Prior to this year, when I thought winter fabrics, I thought Poly Fleece, Sweater Knits and French Terry. Sure, Cotton Spandex was thrown in there for good measure, but it felt boring.

But this year, all the craze has been about Double Brushed Poly. If you don't know about it, you should!

I first heard about double brushed poly in reference to Lu La Roe leggings. My immediate thought was a big giant eye roll. Yes, seriously. No fabric is THAT awesome. But I just couldn't stop hearing about it. Over and over seamstresses were raving about this stuff. Normally, I don't wear poly fabrics. They tend to not breathe well, and I like to breathe in my clothes. Now it turns out that Double Brushed Poly is actually brushed ITY. Chances are you've heard of ITY.

ITY has amazing drape. Add in the brushed softness and I was sold, theoretically.

I actually got my first order of DBP from +Sly Fox Fabrics. I won a contest that got me 2 1 1/4 yard fabrics and a sweater knit. I'm a sucker for a good deal, so I also grabbed another 3 1 1/4 yard cuts. I got my first order and I wanted to sit around petting it, all day long. It reminded me of the soft silkiness of newborn puppies. But the real question was, would it breathe or did I just get myself stuck with a bunch of fabrics that I would hate?

My first project was actually a Patterns for Pirates Pumpkin Spice Dolman. I figured if it was too hot, I could just wear it on those really really freezing days. BUT, after a day of wearing it, I felt fine. Not sweaty, not stinky, just fine. WHAT?! Ok, so shirts were ok.


But the PSD has a bit of breathing room and I wanted to take the real test. What test would that be? LEGGINGS! After I perfected my +5 out of 4 Patterns Ninja Pants (which took hardly any adjusting at all) I made them in this gorgeous white DBP. For the record this is a 180 gsm and that means, DEFINITELY see through. Just keep that in mind if you need this print in your life. Colors were fine, but not white. Fuzzy, happy, warmness. These didn't make me sweaty either!

Suddenly I needed all the Brushed for ALL THE THINGS. Next up was this amazing Love Notions Willow Wrap Dress in a single brushed poly. Another win! The nice drape of the fabric meant the skirt would move freely.

And then came my real favorite, the +Made for Mermaids Mama Claire in this gorgeous leopard print single brushed poly. I've come to realize I just love leopard prints and this one was no exception. And getting 2 shirts in one meant I can't wait to wear it again.


And of course, there's always scraps left over, so next up was my Rad Patterns Lucky Lingerie. I lined this with cotton lycra to help with breathability and I definitely recommend that. Brushed Poly may not make you sweaty, but if you get sweaty, it isn't going to wick that moisture away from your body, so be prepared.



Next up was this super fun blue and white print. At first I thought more leggings. But I have a LOT of leggings. And so I thought, I can do better than that. After I muslined out my George and Ginger Drama Dress I knew exactly what this fabric should be. I feel like the whole look has a very 70's vibe.

Somewhere in my sewing space there is another 1 1/4 yard cut of black double brushed poly. I've been looking for it for weeks (that's the problem with not having a fabric organization system). I haven't decided yet what I will turn it into, but I know it'll be something great.

If you're trying to decide whether DBP will work for your project, let me talk about it's properties.
-It is between 50-100% stretch.
-It has pretty good recovery and is great at hugging curves. So no elephant knees here.
-It is VERY drapey. It makes awesome swinging skirts.

As much as I LOVE DBP, it does have some minor drawbacks.
-Cutting it is a huge PITA. The fabric sticks to itself so you will need to smooth and resmooth the fabric to make sure all your pattern pieces are being cut properly.
-Because it sticks to itself, it will also stick to itself in the seam allowances. While that is good because you'll hardly need pins, it also means that you'll have to work really hard to position the fabric properly as it will keep sticking to itself.
-Because of it's weight, your machine may struggle a bit. It may try to eat the fabric and hemming involved some curse words. If you're struggling with your machine and DBP, I found a small strip of cotton/lycra in the seam and hem allowances helped it to feed smoothly on my machine.
-Definitely use a NEW ball point or stretch needle. This stuff will snag on a needle with a burr.

But despite the draw backs, I would definitely buy it again (and again and again). And I was really happy with the customer service I received from +Sly Fox Fabrics.

This week promises to be full of inspiration. I've got so many bloggers bringing you all their ideas for January sewing. Don't miss a single one!

Sunday, January 22nd: Sewing By Ti , Embrace Everyday
Monday, January 23rd: Sewing By Ti, Tenille's Thread
Tuesday, January 24th: Robynne & the Bobbin, Harper + Lu
Wednesday, January 25th: Mahlica Designs
Thursday, January 26th: Sew Sophie Lynn, Creative Counselor, Crafty Like a Rox
Friday, January 27th: Everything Your Mama Made and More
Saturday January 28th: Sewingly Michelle, Sewing By Ti, Wild and Wanderful

Don't forget to link up all of your DBP projects that you wore this month!