What does Grainline mean on fabric? (2023)

What does Grainline mean on fabric?

The grainline helps guide you on where to place sewing patterns on woven fabrics. In sewing, grainline refers to the lengthwise yarns or straight grain of the fabric weave, also known as the warp threads. The lengthwise yarns or straight grain runs parallel to the fabric's selvedge.

Fabric grain also affects the way fabric will hang and drape. It's easy to figure out where the grain in a fabric is. To figure out where the grain is, pull your fabric in several directions. The direction with hardly any stretch is the direction of the grain.

Common Types of Fabric Grain

Crosswise grain lines run perpendicular to the selvage of the fabric. And bias fabric grains run at a 45 degree angle to the lengthwise and crosswise grain of the fabric.

The three named grains are straight grain, cross grain, and the bias grain. In sewing, a pattern piece can be cut from fabric in any orientation, and the chosen grain or orientation will affect the way the fabric hangs and stretches and thus the fit of a garment.

If your putt is down-grain (the grass laying in the same direction as which your putt is running) the putting surface will typically have a sheen to it and the color will be a lighter shade of green. Conversely, if the putt is into the grain, the surface will look darker and the grass will have a coarser look to it.

Cut against the grain.

To ensure you have cut steak against the grain, examine your first slice to make sure you can still see the parallel lines of muscle. The goal is to make the fibers shorter, but the end result should still have multiple parallel lines of muscle fibers.

The warp thread, or lengthwise grain, is the stronger of the two and therefore less likely to stretch out of shape. There are more warp threads per square inch than there are weft threads. These extra threads create strength. The lengthwise grain is the grain most used in garment construction.

Why Are They Important? Grainlines are the signposts we need to tell us the direction we need to place our pattern pieces on to the fabric. Remember I mentioned that the warp threads are the foundation of the fabric and the straight grain runs along these threads – well these threads are what the fabric hangs from.

Here are two things that might happen if you cut your fabric off grain: Your fabric will twist around your body. If it's off-grain, you're cutting closer to the bias, which increases stretch. In drastic cases, if your pattern pieces are not cut on grain, your fabric really will stretch and grow as you wear it.

Is straight grain parallel to selvage?

Straight grain, or lengthwise grain, are the threads going parallel to the selvedge of the fabric - the uncut edges that are bound so that they do not unravel. When fabric is cut at a shop, it is cut on the crossgrain. The crossgrain are the threads running the width of the fabric - from one selvedge to the other.

Woven fabrics have a selvage edge that runs lengthwise along both sides. Pattern pieces drafted for woven fabrics will have a line with an arrow at both ends called the grainline. This line should run parallel to the selvages. Most often, the fabric you receive will not have an even crosswise cut.

Fabric grain refers to the direction of the warp and weft threads used in weaving the fabric. Straight grain or lengthwise grain is in the direction of the warp threads, which run parallel to the selvages. These are the long threads of woven fabric that run the entire length of the loom, hence the name lengthwise.

Grain direction is very important and makes a huge difference as to how the paper will react when attempting to fold, score and bind it. Therefore, knowing the grain direction and how it will affect the layout of a project makes a big difference in the quality of the finished piece.

According to scholars, however, it was the dramatist who popularised the use of the idiom. He first used it in his play Coriolanus . When you tell someone that he is 'going against the grain', you mean that he is doing the exact opposite of what he normally does. He is not doing what is expected of him.

If you cut with your knife parallel to the grain, you end up with long muscle fibers that are tough for your teeth to break through. Slicing thinly against the grain, however, delivers very short pieces of muscle fiber that are barely held together.

Visually, you should be able to see lines running in one direction, all the way across the brisket. Those are the muscle fibers. If it's a bit hard to tell just by looking, grab each end of the brisket and pull in opposite directions. You should be able to see the fibers separate or stretch away from each other.

To go contrary to someone's natural disposition: “Having to get up this early in the morning really goes against my grain.” This refers to the fact that someone who rubs his hand against the grain on a piece of lumber will get splinters.

The lengthwise yarns (sometimes called the warp) run parallel to the selvage edge of the fabric.

Fabric with the selvages intact make finding the grain straightforward: Lengthwise grain runs along the same direction as the selvages, called the length of fabric. Crosswise grain runs from selvage to selvage, called the width of fabric (WOF).

What is grain perfect fabric?

When the lengthwise grain and the crosswise grain intersect at a perfect right angle, the fabric is said to be on grain, or grain perfect. If the grains don't intersect at a perfect right angle, they are considered off grain and the threads are distorted.

When copying your pattern, choose the direction of your fabric wisely. The direction of the greatest stretch has to go across your body, rather than up and down.

Close to one cut end make a snip in your fabric about a few cm's away from the edge. Then start ripping it all the way across. Pull away any loose threads and this will give you a straight grain line across. Now fold the fabric again lining up the selvages and cut edges.

1. Place each pattern piece so the grainline arrow runs lengthwise on the fabric. Grainline arrows should run parallel to the selvage edges regardless of the way the fabric has been folded.

Ensure you have the grain running in the right direction according to your pattern pieces. The straight grain of a fabric runs parallel to the selvage. The further you move 'off grain' the more the fabric can stretch and distort.

There are a number of different types of grains found within the true cereal grains which are from the botanical family 'Poaceae' including wheat, oats, rice, corn (maize), barley, sorghum, rye, and millet.

The Hei'anzhuan cited above lists millet, rice, the adzuki bean, the soybean, barley and wheat together, and sesame as the "five" grains.

Before you start cutting into your fabric, trim off the selvages first. You want to cut about 1-2″ from the edge so you can see the selvage and a piece of its pretty fabric. This will make any selvage-centric project, like a strippy selvage block, more colorful.

​At the fabric store, the length of the fabric (in yards) is measured along the selvage edge and cut perpendicular to it (cut edge). It is incorrect to cut a fabric piece along the selvage edges as this edge should remain intact and is an essential tool for aligning your sewing patterns in the sewing process correctly.

Straight grain, or lengthwise grain, are the threads going parallel to the selvedge of the fabric - the uncut edges that are bound so that they do not unravel. When fabric is cut at a shop, it is cut on the crossgrain. The crossgrain are the threads running the width of the fabric - from one selvedge to the other.

Is Grainline always parallel to selvage?

On patterns, the grain line (or grainline) is usually marked with a line with arrows on it, shown below in red. When cutting out, the pattern will be laid with the grain line (or grainline) parallel to the selvedge.

Types of Fabric Grainline

STRAIGHT - From top to bottom, along the warp is the straight grain. This is parallel to the selvage.

If there are arrows at each end of the line, this means that it can be placed in either direction on the fabric. If there is only one arrow, this means that the pattern is placed in one direction only (for fabrics with naps).

The selvage edges of fabric are sometimes printed, as in this example, and sometimes not as in most batiks. Nevertheless, you should cut them off and not use them in your patchwork piecing. They don't always press flat, and they often pucker and tighten when washed, meaning what they are sewn to doesn't lay flat.

Selvages are the finished edges of the fabric. Fabrics are woven with threads going lengthwise and crosswise. This is called the grain of the fabric. Fabric has two selvages and measuring from selvage to selvage is referred to as “width of fabric”.

Fabric selvage is the tightly woven edge that runs along each side of a piece of fabric's lengthwise grain, which is also called the fabric's warp. Selvage edges can be seen on the edges of quilting fabric that are at the top and bottom of a bolt of fabric. In Great Britain, the same term is often spelled "selvedge."