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Home > Encyclopedia > a, b, c > Cross grain
Cross grain
In order to find the fabric's cross grain, you need to be familiar with some other terms. The selvage is the light green strip at the top of the cotton fabric pictured below. Often it is a different color and has the name of the manufacturer printed on it. When you tug on the selvage, it does not "give". Never use the selvage in your patchwork.
The straight of grain runs parallel to the selvage. When you tug on the straight of grain, there is little "give". The cross grain is always perpendicular to the selvage. When you tug on this, the fabric will "give" a little more. This is important to note. When sewing on borders you usually want the fabric to remain flat (little "give").
The cross grain is parallel to the cut edge of the fabric (if the fabric shop carefully cut your piece off the bolt). In the photo below, on the right side, you can see the threads fraying where the fabric was cut from the bolt.
The bias runs at an angle to the selvage. True bias is at a 45 degree angle to the selvage. When you tug on the bias, the fabric stretches. Care needs to be taken when sewing on the bias as the fabric can stretch and cause inaccuracy in your patchwork.
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