13 Most Used Fabrics in Embroidery Stitching

Many kind fabrics and its combinations can be used as the base cloth for machine embroidery such as Cambric, Calico, Chiffon, Damask, Jersey, Linen, Net, Non-woven, Organza, Satin, Silk, Tulle, Voile.

Most Used Embroidery Fabrics

Fiber	Fiber	Weave	Characteristic	Usage
Cambric (Cotton)	Cotton, linen	Plain	Characteristics: Soft, closely woven, light. Either bleached or piece dyed. Lower qualities have a smooth bright finish. Similar to batiste but is stiffer and fewer clubs. Has good body, sews and finishes well. Originally made in Cambrai, a city in north France.	Handkerchiefs, underwear, slips, nightgowns, children’s dresses, aprons, shirts and blouses.
Calico			Cotton cloth imported from India, a plain white cotton fabric that is heavier than muslin, any of various cheap cotton fabrics with figured patterns. Originated in Calcutta, India and is one of the oldest cotton. Rather coarse and light in weight.
Chiffon	Silk, rayon, cotton, synthetics	Plain	A light diaphanous fabric of silk, nylon etc. Lightweight, sheer, transparent. Made with very fine tightly twisted yarns. The tightly twisted yarns could be either in the filling or the warp or both. It is very strong, despite filmy look
Damask	Linen, silk, rayon, cotton, synthetics, wool, worsteds		Originally made of silk, that came to us from China via Damascus. Very durable, reversible fabric. The firmer the texture, the better the quality. The quality depends on the yarn used and the thread count
Jersey	Wool, worsted, silk, cotton, rayon, synthetics	Knitted on circular, flat-bed or warp knitted methods	Right side has lengthwise ribs (wales) and wrong side has crosswise ribs (courses). Very elastic with good draping qualities. Have special crease-resistant qualities due to its construction. Can look very much like woven fabric. First made on the island on Jersey off the English coast and used for fisherman’s clothing. Stretch as you sew.
Linen			A fabric made from linen fibers obtained from inside the woody stem of the flax plant. Linen fibers are much stronger and more lustrous than cotton. Linen fabrics are very cool and absorbent but wrinkle very easily, unless blended with manufactured fibers.
Net Fabric	Synthetics, particularly nylon	Knotted, made on a lace machine. Mesh fabric made in a variety of geometric-shaped meshes of different sizes and weights. It is very open and light.	An open fabric, which is created by connecting the intersections in a woven, knitted or crocheted regular construction to form a mesh-like appearance that won’t ravel.	It forms the foundation for a great variety of laces, curtains, trims, evening and bridal wear
Nonwoven fabric (water soluble)			Typically non-woven material applied beneath material being sewn prior to switching to increase fabric stability and support stitches (chemical laces and net fabrics).
Organza			A thin stiff transparent silk or synthetic fabric. Fine sheer, lightweight, crisp fabric. It has a very wiry feel. It crushes or misses fairly easily, but it is easily pressed. Dressy type of fabric sometimes has silvery sheen.	Trimmings and underlining for other fabrics that require bit stiffness without weight.
Satin			Fabric with brilliant surface in atlas or satin weave. Satin weave can be recognized by the irregular distribution of the weave points which do not touch each other. Made in many colors, weights, varieties, qualities, and degrees of stiffness. A low-grade silk or a cotton filling is often used in cheaper clothes.	Evening dresses, coats, capes, and jackets, lining fabrics covers and pillows trimmings etc.
Silk			It is obtained from cocoons of certain species of caterpillars. The cocoons of the silkworm consist of a single long thread which can be unwound to supply the raw silk. From this silk, the actual silk threads are obtained by treatment with soap solutions. Silk is soft and has a brilliant sheen. It is one of the fine textiles and is also very strong and absorbent. Silk is weakened by sunlight.
Tulle			A lightweight, extremely fine, machine-made netting, usually with a hexagon shaped mesh effect.	Dance costumes and veils
Voile	cotton, wool or silk	Plain and loosely woven	A thin semi-transparent dress material. To obtain a top quality fabric, very highly twisted yarns are used. Has a hard finish and crisp sometimes wiry hand

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