Grainline - taunton.com

Before You Sew

Grainline

grain, or grainline, refers to the 45-degree angle to the straight grain. Non-
orientation of the yarns in woven woven fabrics, such as felts, have no grain.
fabric. The warp yarns run from
back to front in the weaving How the Grainlines Behave
loom and form the lengthwise
grain—often called the straight grain. The Since the warp yarns are tightly stretched
weft yarns are woven from side to side into during the weaving process, the lengthwise
the warp yarns and form the crosswise grain, grain has very little, if any, give, or stretch.
or crossgrain. The lengthwise and crosswise Most garments are cut with the lengthwise
grains are perpendicular to one another in grain oriented vertically, perpendicular to the
the loom. The bias falls along any angle to hem, because the warp yarns hold their
the lengthwise or crosswise grain, (see the shape well and resist bagging and stretching.
drawing below) and the true bias is at a See the photos on p. 11, which compare the
drape of fabric on its different grains. This

Fabric Grain

Grain refers to the orientation of the yarns in a woven fabric. Warp yarns, parallel to the
selvage, form the lengthwise grain. Weft yarns, perpendicular to the selvage, form the
crossgrain. Bias refers to any line that falls at a diagonal angle to the selvage. True bias
falls at a 45-degree angle.

Warp (lengthwise)

Weft (crossgrain)

Crossgrain stretches Bias (any diagonal)
when “bends” in woven True bias (45-degree diagonal)
weft yarns straighten
out, getting longer.

Unstraightened
bend

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Straightening Grain

Checking for Square Restoring Square
Crossgrain
STEP 1. Determine cross- Selvage Crossgrain
Pulled thread Hold the fabric at opposite diagonal
grain by pulling crossgrain corners and pull gently. Be sure to
thread. hold and pull in the direction opposite
to the direction of distortion.
STEP 2. Cut along pulled

thread line to mark cross-
grain.

STEP 3. Fold fabric length-

wise, smoothing fold and
aligning selvages. Fabric is
off grain if the layers are not
aligned across each end.

Q uick Tip places the crossgrain, which has greater ric is off grain, the warp and weft yarns are
If the selvage has stretch, horizontally around the body, allow- no longer at right angles to one another. If
been removed, you ing the fabric to ease as the yarns flex with the grain is not straightened before cutting,
can identify which the body’s movement (see the bottom left the garment will likely fit strangely or hang
grainline is which section of the drawing on p. 9). The cross- crookedly.
by grasping the grain is rarely placed vertically in a garment
fabric along one because it will droop as the yarns relax. To determine if fabric is off grain, nick the
grain with both selvage with scissors near one end of the fab-
hands and giving it Because fabric cut on the bias distorts and ric length. Then grasp one or two crossgrain
a couple of sharp stretches (with the maximum stretch along threads, and pull them gently, as shown in
tugs, listening to the true bias), it drapes beautifully over the the left-hand drawing above. Cut the end of
the sound it body’s contours. Designers often use the the fabric along the line created by the
makes. Then grasp characteristic drape of a bias cut to create pulled thread. Then, with the fabric lying
along the other dramatic clinging effects in their garments. smoothly on your worktable, fold the fabric
grain and tug Because of the stretch and distortion of the in half lengthwise, aligning the selvage
again. The snap- bias, garment pieces cut on the bias need edges. If the two layers of the cut end (the
ping sound made special handling during cutting and con- crossgrain) do not line up, the fabric is off
by the lengthwise struction. While bias-cut garments require a grain. You can also use an L-square to check
grain will be slight- little extra effort to construct, the rewards the alignment; just position the corner of the
ly higher in pitch are considerable in terms of drape and play square at the cut end of the fabric with one
than the sound of fabric patterns. leg of the square along the selvage. The cut
made by the end of the fabric should align with the other
crossgrain. Checking for Square leg of the square.

Once a fabric has been woven, it can be Squaring the grainlines
pulled out of square, or off grain, during
other manufacturing steps, such as when it’s If the fabric is off grain, you can often restore
folded and rolled onto bolts. When the fab- the perpendicular alignment of the length-
wise and crosswise yarns; this process is

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called squaring or, somewhat illogically, Comparing Drape of Different Grains
straightening. Some fabric finishes seem to
resist squaring. Prewashing a washable fabric With the lengthwise
will soften the yarns and make them easier to grain perpendicular
square, as will lightly steaming the fabric. to the floor, this
soft, fluid silk crepe
Square the alignment by holding the fabric maintains some
at opposite diagonal corners and pulling gen- body, with folds
tly (see the drawing at right on p. 10). Be beginning toward
sure to hold and pull in the direction oppo- the top of the dress
site to the direction of distortion—the idea is form.
to work the yarns back into square, not pull
them further out. Then refold the fabric to With the crossgrain
see if the crossgrain is square with the perpendicular to the
lengthwise grain. If not, gently pull the fabric floor, the silk has a
on the diagonal again. Continue these steps similar drape but
until the fabric is squared, then press the fab- less body. It will
ric in the direction of the lengthwise grain stretch and droop
only. This method also works for realigning a over time.
knit that has been pulled off grain.
Silk crepe hung with
Commercial Pattern Grainlines the bias perpendi-
cular to the floor
Because fabric behaves differently along its molds to the dress
various grainlines, every commercial pattern form, revealing
piece is marked with the recommended every contour
grainline orientation so the garment will fit underneath.
according to the designer’s intentions. The
arrow on each pattern piece, which indicates Knitted Fabrics
the lengthwise grain, should be placed on
the fabric parallel to the selvage. Even small The orientation of the yarn in knitted fabrics
pieces such as collars, cuffs, and facings is described by “direction” instead of grain-
work best when oriented on the recom- line. Direction refers to the lengthwise ribs
mended grainline. and crosswise courses. Unlike woven fabrics,
knits have the greatest amount of stretch
But pattern pieces for some garments, along the crosswise course; thus, a knit’s bias
such as gored skirts, can be cut with the ar- direction has less stretch than its crosswise
row on the bias in order to increase drape direction. Most often, garments made from
and make interesting use of stripes and other knit fabric are cut with the lengthwise direc-
fabric motifs. If you want to do this, mark a tion perpendicular to the hem. ■
new straight grainline on the pattern piece at
a 45-degree angle to the printed arrow (use a
45-degree triangle). But plan carefully before
cutting to be sure you understand the way
the stripes will align from one pattern piece
to the next—it’s easy to get confused.

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