How to Choose a Fleece Fabric for a Sewing Project

Polar fleece is a wonderfully simple fabric to work with and has many uses. Jackets, hats, pants, scarves, blankets and more can all be made with polar fleece. One of the keys to a successful polar fleece project is choosing the right fleece for it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sewing Patterns
• Dressmaker Shears
• Fleece Fabrics
• Sewing Machine
• Threads
• Internet Access
• Rotary Cutters

1. Use lightweight microfleeces for jacket or coat linings, scarves, shirts or other clothing items that require warmth with very little bulk. Microfleeces are a good option for baby and children's clothing as well.

2. Choose medium-weight fleece fabric for most outerwear apparel items. These fleeces can be found in a variety of patterns as well as in waterproof versions.

3. Heavyweight fleeces are great for items such as blankets and coats.

4. Choose a more expensive, high-quality fleece over less expensive fleeces of poorer quality. The advantage? Higher-quality fleeces will keep you warmer and have less of a tendency to pill (those annoying little balls of fuzz that appear on some fabrics after a few washings).

5. Search Internet and mail-order sources for quality fleece fabrics. Many fleece manufacturers have both online and print catalogs available. Some have swatch packets available for purchase.

6. Expect to pay from about $12 to $20 per yard for high-quality fleece.

Tips & Warnings

• Examine quality fleece garments in department stores or in sport and ski shops. This is the feel you want for your purchased fleece.