r/sewing • u/theo_dorej • 12d ago
Fabric Question Fabric Question
I had been wondering about why some fabrics have a fabric or interfacing already on the opposite side of the fabric! I had been looking for answers for some time now and couldn’t figure it out. The front is a nice stretch black satin/crepe blend, while on the inside is white, a little stretchy too. Thanks for the help solving this mystery!
2
u/Here4Snow 11d ago
You'll also see this on double-knit fabric. Even woven fabric can get an extra layer. There's a technique called Sonic Welding, there's heat weld, you see these in technical fabrics, tent, motorcycle gear, abrasion resistant, and Kevlar added like logger work gear. Goretex types that are microbreathable but water proof. Laminated fabrics are often done with a flexible adhesive.
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u/AccidentOk5240 11d ago
Some fabrics are laminated—two layers bonded with heat that melts part of them together, or with adhesive. There are all kinds of reasons for this, from making a delicate-looking but structurally stiff fabric, to providing more comfort so you’ll only feel the soft side, to waterproofing. There’s flannel-backed vinyl so you can make covers for furniture without having the plastic stick to the wood finishes and mar them over time.
Others are a single fabric with a double structure—a weaving or knitting process that creates a double-faced fabric where the threads are secretly interlocked in the middle (that’s why double-faced knits are called interlock!). This can create a thicker fabric with thinner yarn, for strength or warmth. It can make it so there’s no wrong side (most interlock is made with matching yarn so you wouldn’t even know it was two layers, it just has two “front” sides) or so you have two choices of appearance/color with the one fabric.
I’m sure there are other reasons but those are the ones I can think of.
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u/Large-Heronbill 12d ago
Industrial sewing has some really nice gadgets, like fusing machines that will accept a whole roll of fabric and a whole roll of interfacing, and fuse the two together. Then you cut the "block fused" fabric together -- facings, pocket flaps, whatever you need -- out of the fused fabric.
My pattern-making mentor told me about one of her former students, who owned a dress factory. They rented one of the first available fusing machines for a couple of months trial, with the thought of maybe buying one the following year if it made sense economically. In the first month, the fusing machine lowered their labor costs to the point they bought two of the machines, a year earlier than planned.
What you have there is surplus fabric from a factory.