Wovens or knits?

My IRL sewing friends and I have been discussing this and I wanted to get a broader perspective.

Half of my sewing friends sew with knits all the time, and insist they are so much easier than wovens. I'm a woven's seamstress - 90% of my stash is wovens, and knits baffle me.

What do you think? Are you a woven or a knits sewer, or do you sew with both? Do you find one easier than the other?

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Permalink Reply by StephC on February 27, 2012 at 11:59pm

The vast, vast majority of my clothing is wovens... And you know what? They always read as "dressed up" to people, even when I don't consider myself dressed up... And knits are relatively easy to work with, and they look like "clothes" to most people. Or maybe it's just my local environment.

A BIG part of the reason I'm sewing with knits and making patterns for them, etc, is to stretch myself stylistically.. So to speak.. Can I translate vintage styles and the crazy things that go on in my head to fabrics that won't make people think that I think I'm better than them? So far so good... I just hate being judged immediately by people I come into contact with, it's so limiting and irritating...

I guess what I'm saying is I've been described more times than I can count as "prim." I'm not really a prim person, so it's kind of puzzling... Is the difference in the fabrics? So far I'd say yes.

I think if you got over the hurdle, so to speak, you'd find it opens up a wider range of possibilities.. Or, you know, don't because the work you do in wovens is lovely lovely lovely.

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Permalink Reply by Cation Designs on February 28, 2012 at 1:14am

Same here, re: wovens = dressed up. I think that's why I moved into doing wacky fabrics, to tone down the "prim-ness."

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Permalink Reply by Leimomi Oakes - The Dreamstress on February 28, 2012 at 2:15am

No cause for dressing up in your life? ;-)

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Permalink Reply by StephC on February 28, 2012 at 2:25am

Brisbane is hot, casual to the point of undress, and outrageously expensive. No, I don't have any cause to dress up in my life.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra H. on March 6, 2012 at 12:29pm

I like both and they serve a different purpose. I like knit tops but only wear knit pants for exercise most of the time. And it is a myth that fit is not important in knits. That is only true for small people. There is a good article in Threads Magazine on fitting tee shirts. Just search tee shirt fit on the Threads site. And I always interface the hems of my tee shirts. They hang so much nicer. And I really think sewing my own clothes is all about fit and quality.