When you want to stand out at a special event, consider a garment made from taffeta. This tightly woven, lightweight fabric has a stiff hand and characteristic shimmer, whether it’s woven from silk or, in modern times, from fibers such as rayon, acetate, nylon, or polyester. It’s a little slippery, but its firm hand and stable weave mean you won’t encounter the distortion and stretching that make drapey silks like charmeuse and crepe challenging to sew.

Taffeta is a plain-weave fabric, available in solids, prints, plaids, and moirés. Especially beautiful are iridescent (also called changeable, changeant, or shot) taffetas, which are woven with different colored warp and weft yarns. These fabrics take on different hues
depending on the angle of view, creating subtle or bold effects in garments or home decor items, such as draperies.

This volume-creating textile is well suited for ball skirts or gowns with gathers or unpressed pleats, full sleeves, and ruffles. With heavier taffetas, try structured designs with interesting style lines. If a garment is fitted, underlining is a good idea to prevent strain on seams. Taffeta is difficult, if not impossible, to ease. Consider redesigning eased sleeve caps to include darts, pleats, or gathers.

Should your social schedule not include any upcoming formal events, you can still enjoy taffeta in jackets, vests, tunics, and A-line skirts. Let this distinctive fabric make every day special.

Fabric Preparation and Cutting

No preshrinking needed: Most taffetas are dry-clean only.

Layout: When possible, used a double thickness, with-nap layout. This is essential for patterned, moiré, or iridescent taffetas.

Weights, not pins: Taffeta is easily damaged by pins and needles, so secure patterns in place with weights. If you need to use pins, choose fine ones and keep them in the seam allowance.

Sharp cutting tools: Shears or rotary cutters are appropriate.

Appropriate Notions

Needles: Size 60/8, 70/10, or 80/12, universal or sharp/microtex. Test, as fiber content and the fabric’s weave affect how the needle performs.

Thread: Choose high-quality polyester or cotton thread in standard machine-sewing thickness. For extralight taffetas, a thinner thread may produce a flatter seam.

Marking tools: Avoid wax-based markers, as they leave spots. Chalk, air- or heat-erasable markers, pencil, tailor’s tacks, and thread-tracing are all good options. Test first on a scrap.

Interfacing: Choose sew-in types, such as silk organza or self-fabric. Stiff netting can support skirts and full sleeves.

Sewing Advice

Stitching: Set the machine for a straight stitch of 1.75 mm to 2.5 mm. Loosen the tension slightly. 

Presser foot: Install a straight-stitch foot and single-hole throat plate, if your machine has one, to support the fabric. Reduce the foot pressure.

Taut sewing: When machine-stitching, hold the fabric taut in front of and behind the presser foot to prevent puckered seams.

Hand basting: For control, and if you need to do some fitting, baste with cotton or silk basting thread. These are easy to remove without stressing the taffeta, and don’t leave imprints if you press over them.

Rip with caution: Ripped seams can mar the fabric, so unstitch carefully. Gently rub the fabric’s yarns back into place with your thumbnail if needed.

Low-profile seam finishes: Try hand-worked whipstitches on exposed seam allowances, but a better option is to line the garment to protect the allowances. Bulkier finishes are likely to create impressions on the fabric’s right side. 

Press lightly: Press from the wrong side when possible, using a press cloth. Press seams over a seam stick. Prefer a dry iron, or try light steam. Avoid creating unwanted creases, as they can be difficult to remove.

Care Tips

Dry-clean only. To maintain the fabric’s sheen and texture, send garments to a trusted dry-cleaner. Machine-laundering creates a duller, pebbled texture, which may be desirable for some garments.

Avoid water spots. Similarly, prevent perspiration stains—which could be permanent—by installing dress shields.

Pad for storage. Hang taffeta garments on padded hangers, and stuff sleeves or other areas to prevent them from being crushed.

Carol J. Fresia is Threads’ editor.

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