Being a total sewaholic, I have been asked what I would like for Christmas this year by family members - and my answer is fabric! I love to spend my spare time making clothing and costumes for myself and friends, and there are a few Dressmaking Fabrics that I choose to use over and over again in my sewing projects. In today's blog I'll be talking about a few of them, in the hope that I might aid you in making the right choice when making your own garments to wear. Double Knit Jersey - This beautiful fabric is a heavyweight jersey that is wonderful to use and is one of my personal favourites; I always choose it for making a dress every December to wear to my family's annual Christmas Eve tradition of bowling and a meal out at a restaurant. It is available in a good selection of lovely colours and is not only great to work with but also feels fantastic to wear. Duchess Satin - This gorgeous fabric is our most heavyweight satin and is great to use for formalwear and occasionwear. With nearly forty colours to choose from, this is always a popular choice amongst brides-to-be looking for the perfect gown fabrics to use on their big day. Tartan - Being of Scottish descent, I have always had a soft spot for any tartan fabrics and there is a brilliant range to choose from here at Calico Laine. My personal favourite is our Cerise Tartan, which I have used to make a few skirts from before now. All of our tartans look beautiful when made up and, as a bonus, have been very trendy over the months of 2014. Microfibre - This Dressmaking Fabric is available in a good selection of plain shades, and we are always adding new patterns to our stock as well. Being 100% polyester, microfibre will not crease no matter how rough you are with it and is a great alternative to satin if you are not a fan of all things shiny but are on the lookout for formalwear fabrics. Fleece - Our customers are always buying from our massive range of fleece, available in both plain and patterned choices, no matter what the time of year currently is. I personally like to use it to make fleece hats and have made a number based on popular cartoon and video game characters for family and friends. An added bonus of this gorgeous fabric is that all of the fleece we stock is anti-pill - this means that, even with repeated washing, it will not form those little 'bobbles' that can form on the surface of the fabric. It is a great choice for everything from hoodies to pyjamas and is great at keeping you warm. Have you used any of these Dressmaking Fabrics in your own sewing projects? Do you have any personal favourites of your own to recommend? Get in touch and let us know via our Facebook page - we love to hear back from our customers!