The Best Toile Fabric To Use

27 Dec.,2021

For my toile clothing I like to use a weight and type of fabric close to the same fabric as the finished article I am making.

 

A ‘Toile’ or a ‘Muslin’ is Contact us here made up to perfect how it fits before making the garment for real. I often make these as I have a large bust and a lot of the patterns I make do need adjustments to my figure. This is the beauty of making your own clothes, you can make them to your own specification so that they fit perfectly. But what is a toile? How do I go about making a toile? And what is the best toile fabric to use?

 

100% Polyester Suit Shirts Fabric

 

What Is A Toile?

The word ‘toile’ comes from the French word meaning ‘linen cloth’. The word ‘toile’ can be applied to the fabric itself, or the test garment made from the fabric, or a repeating pattern or decoration printed on the fabric. (Usually when referring to the repeating pattern this is more accurately called a toile de jouy print or a toile de juoy pattern – which was a fabric which became popular in the 18th century)

But what is a toile in fashion design? Within dressmaking, a toile is a practice garment, a draft version of the final garment that it is useful to make before completing your chosen sewing patterns.

Within the toile, you can check fitting and make design adjustments such as a bust adjustment, seam allowance adjustments, length, waist and pattern pieces changes. So that once you make the garment in your chosen expensive and beautiful fabric it will fit perfectly.

 

What Should You Use For Your Practice Garment?

Traditionally, cream or off white calico is used to produce a test garment. Calico is a thin, cheap unbleached cotton material that can be line drawn on and stitched in a different colour. Then you can easily see where adjustments need to be made.

However, even calico can be relatively expensive per metre. So I actually like to make what I refer to as a ‘wearable toile’, a test garment in really cheap material. This way I actually get a real garment that I can wear.

 

So What Toile Fabric Should I Use?

For my toile clothing I like to use a weight and type of fabric close to the same fabric as the finished article I am making.

For instance, if you are making a jacket, it is probably not good to make a toile in a thin and fluid fabric if you plan on making the real thing in corduroy. It just won’t move or feel the same. So if you can find some cheaper cord or fabric of the same weight to make the toile is a much better idea.

Buying fabric online can be tricky, as you can’t inspect it for weight and thickness before you buy. I tend to stick to the fabrics I know well

✱100% cotton,

✱viscose,

✱cotton elastane mix jersey and

✱cord