Double Gauze

Julie Bonnar from The Pattern Pages discusses all there is to know about double gauze and sewing with it

Double gauze is currently a popular trend with ready-to-wear garments and this fabric is ideal for making your own clothes all year round but especially in the warmer weather.

This fabric has a feminine feel, and is perfect for making tops, blouses, shirts and dresses that have volume. It’s also great for children’s wear. Double gauze usually comes in neutral colours like black, white, grey and cream but we’re now seeing dusky pinks, soft greens, warm orange, rust, navy and wine too. You can even buy tie-dye double gauze like Rachel Pinheiro has used to make her Saltwater Slip Dress in this issue.

From the Sibu collection from Modelo Fabrics

What is double gauze?

Double gauze is a lovely lightweight, loose open weave fabric that’s made up of two layers of finer fabric that are tacked and joined together to make one crinkletextured fabric. If you look closely you can see that the layers are held together with tiny stitches that form a light embossing on the fabric.

Double gauze is breathable, and the two layers trap cool or warm air when it’s worn. It’s soft and becomes even softer the more you wash it! It has a slightly crinkled look to it but if you prefer you can iron it flat but I think, this is part of this fabric’s charm!

The fabric has some drape but it also stays in shape.

However, it does tend to fray more than other cottons due to this very loose weave.

The Nikaho collection has a lovely embroidered design and comes in 11 colours

Prewash

Make sure you always pre-wash this fabric. Double gauze does shrink and after the first wash, it looks a little crumpled too but once air-dried, iron gently with some steam, and the wrinkles should disappear!

Suitable patterns

Any sewing pattern that says cotton and cotton blends is suitable for double gauze. Garments with a relaxed fit are best like loose blouses and dresses. This fabric can be a little see-through in lighter colours so you may need to line the garment or wear a slip with it!

Wilder Gown from Friday Pattern Co

Cutting out

Double gauze is very delicate and can snag easily so to avoid this happening, use extra fine pins and pin in the seam allowance only. It also unravels and frays when cut but can usually be hidden in the seam allowance.

Sewing

This type of fabric is fairly easy to sew but the crinkled texture can make it creep when it’s sewn and cause the layers to feed through the sewing machine a little unevenly resulting in rippling stitches and puckering.

Choose a new sharp machine needle either 70/10 or 80/12 and use a walking foot on your sewing machine. This will help grip the layers together evenly. You can also lower the presser foot pressure a little to accommodate slightly thicker fabrics and use a longer stitch length between 2.5-3mm.

TIP: Always start sewing double gauze away from the edge as the fabric can get stuck under the plate and become all chewed up!

Finishes

As this fabric frays – it’s a good idea to use a seam finish that encases the raw edges like overlocking the seam allowances or using a French seam.

Modelo has four collections of 100% cotton double gauze – Nikaho, Sibu, Sakata and Milsato. The Milsato range has an extra texture with a subtle Dobby dot pattern. You can view the full range of double gauze fabrics here – https://hantex.page.link/mfdg