What is Nap? (Tips on sewing fabric with nap)

The Nap of a fabric in sewing

Nap is the texture of a fabric with the raised fibers of the fabric going in a particular direction. This property of a fabric is woven into it. A secondary yarn is woven through the cloth to get the nap.   

You can feel the nap of a fabric by running your hand on the surface of the cloth.

If you are running your hands ‘with the nap,’ the fibers will feel smooth (in the downwards direction), whereas if you are running your hands ‘against the nap’ (upwards), the fibers will feel rough or not quite smooth.

A perfect example of a cloth with nap is velvet. This fabric has a nap which is very much tangible as well as visible.

Which are the Fabrics with nap ?

In some fabrics like Velour, Velvet, Fleece, Corduroy Faux fur Nap is very obvious. Brushed denim, flannel, synthetic suede, stretch twill, terry cloth are other fabrics with obvious nap

Why is nap important in sewing ?

Nap is very important in determining how you set out the pattern on a fabric. Layouts of fabric with nap will be different from fabric without nap. When cutting fabric keep the pattern pieces so that Nap is  going upwards.

Finish of the garment

If you ignore the nap of fabric when sewing and join together two pieces with different nap directions, especially for fabric with very obvious nap, it will definitely look very odd. I have first-hand experience – the two arms of a top ended up looking like two types of fabric. That is how much it matters. The shading of the two pieces looks different from the same bolt of fabric.   

Determines how much fabric you need for sewing a pattern

When sewing with a pattern that has many pieces, you will have to make sure that all the fabric pieces (pattern pieces) are cut in the direction of the nap; You need consistent color and texture throughout the garment. To achieve this, you may even need more cloth than you probably estimated for a fabric with less nap.

A fabric with a nap can be cut in only one way for the same pattern, which is a definite disadvantage in that you waste a lot of fabric like that. 

How to find the nap of a fabric ?

One way, as said, is to pass the hands softly over to feel the nap. The smoother feel is the ‘with nap’ direction. The rougher feel is the ‘against nap’ direction.

Nap also shows up as shaded. The brightness of the fabric is different when viewed from different directions. The velvet nap shows a dull, matte side when viewed in one direction, but from another, it looks bright, shiny, and very smooth. 

An easy trick to find the nap in fabrics with a less obvious nap (which feels the same even when you run your hands over it) is to take it to broad sunlight. The smoother surface, which is with the nap ( the downward direction), will be lighter, and the rougher surface, which is against the nap ( upwards ), will be slightly darker.

For a visual understanding of how nap of a fabric works checkout this video

Sewing with fabric with nap

Sewing with a napped fabric is a pleasure because of the beauty of the finished garment. The texture of the fabric that nap provides is very attractive. There is a sheen to these fabrics, which is extraordinary. But as already said, you have to get the layout of the pattern pieces right. 

Because of the fabric wastage involved and the bulkiness of most of the napped fabric I always prefer to make simple clothes (without too many pattern pieces or design details with these fabrics )

As for choosing the direction of the nap when cutting fabric – this is mostly a personal preference. Decide on the look you want. If you are going against the nap, you will get a rich color which some prefer over the lighter color of ‘with the nap’. But “with the nap.”  

One thing which deters me from the napped fabric is that most of the napped fabric is expensive to maintain (to buy also). They are almost always ‘Dry clean only’.

Checkout this post on hand washing clothes which is what you can do if you do not want to dry clean always (may be after the first few drycleans).

Related post : Textured fabric List ; Piled fabrics (Vz Napped Fabrics)