All about that Base

All about that Base

We get a lot of questions about the different fabric bases here at Rockerbye so I figured it was time for a blog roundup!  Not all bases are ran every time but they change throughout the year depending on the season.  While this is obviously not as good as touching them yourself hopefully it helps :) 

Let's start with the main most widely used base.   

Cotton lycra - It is a super soft fabric with great recovery.   It's 95% cotton with 5% lycra making it really breathable and perfect for all types of weather. Rockerbye Cotton Lycra is printed at 240-260gsm so it's nice and durable without being too thick and stiff.   We love cotton lycra for all types of clothing both adult and kids including pants, shirts, sweatshirts, dresses and more.  The recovery is fantastic so it works great for bands too.   It does not have a lot of drape so it's not going to be great for patterns that require that but that's about it. Skies the limit with Cotton lycra!  Think- your favorite t-shirt feeling.

Double Gauze-  Double Gauze is two lightweight super soft pieces of loosely woven cotton gauze fabric coming together to make very soft, drapey, breathable piece of fabric. It's often used in baby blankets and swaddles.  120gsm Best part- it gets softer the more it's washed as well!  While it's amazing for blankets we at Rockerbye love to use it for a variety of things!   I did a blog roundup here on the different ways you can use Double gauze fabric. 

Minky- Think, Super soft baby blanket.   Minky is 100% polyester with no stretch and is a plush raised type of fabric.   It's very soft but only finished on one side so in general, you'll want to back it with something. Tons of people love it for blankets but the options are really endless!  Here is a blog roundup of a bunch of ideas :)  Rockerbye Minky is printed at 200 GSM and is seriously some of the softest stuff I've come across!   One huge bonus of minky-  it cleans AMAZINGLY well and doesn't really fade!  We have white... I know white... minky blankets for my young boys and no matter what they've gotten on them they've cleaned perfectly! 

Swim-  Well- it's kind of self-explanatory.  It's Swim fabric!  The same stuff used for swimsuits and rashguards-  It's also amazing for active wear!  Rockerbye swim is 220gsm which is perfect so you aren't dealing with the seethrough swimsuits that no one wants.  It also has built-in 50+ UV protection!   How amazing is that!? Less sunscreen- yes, please! The colors in swim are super saturated and amazing but honestly- all Rockerbye is.  It's just that magical! Here is a blog on using it for activewear, one for rashguards, and one on a swimsuit if you want some inspiration. 

Squish- The newest base to Rockerbye! Like all the other Rockerbye bases it's AMAZING.   So what is squish??  Well imagine Double Brushed Poly and Minky- had a baby.... a super squish soft baby.  It's poly spandex blend so it's very soft like minky but has the stretch of double brushed poly.  It's also finished on both sides so you don't need to back it with anything.  It's perfect for clothing, blankets, everything!   While minky covers you for items that you don't want stretch- squish comes in for all the stretchy patterns!  I've done a few blogs with Squish but here is one you can read about as well :) Rockerbye squish is printed at 350-380gsm so it's heavy but doesn't feel that way at all.  It's nice and warm and fabulous for winter.   Here is a blog on a squishy robe and it's heaven! 

Bamboo Lycra- A dresses best friend!  Bamboo is made from the bamboo plant and spandex.  It's really soft, silky, and has a ton of drape to it.   It's almost "heavy" in a way but feels so light and airy while wearing it.  It's incredibly breathable and perfect for summertime and hot weather.  220 gsm Bamboo doesn't have the best recovery so you don't want to use it for things like neckbands or waistbands but everything else is good to go.  We especially love it for dresses, flowy tops, pants, shorts, and more. Here is another inspiration blog for dresses

Double Brushed Poly-  I kind of consider double brushed poly winter version of Bamboo.   It's made of polyester and spandex and is really soft and brushed on both sides so there is no need to back it with anything. It has great drape as well as stretch and recovery. Rockerbye DBP is printed at 220gsm. Now, DBP doesn't breath quite as well as bamboo or cotton so a lot of people prefer it for winter months- leggings is a favorite! Since it's Polyester spandex it cleans well as well as holds color fantastic. 

French Terry- Last but definitely not least is one of my favorite winter fabric ( althought it is great for summer shorts too!)  Rockerbye French Terry is a cotton spandex blend weighing 280 gsm so heavier than cotton lycra.  It's really soft and stretchy and perfect for things like hoodies, joggers, and more. The top side is smooth and the underside is looped almost like a soft bath towel.   It doesn't have the best recovery so if using bands I usually add elastic or pair with cotton lycra.   

 

There you have it!  All the bases (for now)  Rockerbye prints on!  I promise you won't be disappointed in any of them.  I hope you are all excited to try them out and let us know if you have any questions!

Happy Sewing and Rocking

Michelle

We now have vinyl, too!

high quality 440-460gsm Textured Printed Vinyl (faux leather) for making bags, wallets, etc. 55 inches wide. (.8-1mm thick)

Poly Rib Knit

 

100% Polyester Rib Knit - 200 gsm

1 yard long - 56ish inches wide

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26 comments

Squish is the bessst 🥰

Kelsie Carico

Now this I love! Next time someone asks me the difference between all the bases I’ll be directing them here!

Mara

These all look so lovely!

Elyse

This is so helpful! Thank you!

Kasey Wallace

Super helpful! Thanks!

Katie

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