What is a grainline in Sewing? This is what you need to know.

Here it comes, that word again. But what does it even mean? What is grainline in sewing? How do I align my fabric to it?

And most importantly…

What would happen if I cut my fabric against the grain, or not aligned at all?

All these questions will be clarified in this 101 guide about the grainline.

So keep reading to learn why it is so important to know your fabric directions and how to cut it right.

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How many times have you read into this word, not knowing what to do with it?

It will mostly appear on patterns directing you on which way you should cut the pattern piece.

And even if you think it’s not important because you have just been cutting the patterns to fit the short yardage on the fabric you have…

Hey no judgment here, I do that all the time!

Well, I am sorry to tell you that that’s actually wrong. Whoops!

The fabric grainline is actually super important to the final result of a garment. 

Why?

Because the way fabric is weaved determines its properties. 

For example, how well it will fit on your body or how well the fabric will keep its shape.

Or how it shouldn’t keep its shape…

I know this might sound a little confusing at first. 

So, why won’t we start with the basics?

WHAT IS A GRAINLINE IN SEWING?

In sewing, the term grainline is used to determine the direction on the fabric a pattern should be cut. You can cut a pattern on the grainline, across it, or on the bias from it. The grainline is the direction parallel to the selvages (the edges) of the fabric. It goes vertically with the length of it.

You see…

Woven fabric is made from weft threads (horizontal threads) and warp threads (vertical threads).

These threads are woven between each other to form the canvas we know as fabric.

On the other hand, you can also cut the fabric on a cross-grain. This will mean cutting it horizontally, with the width of the fabric.

To put it in simple words.

Imagine the fabric when you go shopping for it. 

The amount of fabric you ask for (A.K.A. the length) is the direction of the grainline. And the line where the dependent cut your fabric (A.K.A the width) is the direction of the cross-grain.

But that isn’t the only 2 directions of the fabric weaving.

You can also cut the fabric on the bias. 

This means to cut the fabric at an exact 45º from both the length and width of the fabric.

If you were to cut a perfect square aligning the grainline and the cross-grain and then fold that square corner to corner…

Well, then the folded edge will be the bias.

There is a very important thing you need to know about cutting fabric like this.

When you cut fabric on the bias it stretches and sometimes it can grow. 

That’s why we cut the fabric on the bias when we make our own bias tape.

The ability to stretch gives it the chance to fit figures like curves and not pucker or gather.

So it makes it perfect to sew bias tape necklines, potholders, skirt hems, and more.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF A GRAINLINE?

The function of the grainline is to give us the direction in which a sewing pattern should be cut to have the finish and fit the designer’s intentions.

It affects how a garment will hang in your body. And how well it holds its shape.

Cross-grain has a little bit of a mechanical stretch because of the way the fabric is weaved. 

That is why most patterns are cut parallel to the grainline. 

When you think about it, we would want our garments to have more ease horizontally than vertically.

Wouldn’t we?

Picture yourself in a pencil skirt. Which is cut on the grainline.

When you move you wouldn’t want the length of the skirt to stretch or deform.

But if you sit you will need a little bit of that ease/stretch of the cross-grain to be comfortable.

Now I want you to picture a draped dress. Draped dresses are cut on the bias.

As I told you above bias cut fabric has the ability to grow and stretch.

That is why on a dress you will see a fluid drape, gathers, or pleats. Instead of twisted awkward lines, that you would get if instead, you were to cut that same dress on a grainline.

DOES IT MATTER WHICH WAY YOU CUT THE FABRIC?

Absolutely! 

The way or direction in which you cut your patterns will define how the final fitting will be. 

Cutting in the correct direction is very important for clothing especially. 

More if you are using natural fiber fabrics such as cotton, linen, or silk.

These fabrics tend to grow and sage the most if you cut them the wrong way.

But. And this is a big under-your-own-risk like but.

Not every fabric has this problem.

As a total sewing cheater, I have to share this with you. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, you know.

There are times when I don’t respect the grainline of the fabric. 

Mostly because I want to save the most of it. Other times (most of them) I strive to make a 2 yards pattern with 1 and a half yards.

But the thing is, you can cheat the directions only in certain fabrics.

And is still a risk.

For example, on some polyester sturdy fabrics, you can cut patterns cross-grain, or off-grain without a problem. 

My advice is, do this when you have nothing to lose. Maybe when you are making a mock-up.

This way you will start to identify the fabrics you can cheat with, and those where you can’t.

At this point, I feel like I am giving you crossing advice…

I just want you to know the whole scenario. 

Just try your best to follow the right way first, though.

HOW DO YOU ALIGN FABRIC TO THE GRAINLINE?

Easy peasy. The best way to align the pattern to the grainline of the fabric is to guide yourself with the selvages. Align the grainline of the pattern parallel to the selvages. Use a ruler to measure the distance from there to the line of the direction on the pattern.

Usually, we cut patterns over two layers of fabric. 

So, align both selvages and lay the fabric flat so you won’t get twisted or crooked grainlines.

Then use those edges to do the above.

If you need to align the pattern cross-grain then mark a line that goes perpendicular to the edge of the fabric.

And if you want to align it to the bias mark a horizontal line, perpendicular to the selvage and then a 45º diagonal line. Then place your pattern over that line.

If you have a cutting mat this alignment should be super easy to do, because they come with a lot of these directions marked on them.

HOW TO FIND A FABRIC’S GRAINLINE WHEN IT DOESN’T HAS A SELVAGE?

There are sometimes when you won’t easily find the grainline of the fabric because it doesn’t have a selvage. 

It can because some fabrics don’t come with a very distinct selvage. Or maybe because you already cut it off.

Don’t worry you can totally still find the grainline with a simple easy trick.

First, try to identify which is the direction of the length of the fabric. 

Then what you are going to do is to find the nearest edge vertically to that direction and pull a couple of threads out.

Do it slowly until you completely take them out of the fabric.

Once that is done, the empty line will be your grainline.

That’s it!! How do you feel about this new information?? Let me know in the comments if you liked it and what would you add!