Does anyone have any advice on what GSM fabric weights fall into Light, Medium and Heavy Weight fabric.
I am trying to get my head around buying on line, the web sites I have looked at seem to be good at showig the GSM, but the figures don't mean anything to me yet:
What weight would the following be :
240gsm knit jersey
180gsm 100% Cotton
110gsm 100% Viscose
130gsm Cotton Double Gauze
Is there differnt GSM weights for Knit & Woven?
Many thanks in advance.
This is a great question - I'll do my best!!
I would say 240gsm for knit jersey would be medium-weight - think your typical cotton jersey t-shirts or knit dresses. Definitely make sure to read the description as well - a lot of good online retailers will give you an idea of what the fabric works well for. Some lighter-weight sweatshirting fabrics might fall into this range as well. So the description is your best friend
180gsm for cotton I would say is likely to be fairly heavy for a cotton I would imagine more like a quilting cotton compared to a cotton lawn which would be closer to 100gsm which is more suitable for dressmaking.
Viscose is a fairly lightweight fabric so 110gsm is about right for most viscose - a viscose twill would be heavier but still only about 140gsm
Double gauze again is a lightweight fabric - anything between 120-130gsm would be about standard.
There aren't different GSM (grams per square metre) weights for knits or woven - but the type of fabric it is would put into a different category of light, mid, or heavy-weight. For example a viscose of 90gsm is very lightweight, but a cotton jersey of 200gsm would also be lightweight due to the different properties of the fabrics. I hope that helps and hasn't confused you more!
Many thanks Hayley Jane
That makes sense, I never really thought about different types of fabric having different weights.
The 180gsm cotton is described as 'Linen Feel', I was thinking of making matching trousers and a top 🤞
I have just purchased a variety of different 'types' of fabric in patterns I liked the look of, as I have no idea what the difference is between Cotton Poplin, Viscose, Challis, Double Gause, how they feel or drape etc.
I saw somewhere about making the same pattern in different fabrics so that you can see and compare the way in which the different material drapes. The plan is to try this with the various fabrics I have brought 😀
Aaaah... yes the linen feel fabric will be perfect of a pair of trousers - I have made a few in that type of fabric!
That's a really great way of learning about different fabric types and what you enjoy sewing with and wearing. A cotton poplin is quite crisp and makes great shirts, shirt dresses, shift dresses.
Viscose is much more fluid and has more drape (one of my favourite fabrics) so perfect for blouses, floatier dresses, wide leg floaty trousers. Challis is a type of fabric that is extremely lightweight - think sarongs or cover-ups for the beach as well as floaty dresses. I would say the challis would be the trickiest of these fabrics to work with because it shifts around so much.
Double gauze is lovely - it's two layers of cotton gauze that is stitched together at regular small intervals. Most typically in the shops you'd see this made into baby clothes but it's very popular among home dressmakers. It has a snuggly feel but is lightweight and comfortable to wear. Perfect for PJ's, dresses, I've just made a pair of dungarees. It has a tendency to stretch a little around joints so avoid slim fit trousers
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