Lining Fabrics: The Inside Story

Lining fabrics ensure proper finish for the inner part of the garment. When it comes to wedding outfits, lining becomes a crucial part as it adds volume and stiffness to a dress. Most of the chic and sophisticated wedding dresses are designed from light materials like tulle, satin, or chiffon, which tend to stick on the skin. But an inner lining prevents the dress from sticking with the skin while lending it flowy texture.

In spite of being the hidden part of clothing, by composition lining is the key to the wearer's comfort, since it’s closer to the body, but selecting a high-quality material is extremely important. A quality-oriented person will not only be convinced by the dress material only unless she checks the inner layer. As far as the wedding outfits are concerned, a proper lining and interlining construct a beautiful garment from the inside out.

So, what’s is a lining

A lining is a secondary layer of fabric that is sewn with the main dress fabric to lend it a stiff texture and volume. Also, it conceals any discrepancies like unfinished seams, markings, or construction details. A lining also acts as a protective layer in case wrong side of your dress fabric feels rough against the skin. Having a lining will allow you to remove and put on clothing with ease. At Wedding Fabrics, we have a wide range of fabrics that we use for lining, which includes cotton, silk, polyester, rayon, linen and many more.

Being extremely smooth, lining fabrics can reduce friction towards the skin or the garment underneath. It’s highly beneficial, and pretty much explains why a lining is used in the construction of clothes.

Secondly, the smoothness of lining fabric makes it sit on your body even when you move. If you stretch your arms while wearing a chiffon dress, it will slightly move up, and then it moves down as you put your arms down. Thanks to the lining that reduces friction and helps the main fabric fall down naturally under its own weight.

Also, due to reduced friction, it’s easier to wear the dress and take it out it's easier to put an item on and off. Think of a high neck tulle wedding dress which you put on your D-Day. Because of the lining inside the coat, it's much easier to put the dress on and take it out anytime. And finally reduced friction helps lined clothes last longer, because the main fabric ( dress fabric primarily) has less direct exposure to wear and tear on the inside. Which means, your precious dress will last longer.

What Makes a Good Lining Fabric?

For a good inside lining , two things must be taken into account. First, the composition and secondly, the way it was sewn into the garment. In fact, the texture of a dress depends more on the way inner or lining fabric is sewn.

Composition

Composition of a fabric, be it a lining fabric or the dress material helps in sewing the perfect dress. There are natural fibers like cotton or silk as well as the artificial alternatives like viscose, rayon, modal, acetate and many more. Many call it synthetic. The texture of the dress you design depends on the fabric you choose.

However, most of the dress designers opt for the natural fabrics as they breathe. Also, natural fibers are more hygienic than the synthetic ones, they don't tend to get smelly as quickly as synthetic fibers. So, it’s easier to keep natural fibers closer to the body. Which means lining helps in ensuring proper comfort by regulating temperature, air circulation as well as sweating in your body.

Silk: As far as he natural fabric is concerned, silk is a superior option considering the luxuriousness it offers. Compared to the other fabrics, silk is expensive, but for ready-to-wear wedding garments silk is the best option. It’s a natural fabric, regulates body temperature and sits comfortably on your body.

Cotton: Cotton is also found in inner linings sometimes, however, not too often either. It’s a cheaper version and not as smooth as silk. It is slightly rough and not always a better option for the chiffon or satin garments. However, for summer wedding dresses, designers choose to use cotton as a lining fabric.

Artificial Fibers: Brides looking for a less expensive version for lining can opt for artificial fibers. Artificial fibers are less expensive to produce, smooth and breathable, which makes them a suitable choice for a lining.

Quality of Sewing Matters

With natural fabrics the sewing is perfect and usually do not stick out from beneath your clothing anywhere. In fact, it’s never visible. Artificial fibers sometimes get detached from the dress, while the natural ones stick to the hemlines thus improving the texture of the dress.

Wrapping Up

Recently, wedding designers are coming up with an array of design innovations in which both natural and artificial fibers work fine. However, for wedding outfits, choosing a proper lining fabric is important. It’s better to touch the fabric before choosing one, because it will help you in judging the quality.