality: what matters is checking the full set of properties the garment needs.

They last differently

A good natural fabric, well cared for, ages gracefully: it softens, gains character, and often improves with the years instead of simply deteriorating. It's a quality I value greatly when choosing materials for pieces meant to last.

Some linen garments soften with wear, and certain wool fabrics respond well to appropriate maintenance. But ageing also depends on quality, finish, friction and care. Both natural and synthetic fabrics can lose their properties if the material or its care is unsuitable for the use.

This doesn't mean every natural fabric is automatically better just for being natural. A low-quality cotton, loosely woven, can warp and lose its shape long before a well-made synthetic does. Fibre quality, weave density and finish matter just as much as the material's origin. That's why I insist so much on the swatch test before committing to a fabric: the label tells part of the story, but hands and the iron tell the rest.

When a technical fabric is the better choice

This isn't an absolute rule, and it would be dishonest to present it as one. There are projects where a technical fabric is simply the best choice, garments that need extreme stretch, water resistance, or very specific behaviour that's hard to achieve with natural fibre. Swimwear or sportswear, for example, work better with synthetic fabrics designed for that use. The key is choosing based on what the garment needs to do, not on a fixed rule.

There's also a middle ground, and I like explaining it when someone asks: well-thought-out blends, where a natural fibre is combined with a small percentage of elastane or polyamide to gain comfort without completely losing the fabric's natural behaviour. Wool trousers with five percent elastane, for example, keep much of the hand and drape of pure wool, but gain a range of movement that anyone wearing them daily really appreciates. I don't see it as a betrayal of natural fabric, but as one more tool, used with judgement.

If you have a project in mind and want to talk about which fabric makes the most sense for it, you can contact Atelier Yvicor.

We can assess fabrics for a made-to-measure clothing commission or, for a brand, during pattern and prototype development.

Frequently Asked Questions

"A natural fabric doesn't hide work well done: it lets it show."

— Patricia Rojas