Lauren's guide to Corduroy fabric for dressmaking

As Autumn is well and truly upon us here in the UK and the shop gets stocked up with all the lovely new fabrics for the winter season, it might be that sewing with a warmer fabric like corduroy is shooting to the top of your ‘to make’ list.

Choice is great, but when it comes to cord there is a LOT of choice out there so in this post I want to help you find the right corduroy for your project, whether that be a transitional jacket, some structured trousers or a cosy shirt!

You can check out or latest team video to see some of the cords up close and get lots of ideas for what to make, or read on for a selection of the garments I've made over the years using cord.

What is corduroy fabric?

Corduroy fabric is a rigid fabric that can be made from a variety of different fibres including cotton, polyester, a blend between the two and also sometimes have a bit of elastane in there for stretch.

The way the fabric is woven with 3 yarns/threads, means that there are yarns/threads that ‘float’ over of pass over the other yarns. Those floating yarns are then trimmed with a blade, which causes the ridges on the surface.

What does Wale count mean?

The most obvious characteristic of any type of corduroy is how thick or think those ridges are. The ridges themselves are referred to as ‘wales’ so a corduroy will have a certain ‘wale count’. This refers to how many ridges there are in 1 inch. The lower the number, the wider the ‘wale’ and this gives a chunkier cord. The higher the number the narrower the wale and this gives a finer cord.

Depending on what you are making you may prefer a higher or lower wale count. High wale count corduroys tend to be thicker, heavier weight and have more structure. Fine or needlecords (named as the wales are as fine as needles) tend to be lighter in weight and not as stiff.

Stretch vs non-stretch

As well as the ‘wale count’ being a distinguishing factor between different types of corduroys, so is the stretch of the fabric. If there has been elastane woven into the fabric as its been made it will have some stretch and this will make the fabric more suited to certain projects.

For example a pattern for a more tightly fitted pair of trousers may call for ‘stretch corduroy’ where as a looser fitting, more structured sewing pattern may call for ‘non-stretch corduroy’. The pattern will have been designed to be used with one or the other so making sure you have the right type will ensure the final garment comes out as intended.

What about ‘the nap’ of corduroy?

This term also comes up when working with corduroy fabric and it refers to the direction in which the fabrics fibres align. It means that when you run your hand over the fabric in line with the wales, in one direction it will feel smooth and the other direction it will feel a bit rougher.

The light will reflect differently off of the fabric depending on which way the nap is running when you cut out your fabric. If the nap is running down or feels smooth when stroked top to bottom, it will look lighter in colour. If the nap is running up or feels rough when stroked top to bottom, it will look darker in colour. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that when cutting out all the pattern pieces are lined up in the same direction. My preference is to have the nap running down, so that as I am wearing the garment, if I brush downwards, the fabric feels smooth.

Top tips for sewing with corduroy

• Make sure you cut out with the nap running in the same direction
• Try to only press from the back of the fabric to prevent squashing the pile on the wales.
• If you do need to press from the front of the fabric, use an off cut with the wales touching or face down so that as you press the pile of the two fabrics can bounce off each other.
  
• For chunkier cords with a lower wale count, use a size 90 needle, or even a jeans needle.

What to sew with corduroy?

I love sewing and wearing corduroy. The colours always look so rich and the texture is very tactile and satisfying to handle.

I've made lots of garments over the years with various types of corduroy from stretch needle cord to sturdy jumbo cord!

Some have featured in our Sewing Society kits and we don't necessarily have the pattern or fabric still available. When we do I've linked this with highlighted blue text below!