‘Athill’ draping black triple crepe fabric

We love our triple crepe fabrics for their ability to work hard for their keep as dresses, separates and more formal suits. This black triple crepe fabric sends us firmly into the territory of wardrobe classics. Draping trousers, elegant jackets and of course the Little Black Dress. The shade of black here is sold, rich and true – no heading into green, grey, yellow or blue spectrum.

What kind of fabric is this?

We’d describe our black triple crepe fabric as either a medium-weight suiting fabric or a heavier-weight dress fabric. It has some mechanical ease across the width and the bias of the fabric; this is due to the crepe weave structure and the use of highly-twisted yarn in its construction.

It is a polyester cloth – but with that comes washability (although not necessarily if you’ve lined it!), crease-resistance and durability.  We think our triple crepe fabrics are a bit of a classic; we find they are relatively well-behaved and easy to manipulate providing you take your time to make sure your pattern pieces are placed correctly in line with the selvedge when positioning them for cutting out.

What does this fabric feel like?

You can feel the typical crepe texture on this fabric but it’s perfectly comfortable when worn next to the skin. Although polyester fabrics tend to be less breathable than natural fibres, the crepe weave means that our black triple crepe fabric is much more comfortable in warmer weather than you might expect.

How does this fabric move?

Our black triple crepe fabric drapes exceptionally well as you would expect. It has enough weight and substance not to highlight every lump and bump it might encounter – and it moves with exceptional grace as we think you’ll see from this video.

Will I need to line this fabric?

This fabric has excellent opacity and as a more draping dress, or as a skirt or trousers, then no lining would be required. A half slip would be all that you’d need to aid movement against the body across hosiery. However for a more fitted or tailored garment then you’d want a lining to help with structure and shape.

What can I make with this fabric?

We’ve made jumpsuits, trousers, skirts and dresses with our triple crepe fabrics – and can report that they do fabulous service in all these roles – surviving repeated outings and machine washes with no trouble. Take a look at our Jumpsuit and Lounge Pants blog posts for more details of garments we’ve created using these versatile fabrics.

Looking for a classic LBD? This ‘Carnegie’ Dress pattern from Style Arc is a winner we think. Those princess seams will allow for precise fitting and it’s a design that will make the most of the drape and movement of our black triple crepe fabric.

Fabric width

150cm

Fabric composition

Polyester

Fabric care

Wash at 30 or 40 degrees – however we recommend spot-or dry-cleaning lined garments. See our Fabric care pages for more information.