Have you ever wondered what to make with stretch woven fabric or wondered what exactly it is? It is a pretty unique fabric that I have come to really enjoy wearing and sewing with! For today’s post, I have two new sewing projects to show you from stretch woven as well as a (quick) roundup of the patterns I have made with it so far.

Stretch woven is a woven fabric that… has stretch! This means that it is has some percentage of spandex in it that allows the fabric to have a little more comfort and ease while still having the same structure of a woven fabric. It can vary greatly in fiber content, weight, drape, amount of stretch, etc. so to be specific, I am going to focus on the stretch woven that is carried by The Fabric Fairy. (A similar fabric is stretch chiffon from Joann, but I do think the Joann’s version is just slightly lighter in weight than the Fabric Fairy, but I think the same patterns mostly apply).

The Fabric Fairy stretch woven is a lighter weight fabric that is a blend of polyester and spandex. It has nice drape, is very breathable, and doesn’t crease or wrinkle easily. It is really nice for sportswear because of how quickly it dries and how comfortable it is to wear, but it also can be used for many other applications like tanks and joggers. (The exception to my description is the stretch woven labeled Carbon. It is stretchier, sturdier, and heavier in weight than all the other stretch wovens I have tried from The Fabric Fairy.)

If you are using a pattern that calls for an apparel woven, stretch woven generally will work but may require some adjustments. On the other hand, some patterns are specifically drafted for stretch woven! The patterns that I will be discussing today were drafted for stretch woven (but if they are not, I will mention that!)

(1) The Moxi Shorts

The Moxi shorts pattern was my first pattern to try that specifically was drafted for stretch woven. It also has become a staple in my summer wardrobe because I live in a very hot area where we can go weeks at a time with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees.

Even though I have close to 15 pairs of these shorts in my closet, I still found a *first* with this pair! When I attached the binding to the back, I used bar tacks spaced 2 inches apart like shown in the pattern rather than the other option of just topstitching in one line. I LOVE the result and think they look even more like a store bought pair of running shorts!

For the binding, I used stretch woven cut on the bias. I don’t use a bias binder to make my bias binding, even though I have one. I usually just iron my strip in half, attach it right sides together, and then flip it around to the back and sew it down. I make sure the middle crease I ironed sits along the edge and that the other side is folded inside the shorts. The middle crease gives me a guide on how much to fold on the back so that I have an even amount shown on the outside. In a pinch, I have used FOE in the past and that works as well!

This particular woven fabric is called “stretch boardshort,” which means I could wear these in the pool as well if I wanted to!

The waistband in the pattern is NOT made from stretch woven. I used an athletic knit scrap for mine!

(2) The Pace Skirt

The Greenstyle Pace Skirt is an athletic skirt that is my FAVE tennis skirt. I also run in it and just wear it all day! For this one, I used hot pink stretch woven.

The pleated back gives it a great swing when you walk that a photo just doesn’t do justice to.

It has shorts underneath to keep the skirt modest. I definitely recommend not skipping them!

Here is the pocket in the shorts. It is perfect to hold a tennis ball!

You definitely want to use a lighter weight stretch woven for this skirt otherwise the pleats in the back will make it feel heavier.

The Pace Skirt waistband and under shorts are NOT made from stretch woven. For this pair, I used an knit athletic fabric scrap.

The rest of the projects I am going to show you are previous sewing projects where I have used stretch woven!

(3) The Motion Shorts

The Motion Shorts are an athletic shorts pattern geared for a masculine figure. I initially blogged about them here.

(4) The Whistler Jacket

The Whistler jacket is a zip up jacket that has the option of a collar or a lined hood. It was designed specifically for stretch woven but also works in thicker or heavier low stretch knits. I have a sew along for it here if you want to sew one with me.

(5) Itch to Stitch Tierra Joggers

The Tierra joggers pattern is designed for woven fabric but not specifically for stretch woven. However, I did not have to make any adjustments to it when I made a pair in The Fabric Fairy stretch woven last year. If anything, the stretch woven gave me some extra ease and comfort so I was very happy with my fabric choice. I blogged about the joggers here if you want to read about the adjustments I did make for my petite frame!

(6) The Lacy Slope

The Lacy slope is a tank pattern that is drafted for knit fabric or woven! The pattern includes different binding pieces based on which fabric you are using. (You are cutting the binding on the bias if you are using a woven instead of a knit.) I didn’t make any changes to the pattern for stretch woven! The Fabric on this tank is from The Styled Magnolia, but it would be just as lovely with The Fabric Fairy stretch woven I am referring to in this post so I wanted to include it! I am also wearing another Pace skirt here with this tank.

(7) Other patterns

I don’t have as much time on my hands as I wished so I haven’t tried every pattern possible, but I think that stretch woven would be awesome for most board short patterns. Also, any elasticized waist shorts or skirts pattern or cami pattern would be fantastic in it 🙂

If you have other patterns you have used stretch woven for, let me know so I can add them!

My top

I know this post is all about stretch woven, but I also had to share about the new tank I made to go with my latest stretch woven sews. I made a Greenstyle Staple Tank in charcoal cotton lycra! It is such a staple and quick sew. Cotton lycra works so well for the staple tank because it is a close fitting pattern. It gives the structure I need so that you don’t see every lump and bump!

It has this nice scoop back and is almost a duplicate of my fave layering tanks that I have purchased from Old Navy! I am on a mission to have one in every single one of my favorite colors.

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.