Choosing a fabric is potentially the most important part of sewing up the Fulton Sweater Blazer. You should be looking for a structured stable knit with that is going to hold up to its own weight. What I mean by that is a fabric that won’t stretch out from it’s own weight. This is especially important for View B, the longer (and therefore heavier) of the two versions.
Knits with 2-way stretch are ideal (meaning they stretch cross-wise, but not length-wise), but knits with 4-way stretch can work if they have some structure.
My final recommendation is to choose knits that are high in structure and low in drape.
Hold a cut of fabric up with one hand and watch how it hangs. Does it collapse and fall straight? That’s a fabric with high drape/low structure. Does it stand away from itself in a triangular shape? That’s a fabric with low drape/high structure–this is what you want for the Fulton. Using a fabric with a lot of drape/lack of structure will yield a more cardigan-like result, and you may experience some collar distortion as the weight of the jacket can pull the collar out of shape. The front facings will also likely want to flip out of the jacket in a lighter-weight knit lacking structure.
And yes–stretch wovens are acceptable for this pattern. The pattern, however, is unlined and has 3/8″ seam allowances, so you’ll need to finish the raw seams if you choose to use a stretch woven. I didn’t design this pattern to be used with wovens, but you can definitely use them if you find something you really like.
I reached out to a few of my favorite fabric shops and have their personalized fabric recommendations below. I’m also sharing links to the two fabrics I used for my samples, as well as two others I have used to make Fultons for myself.
Sample Fabrics
For the dusty rose sample on my model, I used this ponte from Style Maker Fabrics. This fabric almost had too much drape, so I used a slightly heavier interfacing on the facings to make sure I ended up with a crisp, structured collar. That small change made it perfect. This is a great example of using a fabric that falls right in between being drapey and being structured.
For the forest green sample, I used this fleece-backed cotton knit from Mood. This fabric is very thick and spongy, and has a fair amount of 4-way stretch, but it has great structure, so it ended up being an incredible sample. I definitely plan to order more of this and make one for myself–it looked so polished, but felt like wearing a cloud.
As for the other two fabrics I have personally made the Fulton out of, I can recommend the boiled wools that Blackbird Fabrics is stocking (mustard is pictured above) as well as this double knit from JoAnn (which you’ll see me use in the collar tutorial video later this week).
Fabric Shops
The following recommendations I haven’t sewn with personally, but I do trust Michelle and Dana’s opinions. These shops do not sponsor me, nor visa versa, they just have great selections and have earned my trust over many, many orders. Consider me just a happy customer.
Here’s Michelle’s (owner of Style Maker Fabrics) recommendations:
This is our most stable ponte – nice and thick!These are some other fun choices.Great statement piece!Super cozy options!
Here’s Dana’s (staff at Hart’s Fabric) recommendations:
One collection of fabrics that might be awesome for the sweater blazer are our new heavyweight cotton slubs. Here is a link to all colors: https://www.hartsfabric.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cotton+slub+sweaterThis reversible knit would also be fun. https://www.hartsfabric.com/fashion-apparel-fabrics/knits-jersey/mli-reversible-double-knit-heather-grey-and-taupe-94187.html
If you haven’t sewn with a lot of stable knits and are feeling unsure about what to buy, I hope this post helps get you started on the many options available to you. You should also check out the hashtag on Instagram as that is so helpful to see what fabrics others are using and what kind of result they get.
