Until now, my fabric choices have tended towards the drapey – the drapier the better – and I rail against the use of quilting cottons for garments.
Now that I’m starting to get interested in quilting, I’m wondering… are those cottons really so bad? Am I just fearful of the unknown? After all, the dense weave of the highest quality cottons could substitute for interfacing. It could eliminate the need for interfacing altogether! I imagine that in strapless dress with princess seams, the bulk and stiffness of the seam allowances would probably eliminate any need for boning. And the prints… so whimsical; so fun; so unrepentantly crafty!
Now that I’m about to rid myself of all of the polyester in my stash in a what-not-to-wear style mass chucking, I’m wondering – it might be worthwhile to put myself onto a quilting cotton challenge. April will be the month of the quiltings! Jackets, tunics, a-line skirts, oh my!
I agree with you. I think the general advice to avoid it is silly. I’m guessing that it started out more as general advice not to simply sub it in for light-medium weight cottons and that somehow became “never use it!!” Any pattern that requires a stiffer fabric could probably consider it… Sewaholic’s crescent skirt is a great example of this in action. I’ve been considering it for Suzy’s Antoinette dress as well… The structure would work with the pattern, and the added opacity (as opposed to a lighter cotton) would maybe eliminate the need to line. I do think the trick is just making the right choices in terms of both pattern selection and fabric print. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Eek – this was my april fool’s post!
I’m interested in experimenting with what QC’s can be used for and not… but I find the cost of them here ($13-15/44″ metre) a bit prohibitive!