Here's a question for you. Do you refer to the "stuff" out of which you make garments as "material" or as "fabric"? My mom always used to call it material. I've called it fabric at least since I moved away from home. I've seen and heard it called both.
I used to work in supply chain when I was in high-tech. Supply chain refers to the things and processes that take a product from raw, well, material to finished goods. So "material" in my world is a general moniker for physical things, while "fabric" refers specifically to textiles. So I call it "fabric".
How about you? What do you call it?
Happy sewing!
9 hours ago
62 comments:
I've always called it fabric. I find that "non-sewers" usually refer to it as "material". I'll confess that when I hear someone say "material", it grates my nerves a little.
I say fabric, but material makes sense, also.
A nice question, which leads me to wonder, does your mom (or perhaps her parents) claim a mother tongue other than English? If so, she could be transposing the noun from the other language. In some languages - at least in my language #1, and I believe in several related ones too - the noun for "fabric" is, correctly, "material". We see, er, hear, this sort of thing all the time here in Ottawa valley, like the Franglais cliche "je crossai le street". ;)
My mother also referred to it as "material", which I find confusing. I say fabric, and sometimes material like "the material for this project will be.." but "isn't this fabric gorgeous?!"
[I guess for me, the word material equals "ingredients"]
I'm of the fabric camp. And when referring to all the items needed for a project, it's stuff. Or crap, if it's a project I'm not really enthused about.
My mom used to call it "material" too. At some point I started calling it "fabric" and that feels right. But when or why? Maybe because the stores are "fabric stores". "Material" feels more general. And now I have to sort out the Japanese words for these things too! "kiji" translates most closely to "cloth" and that's what I say most of the time.
I call it "fabric" and I must admit to being taken aback every time I hear someone refer to fabric as "material."
As a scientist, I think of material as matter, so all fabric is material, but not all material is fabric. Clear as mud, eh? :)
I call it fabric but a rose by any other name still smells as sweet! :-)
I call it fabric. My mom calls it material. I will say though, she knows what jersey is. That, was a shocker.
Must be a generational thing, I call it fabric, my mom calls it material.
I call it fabric. Reminds me of the thread/string wording. Sewing with "string" is used by many younger non-sewists.
My grandmother always called it "material" but would still shop at "the fabric store." Sometimes I still call it material, but am used to both.
Growing up, my mom always called it material, so I did, too. When I was in the 10th grade - I'm talking of the 60s here (yikes) I took Home Ec from a very sweet but intimidating Nun. On our first day of sewing, she told us she would mark us down if we ever said material - it was called fabric! Same explanation as you gave! I have called it fabric ever since & almost cringe when I hear material used.
I know that I use to call it material, such as I'm going to the material store. Not sure when I made the change, bur now I've been calling it fabric for quit sometime now. It doesn't matter much either way to me - as long as I have plenty of it.
Maybe it is regional. My mother and I still call it material and where we buy it is always referred to as the cloth store - never by its proper name (even Joanns is the cloth store). I do remember when we discovered the cloth store in Framingham, we just called it Framingham and when they opened a branch in Woburn, we called it Framingham at Woburn.
Don't know about it being a 'non-sewer' term, but maybe generational or regional.
My grandmother was a seamstress and my Mom always sewed - they called it material but shopped at the fabric store.
As a kid, I always said 'material', now I use 'fabric' - neither term bothers me though.
I am pretty sure I have used both over the many years that I have been sewing. My grandmother who was instrumental in my learning to sew normally called it material. I know I have said I am going to get some material to make this dress. I think over the past 10 years I probably started calling it fabric.
It is probably cutural as well. I always say I am going to "cut off the lights", other places I have lived such as PA, they always said "I am going to turn off the lights".
I wouldn't consider it to be a non-sewer term as quite a few people here are saying that their moms called it material. So did my mom, and she sewed for most of her life.
I use both terms.
I was introduced to sewing with "material" in the 1960s but at some unknown point switched to calling it "fabric". Sounds like this happened uniformly across North America except where mgh lives :)
"Fabric"
...every time someone calls it "material" I wince inside, LOL !
(gosh, I can be so odd at times...but then you all knew that;)
My mom also calls it material and shops at the fabric store. I use both. I am probably migrating away from the "material" that I grew up with into "fabric" from reading everyone's blogs.
( For some geekery: I do understand that material is more general a word than cloth. I would argue though that fabric is still more general than cloth. Cloth is a good old Anglo-saxon word unlike both material and fabric which came over with the Normans. Boo hiss, the Normans!)
Fabric
I had the same experience as you, Ann, not surprising since we're the same age more or less. Mom called it "material" back in the day and now we both call it "fabric".
Interestingly, if you are one to troll Craig's List for sewing or fabric items, do check the "Materials" category. Once in a while, someone will post fabric there to sell!
I can remember my mom calling it material. She calls it fabric now, though. I also call it fabric but can remember calling it material when I was a little girl. My 5 year old calls it "favric" and, proudly, already knows it's not "string", it's thread. :)
I call it "fabric", but growing up, my Mom (who did a LOT of sewing) called it "goods". Don't know the history behind the use of that word....
Here in the UK, I grew up with "material" mainly, though the two words are synonymous and fabric is also used. E.g. the local church has a "fabric fund" where fabric doesn't mean cloth, but all "components" or "materials" that make up the church building and need constant upkeep.
It's been "fabric" for me, "material" is my mother's term, and oddly her mother's term was always "fabric" because she worked in the garment industry.
In law "material" also means "relevant" and "significant".
Like some other commenters, I called it material in the past, and at some point switched to fabric. The place where I bought it was always the fabric store.
My Mom, who sewed everything, called it material. I've gone with fabric recently. I'm sure I've been influenced by the web.
Whenever someone asks me "what type of material is that made of?" I also want to cringe. I use fabric or I call it by it's type of fabric, organza, cotton, etc.
I say fabric and Shannon's explanation does ring a bell from science classes of many, many years ago.
fabric
but like others I'm sure I've used both over the years and my mum probably talked about material more than fabric.
Perhaps its a generational word change is Australia too, not just North America?
Hm...I wonder if there's a generational thing going on here...
I said 'material' until I left home; not sure when it happened but at some point I switched and now I say 'fabric'.
The funny thing is that when I was home this past summer, my mother gave me a piece of yard goods (there's another moniker!), saying, 'Why don't you take this material? I'll never make anything out of it.' And I actually *noticed* her use of 'material' and wondered when I switched words...
Must be a "mom" thing! My mom called it material as well, and probably still does. I call it fabric.
I'm pretty sure my mom said material, but it was purchased at the *fabric store* (actually, at the TG&Y, a five-and-dime store in Arizona). I say fabric, but occasionally material slips in - usually when it's an unusual (for me, anyway) fabric.
Can't believe that no one has commented on the "fabric" vs. "fiber" thing, though. I was reading the DK Complete Book of Sewing which I picked up at the library last week (I was looking for resources to teach sewing to a class of 8-12 year olds), and I wanted to scream when I read something to the effect of "Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics." Ummmm, no - cotton is a FIBER. Cotton can be sateen, jersey, corduroy, broadcloth, twill, etc. - THOSE are fabrics, and they are all very different from each other.
(Hopefully, I'm not the only one this makes crazy...)
Yeah, I think that my Mom called it material.
But I call it fabric. When I go shopping, I go to the 'fabric' store, not the 'material' store.
I call it fabric. My mom calls it fabric and always has. My maternal grandmother called it fabric and scoffed at people who called it material so if it is generational it is also cultural/regional. Now I am curious.
I call it fabric. My mom also calls it material. Must be a generational thing.
I was thinking about this recently. My mom said "Material" and I say "fabric". We live in the PNW. So I think it's more generational than regional.
OMG! This post made me laugh since I'm constantly telling my husband how much it irks me when people call fabric "material"!! I go to the FABRIC store to buy FABRIC. You use MATERIALS to build a barn.
ahhh... to each his own, right??
:)S
My mother, like her mother, was an expert home sewer. She said 'material' and that's what I learned. I didn't start sewing seriously until I moved to Australia from Nova Scotia. I thought 'fabric' was an Aussie-ism until I started reading sewing blogs.
Growing up my Mom and I always called it material. Now, it's definitely Fabric! When my daughter was a little girl (she's 25 now) she called me a "Material Girl" after Madonna's song...hehe.
After reading these comments, I would definitely say it's a generational term, as my grandmother, and mother both used the term "material", and they were and are both expert seamstresses. I've used both, though more likely say "fabric" now. I wouldn't, be irked or offended though if someone said "material", and would know what they were talking about.
How fascinating this is!
@The Hojnackes - I hit the delete button instead of the publish button on your comment (stoopid fat fingers). So here's your comment:
Growing up, we called it material. Now that I am all grown up (hahaha) I call it fabric. My 4 year old calls it favric.
Sorry about that!
My mom and grandmother used the term material, and I think I did too when my kids were little. My boys always used to beg when we went shopping, "Please, mommy no, not the material store!" I probably refer to it more now as "fabric," but it doesn't bother me either way.
mkhughes
My mom always used the term material. Even in college as a Home Ec major, the term used by all was material.
In the mid seventies we started using the word fabric!
I use both I think. Certainly material in the old days and somehow changed to be fabric.
My mother says "material" so I used that term too. I've been calling it fabric for quite some time though. Not sure why I changed.
My beloved grandmother, born in about 1890, who taught me how to sew, and who literally could sew a ball gown totally by hand....who sewed her way through the depression....called it material (maybe becuase she sometimes had to use feed sacks in her early days!. So I sometimes call it fabric and sometimes material, it depends on the sentence structure.
But here in my world, we still call the metal basket on wheels at the grocery store a "buggy" and not a cart....and still shop at the Pig (as in Piggly Wiggly....I kid you not). So what do I know? ML
I call it fabric, my Mom calls it fabric. I also cringe when I hear someone call it material - I want to say Materials are something you gather to re-do your kitchen, FABRIC is what you sew....snobby as I am, but I don't say anything....
My 88-year-old mom was an expert seamstress, and she always called it material. I suppose I did too until I left home. I now call it fabric, but material makes me nostalgic.
Karen in Paris
I call it fabric, and my mom called it material, but now calls it fabric. I call myself a textile freak. I admit to going into a fabric store (which are harder to find anymore, they are all getting to be "quilt shops") just to feel fabric.
My mom and grandmother always said material. I never heard "fabric" until I moved away from Texas. DH still says material! Ah..love Helen's comment.
Interesting question. I had to think about this a few moments. It depends on the context but generally I use the words interchangably. When I have a piece of clth in front of me it is usually fabric. When I talk about buying cloth at the fabric store, it is usually material.
I will be aware of my words now.
Marsha - Calling fabric 'goods' dates back to the 1800's.
We always called it cloth, and the local department stores had cloth departments. Later, in home economics class, it was material, and still later, we came to call it fabric. I still think cloth was the best term, as both material and fabric can refer to other things. Think of the word fabricate - most often it's a general term that doesn't refer to the use of cloth at all.
Same generational thing here. My Mother always said material, I say fabric. My older sister still says material. Both used to look at me as if I was being pretentious by saying fabric.
ha ha mkhughes my granddaughter used to say "Oh no mommy not the fagrick store please no fagrick store!!"
I call it fabric, but I grew up with my mom calling it material.
I go to the "fabric" store, but I hve to touch the "material." I think that's the only time I say material.
Wow, this topic struck a nerve! My mom called it material, which goes along with her theme of calling things by the wrong name, oblivious to what's correct. It's fabric. People who call it 'material" irritate the hell out of me. And so do people who call it a "pressure foot" or "selvedge." How can I take you seriously when you can't spell?
My mom called it "goods" or "yard goods" and bought it at the "yard goods store". I hear that so seldom that it's a treat to read it here. I'm a weaver as well as sewer so I tend to call it fabric.
Wonderful thread! :-)
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