How to Choose your Hadley Fabric
Today we're going to talk about choosing your Hadley fabric! Probably the most important thing to remember when choosing fabrics is that the Hadley is a shape that needs drape. If you choose something too stiff rather than having an elegant A-line top that flows with you as you move, you'll sort of be wearing a stiff tent. So definitely keep that in mind! Rayons, lawns, raw silk & other fluid silks, lightweight linen, and other lightweight cottons are all a pretty safe bet. To guide you through your selection we're going to talk about our fabric picks for the Hadley samples and why we picked each of them.
Our View A sample above was made in a beautiful 100% rayon we picked up from the first Workroom Social line of fabric, Miramar. The line was designed by our friend Whitney Crutchfield who purposefully created the scale of the prints specifically for garments, which is really exciting. So much of the fabric out there is designed for quilting which means the scale is often quite small, so the combination of the drape and perfectly proportioned prints makes this fabric a no-brainer for the Hadley. The line won't be re-printed and I believe stock is running low so if there's a print you like, we'd recommend grabbing it now! We think the three prints shown above would pair perfectly with this pattern.
We love all things silk noil right now and this fabric is a perfect match for the Hadley. Raw silk is soft, fluid, and much easier to work with than other silk weaves with the added bonus of a great texture. If you're one of those people who enjoys texture mixing in your outfits you've got to try raw silk. A quick care tip in case the word "silk" is scaring you. Before cutting I prewash my silk noil on a warm/cold cycle and then dry on low in the dryer. This way after I've made my garment I can wash it on a cold cycle and air dry in the dryer without worry of the silk shrinking or having to dry clean. I actually do this with all my silk so potential hot tip right here for you! We picked up our silk noil at Stonemountian & Daughter Fabrics, they have a ton of colors to choose from!
Linen is a classic choice for the Hadley, and one of my favorite fibers! The key to using linen for the Hadley, which I'm sure you can guess at this point, is using a linen that isn't too tightly woven. We love the Watercolor Linen from Purl Soho and used it for two of our samples. It's a handkerchief linen that starts out soft, yet crisp, and wears in gorgeously. The two color weave of this linen adds to the depth and beauty of the fabric. A quick care tip — I wash my linen on a cold/cold cycle and air dry in the dryer before cutting, then treat it the same way after the garment is made.
We're currently on the search for our Hadley sew-along fabrics and have ordered a bunch of ones to test out. I'll be sure to post again with what we think would work from them once they arrive! Have you seen anything lately that would be perfect for a Hadley? If so let us know in the comments below!
