Blogpost

Amber: Recommended Fabric

If you’re about to make the Amber Trousers, you probably have an idea in mind of what style you’re going for. Should they be casual or formal, easy summer pants or chique evening wear, do you want them to hold their shape or drape around your legs? Whichever it will be, the outcome will be determined by which view you choose and which fabric. In this post I’ll give you some good resources to find the right fabric and discuss which fabrics are most suitable for which looks.

The recommended fabric type is non-stretch woven. The samples shown above are made with three different fabrics. View A in green is a medium weight poly crepe from The Sweet Mercerie. The tropical View A is made in a light viscose from Bennytex (sold out). View B in ikat is made with a handspun Indian cotton from Faberwood. You can see how the fabric behave differently: the crepe has more body than the viscose and the cotton. The rayon has the most drape. The cotton has drape as well but in a softer way than the rayon, it holds its shape better. I’ve also seen a great pair of wide legged tester trousers in a linen, a stiffer fabric will give View B that stunning palazzo look. In other words: decide on what look you want to achieve, and then choose your fabric accordingly.

With every pattern release I look for a fabric shop to collaborate with, and I had my eye on Faberwood for a while already. They have a small but carefully curated collection of unique fabrics. Fiona was kind enough to provide me with a discount so I could sample their fabrics. Because they have just started out there is no general discount this time, but I urge you to check out their shop. The three fabrics above from Faberwood are an excellent choice for View B. The blue ikat I used is sold out unfortunately, but these are of the same quality and drape. From left to right: Coral Stripe Ikat Handloom Indian Cotton, Spot Navy Ikat Handloom Indian Cotton and Ikat Homespun Indian Cotton – Black Fire. The quality and drape of these fabrics is truly amazing, they soften up beautifully after pre-washing without losing their integrity. I was quite envious of my model who got to wear and keep this beauty!

These three from Faberwood are perfect for View A. They vary in drape but are lighter weight fabrics than the ones listed above. From left to right: A Fleur de Peaux by Aime Comme Marie, Dash Lime by Atelier Brunette and Points Gold Monochrome Double Gauze Cotton by Kokka. I also have the double gauze and am planning to make a maternity Amber for myself with it. The View A/View B distinction is not very strict by the way, the double gauze for instance would work for View B as well. It all depends on the look you want!

These three are from other European based shops. From left to right: Cotton voile from The Sweet Mercerie, Cotton Lawn from Petite Couture and Viscose from Bennytex.

And some shops from other continents, from left to right: Kaufman Linen blend from Fabric.com, Silk Satin from Tessuti Fabrics and  Moda Grunge in red from Mercer’s fabric.

A word on interfacing: Choose one with the same weight and drape as your fabric. For my samples, I’ve used a H 180 on the crepe and the viscose, and a G 405 for the cotton. If that doesn’t tell you anything, just check out the different kind of weights they have in the store and compare them to your fabric. Note that some fusibles are more stretchy on the crossgrain then on the grain. It’s more give than stretch, but cut your yoke pieces in a way that you don’t have that give going from side to side seam. That’s the direction you want to have most stable. In my case that meant cutting all the interfacing pieces on the crosswise grain, so opposite to what the pattern indicates.

I hope these suggestions will help you make the pants you have in mind. Fortunately, the recommended fabrics aren’t hard to find in general so I’m sure it’ll work out! Leave a comment if you have any questions.

Similar Posts

One Comment

  1. I have just found your website, I have purchased the Jasper sweatshirt and cant wait to get started on it, I also love the Amber pants and will be purchasing that pattern next, I will definitely be making use of the tutorials which look great!
    Many thanks
    Sue

Leave a Reply to Sue Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *