10 heavy weight and thick fabrics

When I want a thick fabric, I head off to the upholstery store near my home – they stock lots of super thick materials which I use willy nilly, not knowing the names of any of them but the fact that they serve my purpose to the T makes me ignore all details. There is no rhyme or reason whatsoever other than that they are thick and quite heavyweight.

Writing about fabrics has made me think more about how that particular fabric can stand up thick and stiff without needing any interfacing or question its fabric weave and structure that makes it so and why it looks like this, etc. Wool, Canvas, Denim, Corduroy, Fleece, Tweed, Brocade,
Flannel, Boucle, Chenille, Sherpa, Moleskin, Fake fur, Quilted fabric, Upholstery fabric and all kinds of Bonded fabric are all thick fabrics. 

Related post: Different types of fabric weaves. 

These are the best 10 fabrics you should look out for and ask the salesperson of your showroom, when you particularly want a thick heavyweight fabric.

1. Canvas

When you think ‘Thick’ canvas is the fabric name that first comes to my mind. It can have a basket weave or a twill weave and has a slightly ribbed surface and is available in many weights.

Canvas is tightly woven with a rigidity /stiffness to it that is suitable for many applications like upholstery, bag making, to make awnings. You can also make pants with the canvas fabric. 

100% Cotton canvas used in bag making is usually treated to be water-resistant. If you want a very stiff canvas buy Nylon canvas. Polyester canvas, Hemp canvas are other combinations, Read more about canvas fabric types. 

2. Denim

Denim is a very strong twill weave fabric and is used for making sturdy durable long lasting garments. The most famous example being jeans. It is also used to make jackets, bags and upholstery. Finishes added to the denim fabric can add more stiffness.

Denim can be made of 100 percent cotton fibers or blended with spandex fibers. Sometimes Denim may be made entirely of hemp or even linen fibers.
You can learn more about the 12 jeans fabric types.

3. Duck cloth

This fabric is very heavyweight, maybe as much as canvas fabric which it closely resembles. It is coarse, so it is not used for making garments. The Duck cloth fabric is used to make bags.

4. Corduroy

Corduroy is a thick fabric with a cross-grain texture with fine ridges running across its length. The channels that accompany the ridges are called ‘wales’.

There are different types of corduroy fabric categorized according to the wales on them like Micro wale corduroy, wide wale corduroy. Corduroy fabric is a favorite for making pants, jackets, bags, cushions and other upholstery. It is especially used in making kids’ clothes. Spandex is sometimes added for stretch.

5. Ottoman fabric 

This is a heavy-weight fabric with a ribbed texture similar to corduroy. It is used usually for upholstery and to make outerwear.

6. Wool Tweed fabric 

Wool Tweed is a very thick fabric usually used to make jackets and coats and also bags. It has a slightly coarse texture. Wool tweed is made from coarse homespun wool. Read more about tweed here.

7. Chenille fabric 

The characteristic property of chenille fabric is the tufts of fibers on its surface resembling velvet. The resulting fabric is very thick, warm and heavyweight. The fibers used may be synthetic, silk, cotton or wool.

8. Suede and Sueded fabric 

Suede is thick fuzzy leather with a napped finish and Sueded fabric is man-made to resemble real suede. Suede made from thick hides of cow and deer is especially thicker than the suede from lamb goat or calf. They are used to make garments like pants, vests, and accessories like belts and hats.

9. Polyester fleece

This is a thick fabric with a furry surface. The soft nap of its surface makes it warm and insulating. It is used to make winter jackets, outdoor clothes.

There are many weights of fleece – termed fleece weight, this scale is used to buy fleece according to your needs. A fleece weight of 300 or more gives you super thick fleece. 

10. Coated fabric

The coated fabric refers to densely woven fabric that has a second layer of fabric fused to the back – they have a plastic PVC backing with a waterproof coating – this fabric finish is done to make it dense, abrasion-resistant, and or water-resistant/waterproof. They are heavy-weight fabric because of this. They are used to make raincoats, hoodies, and other outerwear.

Here is a list of other water resistant materials

Sewing tips for thick heavy fabrics

Some fabrics might look thick and stiff because of the starch added to them but this stiffness is misguiding. It will wash off after you wash it a few times. Always pre-wash fabrics.

When you have a heavyweight fabric to sew and find that your home sewing machine refuses to move forward when the fabric is under the needle, you realize you need some extra tricks to survive this kind of heavyweight sewing. A walking foot is a savior in these situations. You need one when you have to sew more than two layers of these thick fabrics.

Another tip is to use these thick fabrics to sew patterns with not many small parts, and not sewing thin corners/tubes with them really helps. You can avoid some frustrations this way.

When sewing seams, you may want to grade /trim/clip the seam allowances all over the place to avoid the bulky seam phenomena. You may even have to pound the seams (when cross seams are there) with a rubber mallet to make the fabric behave.

Use a thick/denim needle to sew these thick heavy fabrics and clips instead of pins to hold the fabric layers together. For more tips like this check out this post on sewing thick fabrics and many layers.