Guide
Linen Fabric for Sewing: What to Buy and How to Pre-Wash It
Buy linen fabric for sewing by weight, not by look: around 130 to 190 grams per square metre for tops and blouses, 180 to 230 for dresses, skirts and trousers, and 230 and up for aprons, jackets and bags. Check that it is 140 to 150 cm wide, and pre-wash it exactly the way you will wash the finished garment, because linen shrinks 3 to 5 percent the first time it meets water. This guide covers the weights, finishes and blends you will see in a fabric shop, how much to buy, a pre-wash routine that takes an evening, and the Sewly patterns that suit each weight of linen.
Linen weights in grams per square metre
Shops that sell linen for dressmaking usually list the weight. If yours does not, cut a 10 by 10 cm square from a sample and weigh it on a kitchen scale in grams; multiply by 100 for the weight per square metre.
| Weight | Often called | What to sew | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 to 150 g/m² | handkerchief, lightweight | tank tops, blouses, bishop and puff sleeves, gathered skirts | can be sheer; limp in A-line shapes |
| 150 to 190 g/m² | light to medium, shirting | shirts, tops, summer dresses | the most versatile weight |
| 190 to 230 g/m² | medium, dress weight | dresses, skirts, trousers, pinafores, sets | creases more as it gets heavier |
| 230 g/m² and up | heavy, canvas, upholstery | aprons, jackets, bags | too stiff for gathers; needs a heavier needle |
If you are buying your first linen, 170 to 200 grams per square metre is the safe middle: heavy enough for a dress, light enough for a top.
Finishes and blends
- Washed, stonewashed or enzyme-washed linen has been softened and partly pre-shrunk at the mill. It drapes better than loom-state linen and shrinks less, but still pre-wash it; "less" is not "none".
- Yarn-dyed linen, which includes most stripes and gingham checks, has the colour woven in, so both sides look the same. That makes it easier to match checks and to use either side as the right side.
- Printed linen has one right side. Keep it face down while cutting so the print does not confuse you about which pieces are mirrored.
- Linen-cotton blends are cheaper, crease less and press flatter. They lose a little of linen's drape and its cool feel, which hardly matters for shirts and children's clothes.
- Linen-viscose blends drape beautifully and suit bishop sleeves and long skirts, but shrink more and shift while cutting. Pre-wash twice and cut in a single layer.
- "Linen look" polyester is not linen. It does not breathe, does not press, and the pattern pages that call for linen are not written for it.
Width and how much to buy
Dressmaking linen is usually 135 to 150 cm wide, and the yardage rules of thumb in sewing articles, including ours, assume 140 cm. Some linen is sold at 110 cm, which changes everything for skirts and trousers in larger sizes, so read the width on the bolt before using any rule.
For 140 cm wide linen, a sleeveless tank in a size M takes about 0.7 to 0.9 metres, a long-sleeve shirt 1.6 to 1.9 metres, a knee-length shift dress 1.6 to 1.8 metres, an A-line midi skirt about 1.5 metres, and straight trousers 1.8 to 2.2 metres. Add 10 percent for shrinkage and straightening, and more if you are matching stripes or checks. For a large size or a directional print, print the pattern first and lay the pieces out inside a strip as wide as the fabric; that is the only method that is always right.
How to pre-wash linen
Pre-washing takes an evening, most of it waiting for the machine, and it is the single step that stops a finished dress from coming out of the wash a size smaller.
- Secure the cut edges. Zigzag, overlock or pink both raw ends. Linen frays in the wash, and an unfinished edge comes out as a nest of threads knotted around the rest of the load.
- Wash the way you will wash the garment. For clothes that means a normal cycle at 40 degrees; for an apron or kitchen linen that will be washed hot, use 60. Wash dark and saturated colours alone the first time; linen dyes often bleed once.
- Dry the way you will dry the garment. If the finished dress will ever go in a tumble dryer, tumble the fabric now at a medium setting, because heat is where most of the shrinkage happens. If you will always line dry, line dry the fabric.
- Press while slightly damp. Steam-press the whole length on the wrong side, moving along the grain rather than across it, until it is smooth and dry. Linen presses best damp and resists once it is bone dry.
- Measure again. A metre bought in the shop is now 95 to 97 cm. This is the length you have to work with.
If a fabric will be washed hot and often, pre-wash it twice. The second wash usually shrinks it a little further, and you would rather find that out now.
Cutting and sewing linen
Linen is one of the easiest fabrics to sew, with three habits that keep it that way.
- Straighten the grain before cutting. Pull a single crosswise thread near the cut edge and cut along the channel it leaves; that gives you a true straight edge. Fold the fabric selvedge to selvedge and check the cut edges line up; if they do not, pull the fabric gently on the diagonal until they do.
- Match the needle to the weight. A universal 70/10 for handkerchief linen, 80/12 for medium weights, 90/14 for heavy. Use good polyester or cotton all-purpose thread and a stitch length of 2.5 to 3 mm.
- Stay-stitch and finish. Run a line of stitching just inside the seam line of necklines and other curved edges as soon as you cut them, because linen stretches on the bias and frays on the straight. Finish every seam: zigzag or overlock on medium weights, French seams on light linen, flat-felled or bound seams on heavy.
Press every seam as you go, with steam. Linen rewards pressing more than any other fabric, and a seam pressed flat before the next one crosses it is the difference between a home-made look and a handmade one.
Which Sewly patterns suit each weight
The pattern pages in the catalog name linen first on most women's designs, and they are consistent about weight.
- Light, 100 to 150 g/m²: Minimalist Sleeveless Boat Neck Linen Tank Top, whose page suggests linen, linen blends, cotton lawn, chambray and lightweight viscose. A handkerchief linen keeps the wide neckline soft.
- Light to medium, 150 to 190 g/m²: Classic Linen Button-Up Long Sleeve Shirt, drawn for linen and light to mid-weight shirting fabrics, crisp or softly lived-in depending on the finish.
- Medium, 190 to 230 g/m²: Relaxed Fit Linen Dress with Side Pockets, which the page describes in anything from handkerchief weight to mid-weight linen; A-Line Linen Midi Skirt with Pockets, where mid-weight linen is the first choice; and Relaxed Linen Pants with Elastic Waistband and Pockets, in linen or a linen blend if you want less creasing.
- Heavy, 230 g/m² and up: Crossback Linen Kitchen and Workshop Apron, for medium to heavyweight linen, linen blends, cotton canvas or denim. This is the pattern for the heavy linen that is too stiff for a dress.
A good first project in each weight: the tank top in a light linen, the skirt in a medium one, and the apron for anything heavier than you expected when you bought it online.
Next
With a pre-washed length of medium linen on the table, the natural first garment is a dress with no closures. Linen Dress Sewing Patterns for Summer puts the shift, tent, sundress and wrap styles in order of difficulty. Every pattern above is a PDF you print at home, with an A0 file for a copy shop, and the full range of linen patterns is in the Sewly catalog and on the patterns page.