Hair Cloth Interfacing: What is Hair Canvas Used For?
When it comes to interfacing, you have lots of decisions to make. You also have lots of questions to answer like does hair canvas work well with your current sewing project. Answer that question and your project will be done quicker.
What is hair canvas used for? One of the most popular fashion items hair interfacing is used is in jackets. Sometimes coats get hair canvas as well. What hair canvas does is help your jacket lay properly. Plus, it makes a big difference in suit quality.
To learn more about hair canvassing just continue to read our article. It has the information you need to know about so you can use this sewing fabric correctly and wisely. A few minutes of your time should help improve your sewing projects.
What is Hair Canvas Interfacing?
Hair canvas interfacing is usually made from goat hair. It can be made of rayon or wool. When the manufacturer wants to lower the cost to sell more hair canvas, they turn to polyester to help cut the expense.
It can be quite expensive, costing about 20 dollars for 2 1/1 yards but prices will vary depending on the quality and the outlet you purchase it at. Also, the size of the cloth is quite wide.
Its dimensions range between 63 to 72 inches wide by one yard long. That gives you lots of material to use so you can relax and make a few mistakes and have enough cloth left over to correct any errors.
Or you can use that size of cloth to make 2 jackets for a good-looking suit. The choice is up to you how you use it.
What is Hair Canvas Used For?
Hair canvas is usually used to make suit jackets or coats. You may not have heard about it as many patterns do not call for its use. If you want a top-quality suit jacket for your son or husband, then you should use the type made out of wool or goat's hair.
There are inexpensive options t help you cut your sewing costs down. These options are usually made from polyester, rayon, cotton and other cheap fabrics. If you can afford it, you should stick with the wool or rayon.
The reasoning behind that is the right hair canvas creates a vast difference in quality in suits. If you want a cheap suit, then you go to the lower end of the scale. If you want a top-quality suit on the level of the top fashion designers, then you go with wool or goats hair.
When your pattern calls for hair canvas, there is usually a very good reason for its inclusion. You can go with a cheaper substitute depending on the weight of the fabric you are using but if you want the suit to last a long time and look great avoid the cheaper alternatives.
Where to Buy Hair Canvas?
There are quite a few places where you can find hair canvas on sale. If they are still in business BA Black and Sons has reasonably priced hair canvas items. Or you can check their competitors to see how much they sell their hair canvas for.
Also, you should check out your neighborhood sewing supply stores and see what they offer or if they can order some in for you. It is unlikely that you will find any at the big box stores but you never know and you can be surprised.
If all else fails, there is always Amazon. They carry a variety of Hair canvas including some from Pellon. There is also Thermo Web brand there as well. Whether these options are the expensive goat hair or cheaper options, you have to look to find out.
One final place to get a line on where to get hair canvas at a reasonable price is to go on the many different sewing forums and ask. There should be plenty of people on those forums who know where to get the best hair canvas around your area.
It never hurts to ask. Asking saves you time and money so you do not drive all over the place looking for hair canvas.
Fusible Hair Canvas by the Yard
Pellon makes fusible hair canvas and it might be a better way to go. Sewn in hair canvas can be time-consuming and costly. One thing about this brand of fusible hair canvas is that it is not made of wool, etc.
Instead, it is made from a combination of fabrics like cotton, polyester, hair with a little wool thrown in. Stitch N Sew offers sewn-in hair canvas but it also uses the cheaper materials to make it sew ready.
You are looking at paying between $7 and $10 a yard for this option. The thing about using fusible hair canvas is that you cannot use hot water to clean it. It must be washed in cold water, if not a suit.
Also, their use can be fabric specific. The one sold by Pellon on Amazon is made to be used with triacetate, seersucker, lace or rainwear fabric. Plus, you must stick to the medium to heavyweight fabric options.
You should check around and see what options are best for you. If your sewing project is just a costume you may want to stick to the lower end of the cost scale. If the item is not going to be used regularly, it is best to save a few dollars and go cheap.
What is a Good Substitute for Hair Canvas?
If you want to save money and still get a fairly good drape and look then you do have inexpensive options available to you. There are good blends around that include hair and wool in the construction of the hair canvas.
Both Pellon and Sewn Save have these options available to you. But if you want to use lighter fabrics that do not cost a lot then you should look at using cotton, rayon, polyester, and other inexpensive fabrics.
A lot of your hair canvas interface use depends on the weight of the fabric you are sewing. You just need to match the interface weight with the fabric weight to make sure you have the right look for your suit jacket or coat.
When you are going heavy, a good cotton interface will suffice. That is if you do not want to use real hair canvas in your sewing project. The key to your use of the substitutes is how you want the suit to look and drape.
Hair Canvas for Tailoring
If you want to have your suit jacket or coat look like a professional tailor did the sewing, then you want a hair canvas made from only 2 fabric fibers. Those two fibers would be wool or goat's hair.
Every yard of the real hair canvas comes about 63 to 72 inches wide and is enough material to create 2 suit jackets. There are cheaper and inferior options available but unfortunately the performance and longevity of the garment is lessened immensely.
Besides looks, you should consider how long you want you or your loved one to wear the suit jacket. If you do not mind repeating your sewing task then save the money and go with the inferior quality options.
But if you want your loved ones to stand out and look sharp, then forget the cost and go with the best fibers possible. The choice is up to you and it is yours to make.
Some Tips to Help You
When you are new to sewing with interface, it pays to get a few helpful hints to make your sewing life easier. Here are a few tips to help you use any interfacing correctly.
- You need to match the weight of the interface with the weight of the fabric or you will have a sloppy result.
- Before doing any final sewing, do some tests first to make sure you got the weight, the look, and the fit right.
- Match your interface to your project. A lightweight style is good for blouses while a heavyweight option is good for suit jackets, etc.
- Don’t forget to pre-wash your interface materials. They shrink just like regular fabrics can do. How hot the water gets depends on the fabric you are pre-washing.
Some Final Words
Hair canvas interfacing is not that hard to work with. You just need to know the materials and how well they perform once sewn in or fused to the regular fabric. Wool and goat's hair are the top hair canvas materials to use and they give your sewing project a great feel and look.
Depending on your budget and sewing project, you should avoid using the inferior substitutes as they do not always perform well or look that good. Finding hair canvas is also not going to be that hard.
It is on sale in a variety of places at different costs. Just keep in mind that real hair canvas is wide, and it is not usually cheap.
