I’m going to put it out there: I’ve found a deficit in our language. A very significant deficit. We have no words to express the feelings of joy, pleasure, frisson even, from touching fabric.

And let me assure you, it is a very significant joy.

There’s tactile-emotion synesthesia, which is when ordinary textures prompt a way-out response. I have this with flour (as in the stuff you bake with). Don’t ask – it’s a bit weird, isn’t it? And ASMR, which is a pleasure response, makes me think of weird hissing sounds on YouTube, even though it could technically apply to fabric. So where’s the phrase for joy from touching fabric? Where’s our acronym?

Half the fun and sometimes half the anguish of any new project is selecting the material. There’s colour, texture, structure, drape, eco-credentials, stretch, pattern-matching, sheer, synthetic, natural… it’s a whole wild world out there. You could easily spend hours, days, wandering up and down the aisles of a fabric store, or zooming in and out of small swatches on a screen. But, for the times when you really need to focus and just pick something, here’s a completely incomplete guide:

LINEN My all-time favourite and a go-to for beginners. Linen is a natural fibre that softens beautifully with wear, giving garments that socially acceptable crumpled feel. Ironing is completely optional. It holds seams well and the machine just ploughs through it in a very satisfying way. Choose a heavier weight for pants or jackets and a lighter weight for dresses or tops. The only downside of linen is it can be a bit on the expensive side. Merchant and Mills and The Fabric Store have a great range of colours.

COTTON The cheaper cousin of linen. Cotton is also a natural fibre, it’s nice and breathable, and it sews up nicely. I find it a little light to work with sometimes; it doesn’t hold structure as well as linen, but maybe that’s your vibe? Blackbird Fabrics has some lovely cottons.

DENIM Denim is a super-strong cotton fabric, sometimes blended with an elastic fibre to give it some stretch. Not all denims are created equal – if you can get your hands on a bolt of Cone Denim from the now defunct White Oak plant in the USA, either sell it quick smart and buy a house with the profits, or sit back on your toosh and really enjoy the feel of the world’s best denim. Japanese selvedge denim is also quite nice. I like buying denim from M.Recht which is an industry supplier in Melbourne.

KNITS Don’t run away scared just because it’s stretchy! You’ll need a zig zag stitch or an overlocker for any kind of knit and maybe it’s not your first project, but then again, maybe it is! Merino knits are warm in winter, cool in summer and feel nice on the skin. They’re great for tight-ish tops, underwear, fitted dresses and baby clothes. The Fabric Store has a great range of Merino.

SILK Ooh la la, now you’re getting fancy. I’m not often brave enough to sew with silk. It’s very slippery and slides straight through the machine. Not in a good way. You’ll need a walking foot and a fine needle. Try a silk-cotton blend for something that’s a little sturdier. If you have a special occasion, browse the range at Tessuti. Try to walk out with just one fabric purchase, no more, I dare you!

SWIMWEAR LYCRA Do not be scared, I repeat, do not be scared! Bathers (or cossies, or togs) are actually pretty easy to sew – just use a zig zag stitch or your overlocker. You can’t use any old stretchy fabric; it just won’t stand up to those hours lapping the chlorinated pool or lapping up the rays (with sunscreen on of course). You’ll also need special swimwear elastic for bathers. Bonus points – bathers don’t use much fabric, so they’re cheap!

WOOL AND WOOL BLENDS There’s nothing better than snuggling up in a woolly coat. Think about the thickness of the wool fabric and whether you can get it through your machine. Also think about how much it will shed when you slice through it. I now have a hairy green carpet thanks to some beautiful emerald coating. It’ll be worth it. I hope. Don’t pigeon hole wool too much, maybe you want a deliciously warm textured A-line skirt like me. Annoyingly, there are more options for wool fabrics in winter – which is when you want to be wearing your warms, not making them, so try a northern hemisphere fabric supplier if you can stomach the shipping cost, or plan a year in advance.

SECOND-HAND MYSTERY FABRICS The cheapest and maybe the most sustainable way to sew is to pick up fabrics second-hand! There are plenty of swap meets and remnant sales, but you can also get creative. Think second-hand woolly blankets for a nice warm coat. A salvaged doona cover (especially a large one) is just metres of cheap cotton or cotton-blend. A table cloth might have a nice crisp linen feel. I’ve turned my pa’s old dressing gown into the warmest jumper I’ll ever own. I have a Ken Done pillow case waiting to become a cute cropped cotton tank this summer. And I used a double gauze doona cover to make my mum a two-piece full circle skirt and wrap top. Dream on!

The thing with second-hand is it’s hard to be completely sure what you’re working with. You can check for labels. You can smell it. You can do a burn test (it’s a thing – google “burn test for synthetic fabrics”. I’m too scared to tell you how to do it!) or you can just feel it and play with it. Do you like it? Can you imagine it feeling nice against your bod? Could it become that item you’ve been dreaming about?

And there we are: right back where we started. Needing words for that wonderful – and useful – sensation that comes from feeling fabric. @sewinthewild with your suggestions.

Read the rest of Ashlynne's series for beginner sewists here. Not sure where to get your material? Here are 11 places to buy fabrics in Australia and online, and joints where you can nab vintage fabrics and other craft bits.

This article was originally published on 10th August 2022.