Shirtings

Shirting fabric is a soft, plain weave fabric, generally made of cotton or a cotton blended with a synthetic. You will also sometimes find shirtings with linen in the fiber content. All of these are easy to sew; in fact, shirting is an excellent fabric for beginners! It responds well to a variety of sewing techniques. Shirting is not just for shirts!

Machine wash, tumble dry. Use bleach sparingly, only for pure white shirtings.

Size 11 universal point machine needles work for most shirtings. Cotton, cotton/polyester, all polyester, or silk threads work well for both construction and embellishment. If you can find cotton embroidery thread in a coordinating color, it is an excellent construction thread for shirtings.

Plain seams, fell seams, French seams, bound seams, zigzagged seams, and folded seams are all appropriate seams, based on your project.

For crisp collars, use a fusible interfacing specifically for shirts, such as Shir-tailor. VeriShape, or fusible hair canvas. A good sew-in crisp interfacing is handkerchief linen, cut on the bias. For softer interfacing, use a fusible tricot, such as Fusi-Knit. For the perfect interfacing for all projects, use a layer of the actual shirting fabric. The weight is perfect, the color always matches, and the fabric interfacing will add just the right amount of support.

Shirts, blouses, shirt-jackets, vests, tops, shirt dresses

There are so many possibilities with shirtings! Use heirloom laces for a vintage, romantic look. Machine embroidery works beautifully on shirtings. Tucks, pleats, and gathers are all good techniques to try with this versatile fabric.

Shirting likes to be ironed with moisture, so keep a spray bottle full of water handy when you iron this fabric.