THE Q & A SERIES

How to find the straight grain on fabric

Hi Emily,

I love the idea of a Q&A series! Thank you for taking the time to answer individual questions - that is very generous of you, and I’m sure it’ll be very valuable for the sewing community.

My question is to do with finding the straight of grain on a piece of woven fabric with no selvedges. I realised my wrestling with the back neck facing on my Peppermint Everyday Dress might have been due to me cutting it out of irregularly shaped scrap fabric pieces with no consideration of grainline.

I like the idea of repurposing scraps but am wary of it making the garment sit weirdly later on. Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Chloe

Hi Chloe,

I'm thrilled you are enjoying the Q&A series! It has been such a fun way to connect with the community.

There are a couple of ways you can find the straight grain, and it will depend on the fabric you are using. For a fabric like linen that often has a very clear weave structure, just get nice and close under some good light and take a look - you should be able to see the weave. Then you can give it a stretch - if it has some give, it's likely the cross grain (perpendicular to the grain) and if it stays firm it is likely the lengthwise grain (the grainline). Most of the time, if you accidentally cut something on the crossgrain instead of the straight grain, it shouldn't cause any major issues (unless your fabric has some stretch or too much give in that direction), it's only if you cut something on the bias, (or close to the bias) that things can get really wacky).

Another thing you can do is snip into your fabric and tear it to straighten up the sides - if you are worried about tearing your fabric (as it doesn't always work nicely), you can snip in and pull a fibre to create a line through the weave, like it's shown here.

I have never done this, but I just had a thought while writing to you, maybe you could mark the grain with an erasable fabric marker or masking tape on bigger scraps like (when you still have the selvedge so you can mark it accurately) and then it will be ready to use when you go back to it. Just an idea!

Happy sewing,

Emily