Fabric Grain Stretch Test
- Cut a small square of cotton fabric with edges parallel to the straight grains.
- Tug on the fabric side to side, along one straight grain, then tug from the other direction. Do you feel and see a difference? Did you notice slightly less stretch in one direction? That was the lengthwise grain.
- Now tug on the square from corner to corner--along the bias. It probably stretched quite a bit, and if you tugged too hard it may have become permanently distorted.
Experiment with fabric grain. It won't take long until you understand the best ways to place grain in your quilts in order to achieve the results you're looking for.
