VISCOSE CHALLIS

In this intensive masterclass, Gavin Burrell dives deep into viscose challis, a much-loved fabric among modern sewists

-  Gavin Burrell

There's a wonderful magic involved in T taking a piece of fabric and transforming it into a garment you can be proud to wear. Every step in the process has a role to play in the quality and impact of the end result, but don't underestimate how important it is to pick the right fabric in the first place. A crisp cotton poplin can be your friend when working with the pleats and darts of a summer shirt dress but for a flowing skirt or drapey dress a more fluid fabric like viscose challis will achieve much better results.

For the novice dressmaker- and for many more experienced sewists too-the world of fabric can be both magical and mystifying. The choice on offer can feel particularly challenging when buying online, when you can't stroke and swish fabrics to your heart's content.

Learning more about the properties of each fabric and how it sews and wears can transform your sewing and give you more confidence with buying fabrics and trying new patterns. In this feature we'll introduce one of the most popular fabrics in dressmaking-viscose challis.

ALL ABOUT CHALLIS