Hi, I am Sonia, otherwise known as S by S - a 26-year old, pink-obsessed sewist, whose ambition since the UK-wide lockdown has been to design and create my own wardrobe.
This is a review of Fabriques’ dusty pink scuba jersey. I am writing this blog to provide you some tried-and-tested real-life information on this fabric, so you can make an informed choice when purchasing.
The fabric itself can be found here: https://fabriques.co.uk/collections/scuba-jersey-stretch-lycra/products/dusty-pink-scuba-4-way-stretch-lycra-fabric-lf06du
For more ideas on how to use this and other fabrics sold by Fabriques, visit: https://www.instagram.com/s_by_s_x/
Colour
For those of you that read my post on Fabriques' dusty pink scuba crepe, this fabric is slightly brighter in colour. This is fabric has warmer, more summery tones, more like the pink you would see in the Baskin Robbins logo (sorry, I am writing this while it is 31 degrees and I am craving ice cream!). Nevertheless, it is still not very 'in your face'; its a colour that is very easy to wear. Unlike scuba crepe, this fabric is identical on both sides.
If you were to pair this fabric with other colours, I would say use colours where this is the brightest on the palette. For instance, whites and blacks would work well, and lighter shades of pink. If you are feeling really vibrant, a nice minty-green could work well, but I haven't been brave enough to try that yet.
Below you can see that I have actually used this fabric to line and belt a white/baby pink dress, and it works incredibly well.
If you needed to match this with a thread, I would recommend Gutermann’s shade 473. This thread blends with the fabric fairly well, and I haven't found a better match yet.
Quality
This fabric is a scuba, so it is relatively heavier in weight to other fabrics. For those who are new to sewing, it has the same feel as a thin wetsuit. If you have bought (or admired) a summer dress from Ted Baker, scuba is what they make most of their dresses from. The heaviness gives a really high-quality look to the fabric, and can make dresses look like they cost £100 more than it actually did (no joke, I have had people approach me thinking I was wearing designer clothing for all my scuba items).
Scuba has a very good stretch too. It isn't as stretchy as scuba crepe, but that makes it a very supportive material. If you want to make a bodycon dress which smooths out your silhouette, this is the fabric you want to use. When it stretches, the fabric doesn't become translucent nor do you see any fibres popping through.
Scuba does not have very good drape, Instead, it has amazing structure - it is very good for creating shapes from the fabric that you want to stay in place. If you want to create ruffles, ripples or extra volume in your skater skirt, this is your fabric. On my instagram and on the next fabric review (camel scuba jersey), you can see how I have used this property to create a ruffle on a crop top. If you want a fabric for creating angel sleeves or batwing tops, this is not the right fabric to choose.
Below is a picture of an almost finished dress. I have added this in to show how this fabric naturally created ripples in the skirt, given its structure. Note that I doubled up the fabric to make this dress.
Lining
This fabric is very opaque, and doesn’t lose this when stretching. You will not have a problem with undergarments being able to be seen through this fabric. Another amazing quality of this fabric is that it is the exact same colour on both sides. Therefore, for most projects, you wouldn’t need a lining. It is very comfortable to wear without a lining too, given it is very smooth on both sides.
On the other hand, I do tend to double up scuba, more because I really like the supportive qualities it has and doubling up can really flatter your curves. All projects shown in this blog are double-layered.
Ease of Sewing
I am by no means an expert sewist, so how easy a fabric is to sew is really important to me.
On a scale of chiffon (0) to cotton (10), I would give this fabric a score of 9 out of 10 for the ease of sewing. It is a stretchy fabric, which always requires some care when sewing in a machine. However, this was fairly easy to sew, given it is thicker than a lot of stretch fabrics. The fabric can feed through without the need for human help/ a walking foot, and you don't need a fancy needle if you are doing a generic straight stitch. I set my stitch length setting to 3 while sewing this fabric.
This fabric is so great for people who aren’t so confident with sewing - I actually started learning on scuba. The stretch means that the fibres bounce back really well when you rip stitches out, so you aren’t left with holes in the fabric. I would mention here that this particular scuba does leave a little mark when ripping stitches out, just because its so smooth. However, these marks aren't nearly as bad as other fabrics I have used (and I also am an impatient seam-ripper, often pulling the fabric fibres than the thread itself).
Another amazing quality of this fabric is that it doesn't fray when cutting. This means that it is a dream to finish. You don't need to worry about overlocking the fabric on the inside of the garment, and you don't have to turn up at the edges either (although if you plan to leave doing this, I recommend you cut carefully for a professional finish). This is another reason why it is so great for beginners, because it is much less fiddly to work with.
Inspiration
The best part of this fabric is its structure, so it is perfect for tight-fitting outfits and flarey skirts. I have used this fabric a few times now, and made the following:
I also used this fabric to line and belt a white flowery fabric, and it worked so well!
This fabric is perfect for making skater dresses, I really recommend you try it for yourself!
For more inspiration on using this and other fabrics by Fabriques, head to https://www.instagram.com/s_by_s_x/.
