The value of lining fabrics cannot be overestimated. Modern clothes are made of a variety of materials with very different characteristics, but it is the lining that ensures the comfort of wearing clothes and its durability. Of course, not all materials are compatible with each other, and it is about their correct selection that we will now talk about. Clothes with a well-chosen lining will last much longer, and, in addition, it will be much more pleasant to wear. The lining hides seams and other unpleasant places on the wrong side of clothing, and also protects the top layer of fabric from sweat penetration. Viscose or polyester lining fabric is most often used, but other materials should not be overlooked.
What are the lining fabrics?
It all depends on the type of clothing. For obvious reasons, one fabric will be used for a leather jacket, and a completely different one for an elegant cardigan. Taffeta, viscose, polyester, chiffon, satin, twill, natural or artificial silk, twill or plain mesh are most often used. Let's analyze the features of these materials and the specifics of their use, so that you can choose the right fabric for lining in your case.
- Twill. The features of this material include the fact that this fabric has two sides, the front and the inside. Strictly speaking, twill can be used with any "front" side, but in practice, most often the rough matte side is conventionally considered "internal", and a softer and smoother one with a pleasant shine is "front". In modern clothing production, twill is often used as a lining fabric for wool and cashmere coats. The rough "inner" side of this material allows it to fit more tightly to the outer material (wool), so that the product holds its shape better.
- In expensive products, for example, branded handbags or fur coats, satin is often used. It shines beautifully, is pleasant to the touch and has a high density of wear resistance. In budget products, satin is rarely used because of the rather high cost.
- Viscose lining fabric currently occupies one of the first places in popularity. Inexpensive, soft to the touch and does not accumulate static electricity, it is great for a variety of clothing items. 100% viscose is not always used at the same time - sometimes it is "diluted" with nylon or cotton. This is not a disadvantage - blended fabrics have long been produced using proven technologies, and they often surpass their "pure" counterparts in their characteristics.
- Taffeta is usually used only in the production of skirts. It comes in two varieties - softer and tougher. Soft is usually used as a fabric for a lining layer for skirts, and hard helps to give additional rigidity to crinolines and just fluffy skirts. Taffeta is also distinguished by its high softness and its dielectric characteristics. The soft variety of taffeta is also sometimes called "taffeta" to indicate its difference from the harder and harder type of this fabric.
- Polyester can compete with viscose in popularity. This fully synthetic fabric is very cheap to produce, and at the same time it is extremely durable and durable, unless, of course, it is high-quality polyester produced in compliance with all necessary standards. This fabric is used everywhere, finding its application in a variety of garments - lining jackets, coats, raincoats, other sewing and haberdashery products. Some believe that polyester is not the best choice, based on its low cost, but this opinion is erroneous - the durability and high resistance of polyester make it a very good choice, and besides, you can buy it inexpensively.
- Satin, like twill, is usually used as a lining fabric for coats and raincoats. It has a certain similarity with twill - satin also has completely different sides, one of which is rough, and the other is smooth, shiny and slippery. At the junction with wool or cashmere, the rough surface of the wrong side of the lining allows the coat to keep its shape better, and the smooth outer side looks attractive and facilitates the process of putting on this sometimes bulky wardrobe item.
- Chiffon is a very thin lining fabric, soft and "airy". It was invented a long time ago, and has been used for many centuries both as a material for making elegant items of women's wardrobe, and as a lining fabric for delicate items, for example, underwear. Chiffon is characterized by low density and low weight, it is pleasant to the touch and practically does not crumple. Nowadays, sometimes it is also used for sewing curtains and curtains. But the production of a lining made of chiffon fabric requires high skill, since any defects in the seams will immediately catch the eye due to the transparency of this fabric. The cost of chiffon is quite high.
- Cotton lining is also widely used, but polyester and viscose are gradually replacing this material from the market. It has an affordable price and balanced characteristics, but is inferior to synthetic or blended fabrics in terms of wear resistance.