All you need to know about mesh fabrics
I remember my first design I designed and presented to Topshop was a burgundy floral mesh set, with matching burgundy rouleau straps and burgundy trims, it was one of the most safe and commercial designs I’d ever done and as it was sitting with other designs the head designer had made; I was too unsure to add any other colour or my staple design of black. Needless to say it never got picked, but it was a great introduction to designing with mesh.
It’s been from working with mesh that I discovered how to make it supportive for FF cup and above, there was a lot of trial and errors but when I ran Vanjo, I wanted to work with stretch fabrics and not include padding. I wanted to design a soft bra in cup sizes up to a G cup and my mission was complete, (pattern will be out later) To this day I still use the pattern I designed over twenty years ago., (see the layout in the blue).
What you need to know about mesh
Mesh has been around for 100 years, starting out as a net for fishermen then in the late 18th century it was started to be used as fabric then in the 1980s (known as Aertex ) it began to become popular with underwear. The fabric is characterised by its open spaces, because of this, its breathable and can come in different weights for different support. It’s durable and flexible which makes it ideal for close fitting garments such as Lingerie.
Now-a-days I’m a lot bolder with my colour choices than my first design, so this month’s team up with CSF Online has led me to colourful mesh. They stock a lot of different colours so you will be spoilt for choice, I chose raspberry and cobalt blue.
First up is the Raspberry set, if you’ve seen any of my previous designs you know I am a lover of colour, so decided to mix the raspberry mesh with yellow straps.
With the raspberry set I wanted to mix it with a colour, and golden yellow was perfect for keeping the Summer going, the crop top and high leg brief is from the patterns Luna and Birdie (respectively) and then the other brief is from the Nixi pattern, yet to be released.
I used powernet underneath at the sides and back, and mixed the design with silver findings, 13mm rings and sliders and 18mm silver ring at the back.
With the cobalt set, I used the Nixi pattern and loved how it was all one colour, also to be made, it will sit with the Birdie pattern, and the Ottilie pattern. The Ottilie pattern has been the soft bra pattern, I’ve used over the years since Vanjo as it is a great supportive shape and mega comfortable.
It consists of being a high apex mesh bra, lined with powernet in certain parts, this design has a 10mm brished back elastic which is going on the neckline and 13mm brushed back elastic which is going on the underarm and underband. Topped off with 13mm bra straps at the back and 30mm hook and eye.
Sewing with mesh
Regarded as a stretch fabric because of its open structure, mesh can be quite difficult to sew so the main thing to take care of is to ensure that the mesh is not stretched when you sew it. This means gently guiding the fabric through the machine rather than pulling it.
Needles : Ideally needs a ballpoint or stretch needle to sew with it.
Thread: Use the same type of thread as the fabric composition, this will ensure that the thread is not too strong for the fabric. If in doubt use polyester thread.
Cutting: Cut only one layer at a time especially if you are cutting out mesh for the first time, it may seem like you are taking the long way round by not cutting the fabric in double, but it will quicker in the long run as the mesh can slip and move when it’s in a double layer.
Pinning: Don’t do it to yourself, again you may think you’re saving time by pinning everything but don’t! You will torture yourself due to the gaps in the mesh. If you need to hold the fabric together use clips.
Stitch length - I would choose a shorter straight stitch, which is around 1.7–2.5 mm, this is to ensure even and secure stitches.
Sewing Speed - Go slow and steady, mesh can be slippery and it can move more than other fabrics so it;s important to slow down. Also try avoid pulling the mesh through the machine otherwise you get gathers.
Where to get the fabrics
Raspberry powermesh
Yellow 13mm straps
Raspberry elastic
Raspberry brushed back elastic
Raspberry hook and eye
Silver 13mm sliders
Colbalt Blue set
Cobalt powermesh
Cobalt 13mm straps
Cobalt elastic
Cobalt elastic
Cobalt hook and eye
Please contact John at CSF if there is anything else you need or can’t find.
If you are wanting to learn more about fabrics and components, then the second Lingeri-E-Course (fabrics and components) will be launching at the end of September.