Ever go to a tailor and have no idea what word(s) she/he just said? Well, we are here to bring a little education into the wide world of tailoring with a little terminology talk. Check back every week for a new term.

Next up: The face or “right side” of fabric. 

The face of fabric, also known as the right side, is the side of a fabric that is meant to be seen. The face is what you see on the outside of the garment when it is finished; the other side, the wrong side, is hidden.

There are a couple of ways to determine what the right and wrong sides of the fabric are.  If the fabric has a colorful pattern on it, the wrong side will appear duller and less bright compared to right side.  Of course, not all fabric has patterns on it; another way to determine the face is to lay the fabric flat, take the upper left corner and the lower right corner and gently pull. If the right side of the fabric is facing up, the upper right hand corner of the fabric will curl in slightly.

But don’t be misled by the terms “right” and “wrong.” While one side is originally designed to be seen, there is no official rule that says you have to use it that way. Sometimes, the wrong side of the fabric is just as pretty, if not prettier, than the right side. In fact, we have used the wrong side in some of our own designs.

Take this Ultimate Lady Tie, The Lime Rickey, for example.

Seems like a regular Lady Tie, but look closer! The strap is actually a different color than the tie itself. The blue that you see on the strap was the “right side” of the original tie. But Kristen decided the tie’s “wrong side”, a bright lime green,  was much cooler.  So she turned the tie inside-out and used that  part of the fabric instead.

If lime green is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.