Fabric Buying Guide
Fabrics are really inspiring and innovative. In fact, the fabric is the main thing that offers life to a design. Note that you can change the overall appeal of a garment dramatically by just changing the fabric that you choose to make it. So, it is not at all wise to think that it will be an easy task to purchase material from fabric wholesalers even if they offer a variety of options. On the contrary, it will be really overwhelming for you to narrow down your options in most cases.
A garment made of good fabric can boost up the confidence, positivity, and liveliness of a person wearing it. It will be easier for you to represent any theme effectively using appropriate fabrics as well. No wonder, almost every textile company is competing throughout the season in order to create new color palettes, out-of-the-box designs, weaves, textures, printing techniques, fiber blends, etc. In short, the key to designing your desired outfit is to choose the right fabric. In case you selected the wrong fabric to design your attire, you will have to deal with the loss of money, energy, and time.
There are some important tips that every fashion designer must keep in mind while choosing a fabric. Some of those important tips are given below.
Affordability
One of the main things that every fashion designer considers is the affordability of a fabric. Ideally, the fabric that is used in an outfit will comprise 60% of the overall garment cost. Of course, it will be very affordable to rely on fabric wholesalers instead of fabric retailers in this case. Similarly, you are more likely to get some good discount deal while buying fabrics in bulk quantity. However, you must consider its quality and texture as well. A good fashion designer must be able to deliver good quality outfits to their customers at an affordable range.
Functionality
It will be possible for most of the fashions designers to make flat sketches and appealing illustrations of an outfit. However, converting these sketches into a three-dimensional structure using the selected trims and fabric requires great skills and dedication. There will be many hurdles, which a fashion designer will have to face in the production process because some fabrics might not drape the way as visualized. In case of an outfit that employs multiple fabric types, the chances for fabrics to entangle or fight with each other are more. All these things may affect its execution and functionality. In order to tackle such issues, it is recommended to make a prototype using the same fabrics so that you can be 100% sure of the output.
Testing
Just like testing the functionality of a fabric or an outfit, you must check the quality or content of the selected fabric as well. This is to ensure that your fabric will stand the additional fittings or finishing applications, which you may add at the final stage of the process. Some of those applications include heat transfers, wet or dry printing process, sublimation printing, etc. It is to be noted that some nylon and cotton fabrics will not be appropriate to do printing techniques. So, you must be sure that the base fabric that you choose is ideal to carry out your desired effect.
Availability
It is obvious that you will be really attentive while choosing the main fabric to design an outfit. In addition, you may probably have to buy a sample fabric to make a prototype; you must pay equal care and attention while choosing this sample fabric as well. One of the main things that you must consider here is the availability of the material. In case you are purchasing seasonal fabrics from any of the local stores, you are more likely to get disappointed when you place your bulk order after some time. Actually, such stores tend to buy only a limited amount of yardage from the fabric mills. In order to address these issues, shopping stuff from the fabric wholesalers directly will be a great option. Even if there is a shortage of your desired material here, they will make it for you again. Hence, this will be a convenient and consistent option in every way.
Sustainability
A good fashion designer must be able to sell sustainable products. In fact, promoting your products by showcasing its environmental-friendly features will be a great option to attract potential buyers. For this, you must choose the products that are created by employing ethical standards. You may consider fabrics that feature environmental protection policies and emission standards, recycling option on used and worn products, eco-friendly yarns and trims, etc. Hand-woven fabrics will also be a great option to get sustainable products. Note that this type of materials will be usually thinner, and hence, you will have to use a base fabric as well while dealing with it.
