In this lesson, I recommend starting with lightweight muslin fabric for draping until you get comfortable with folding, pinning, and manipulating darts. I explain the different grain lines in fabrics, including straight grain, cross grain, and bias, and their respective stretch properties.

Lesson Steps:

• Use lightweight muslin fabric for draping practice, especially as a beginner
• Identify the straight grain of the fabric, which is parallel to the selvage
• Understand that the straight grain has little to no stretch
• Identify the cross grain, which is perpendicular to the straight grain
• Recognize that the cross grain has slightly more stretch than the straight grain
• Learn about the true bias, which is a 45-degree angle to the straight and cross grains
• Understand that the true bias has the most stretch compared to other grain lines
• Explore how bias lines that are not at a true 45-degree angle still have some stretch, but not as much as the true bias