Let’s talk about knits and what they’re like today. The first clue that told me I out of date as far as knit fabric goes was when I began joining Facebook groups for sewing. Someone would post a photo and say this is made with DBP. And I’m thinking “what the heck is DBP?” I was totally clueless. I had never heard or seen that reference before. Now if you’ve read my about page you know that I’ve been quilting for a few decades. Quilters don’t use DBP, it has nothing to do with quilting so I was lost…. Scratching my head. Next came CL “what?” There’s also SBP, ITY, BL the list goes on.
What Has Changed
What do you know about all the different types of knit fabrics? I discovered recently that I knew very little. Until about four weeks ago I hadn’t worked much with knits for about 25 years. Boy have things changed.
When talking about knits you’ll find there are different fiber combinations. On top of that there is the way that either the fabric itself is made or what is done to the yarn before it is made into fabric. My mind was almost reeling.
As you might have guessed by now this article is for beginners or those who are beginners to knit fabrics. I will not be going into lengthy detail as I’m no expert. I will share a little of what I’ve learned sprinkled with a little humor. Then with addition two maybe three links for further information you too can become more knowledgeable about which knits will work for that garment you are dying to make.
Can any of you relate? Has anyone else seen these letters and wondered what are they and how do they relate to fabric? Maybe not. Maybe you were all in the know as these things were coming out but not clueless me. Luckily I love Google. Ask me anything, if I don’t know the answer I just whip out my phone and ask Google!
And Google came through. I found out that DBP is double brushed polyester. This fabric is nice and soft on both sides, SBP on the other hand is single brushed polyester so guess what… it’s soft on one side. CL is cotton lycra, BL is bamboo lucrative ,I’ve heard that bamboo lycra is very breathable so it’s comfy in hot weather, I have not tried it yet.
Where To Find Help
These are the basics that I can tell you. The website knitfabric.com has an informative section describing the different types of knits. This link is for the info only, I have not yet ordered fabric so I cannot speak to that aspect. You will find the info here
https://knitfabric.com/knit-fabric-101/
Love Notions Patterns has a good article on there blog about knits and woven fabrics both. I have used Love Notions patterns and I will say I like using them. So after read the article you might want to have a look at the shop. Here is the link to their article
https://www.lovenotions.com/fabric-guide-for-garment-sewists
This last one is a little more in depth
https://www.ageberry.com/types-of-knits-by-category/
One more thing I discovered is that I didn’t know my serger as well as I thought but we’ll leave that for another post.
I hope this tips help and that I have maybe I was able to lighten your spirits.