Buyer's Guide: Tips On Choosing Twill

There are many types of twill fabrics, including denim, gabardine, polyester, rayon, silk, wool, and cotton. A twill fabric comes in a variety of colors and types.

Some twill is a crisp cotton fabric that resists wrinkles and stays looking good even after hours of wear. This material is best for jackets, blazers, dress slacks and shirts. Shorts, capris, and casual shirts, on the other hand, are often made with a small percentage of stretchable fabric such as a polyester. This allows the twill to give, making the fabric more comfortable. Twill is also a great fabric for slipcovers, curtains, and drapes.

The type of twill you'll want to purchase depends on the project you are working on. If you need a durable, yet lightweight fabric to make clothing with, you might choose a fabric that has a blend of polyester and cotton. While the polyester can hold body heat, making this fabric rather warm to wear, the cotton that's mixed in is a cooler, better ventilated fabric that will help this twill mix breathe better. An acetate and cotton weave have the same characteristics.

If, on the other hand, your project is to make a pair of curtains or a slipcover for your couch, you'll want to find a heavier twill mix of fabrics. A jacquard weave is a heavy, durable fabric that will hold up nicely against the constant use a piece of furniture can get.

The most popular type of twill fabric is undoubtedly denim. Denim is most often seen in a blue color, and it's made into slacks, capri pants, jackets, skirts, dresses, and skirts. It can also be a stonewashed lighter blue, or even dyed black. Denim is either a plain cotton twill, or, it can be woven with a stretchable polyester. (It's interesting to note that cotton is the most popular type of fabric used for clothing, as well as for fabric household items such as slipcovers, curtains, drapes,bedspreads, et cetera.)

To buy a twill woven fabric, you can expect to pay a regular price of somewhere around ten dollars a yard. If you can wait, it would be best to watch for a sale on twill before you buy it.

Look for a twill fabric that is woven evenly, as well as fairly tightly. The best grades of twill have even, diagonal lines that are raised up at the same height.

As for care, most twills are easy to clean. They can usually be machine washed and dried, but you'll need to be careful with twills that have finer fabrics, such as silks and wool, mixed in with them.