Weird fabric in clothes shop

In a good dress shop the assistant will know the stock.

Sounds like you were expecting the sales assistant to not only have unrealistically detailed knowledge of the fabric and also be an experienced dressmaker.
My DD recently bought a pair of midpriced trousers from a mid market retailer. They were lovely and the fabric hung beautifully, but they were a couple of inches too long, which is why they ended up in my sewing room. They were hemmed and I thought it was going to be a straightforward job. How wrong I was. The fabric felt unusual but I never expected the battle I had on my hands. No matter how I adjusted my machine, what type of needle I used, the needle would not penetrate the fabric. I tried to hand sew, with the same result. In the end I glued it.
No idea what that fabric was, but it absolutely defeated me.

I went shopping with a friend today- even in Primark all the clothes had hems.

Only in New Look did I find some skirts without hems and felt relieved my friend didn't think I was making it up and I wasn't going mad.

I bought a dress- fitted really well and complete with turned up hem!

I think this recent over sized clothing movement is a bit of a piss take and money making racket.

^People look awful in these clothes. No style, flair or elegance.
But they think they look cool.^

We are all, of course, entitled to our own opinion, but I know many people who would differ from you profoundly on this issue WithNobsOnIt

I think this recent over sized clothing movement is a bit of a piss take and money making racket.

People look awful in these clothes. No style, flair or elegance.
But they think they look cool.

Manufacturers are not saving the planet but just on the make for themselves as l see it

Hmm Let's see. How we can reduce manufacturing costs. On size fits all.
So they don't have to make lots of different sizes. Not left with unsold stock. Fewer linings, lowers cost of materials. No finished hems, lower labour costs.

You get my drift?

I don't remember buying anything to wear and ever taking it back- which is why I like to try things on and make sure it's the right thing.

This is one of the reasons I didn't buy it- not just the rudeness but my lack of understanding about the product.

Win seems to know about this fabric, which is why I asked the question in the first place.

I don't often buy things new- and find charity shops much easier to buy from. Maybe I am just out of touch but thanks for all your replies.

I have a Christmas meal coming up and wanted to treat myself to something new but maybe I won't bother now.

Yes, I am a hypercritical shopper, if you put it that way. I don't have much money and so I like to make absolutely sure I'm buying the right thing before I hand over the cash. I make no apology for that.

I think that's an unrealistic expectation in most retail settings.
I would have been wary that you were trying to induce me into making declarations about how the fabric would perform. Which I couldn't do. And would avoid getting into a discussion about in case it was used later to reject the item and demand a refund.

A retailer should know their stock and she was extremely rude to speak to you in that manner.

To me who knows absolutely nothing about sewing or alterations you sound hyper critical.
If i was working there I'd think you either want it or you don't.
The fabric was labelled and presumably the care instructions ?
The price was clear.
Whether you want it or not is up to you.

keepingquiet
I couldn’t help thinking about Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, shopping for clothes and refused to be served in a shop. Revisited somewhat smartened up and spoke the famous phrase “Big Mistake, Huge!!” Made me smile, thank you.

I often cut a garment to the right length without hemming it. If I had liked the skirt well enough I'd have bought it. Some fabrics fray more than others.

keepingquiet

Hope this is in the right place to post.

I like when I can to patronise my local shops and we are lucky I suppose that we have an independent fashion clothes shop in the high street.
I go in now and again for a look but they very rarely have anything that's right for me.

Today, though, they had exactly what I was looking for- a maxi length tartan skirt.

There was no size label but the woman in the shop explained it was one size as it had an elasticed waist. Fair enough.

I tried it on and it looked pretty good. I thought it was lined, but I realised the lining was just the back of the fabric, and it had no hem- it was just cut at the bottom. I had never seen fabric like it, checked it was washable (polyester) and decided at just over £30 that I would buy it.

I asked her about the fabric and the lack of a hem- but she just said lots of clothes are made like this now so people can cut them off if the length is too long (I'm slightly above average height) and that lots of clothes are made like this now.
I asked if it might fray after washing though, and she said rather snappily that no one had ever brought one back, and people like the fabric because it means they can cut it to size.

I wondered how it could be cut so that the hem would be straight and just asked her how it was done. I was just being curious.

She said with scissors- did I not know how to cut things? Although I was planning to buy the skirt I was put off doing so by her being very rude. Another customer then came in as I was trying to put the skirt back on the hanger, still unsure whether to buy it or not.
Another customer came in and she left me at the counter- so I just decided to leave the skirt there and left the shop.

Has any one else come across this 'cut it yourself' fabric before?

Do you think I should have bought it, seeing as it looked quite nice?

Do you think I was right to leave when she had been so rude?

What would you have done?

A lot of both skirt and trousers are like that these days, I like it when trousers are not hemmed, I can get the exact length I need without unpicking anything. I have a type of felt coat you just cut, I have cut the collar several times as it was very large and I have changed the style satisfactorily. A good seamstress has no problem with shortening a full skirt.

She probably didn’t know so rather than say she went on the defensive (some people are like that)
I’ve just got back into sewing and there appears to be a lot of new fabric about and some of it does need hemming, though the old foggie in me says that’s wrong

I often cut lengths off dresses as I'm only 5'2". I put the frock on the ironing board, measure the requisite amount I want to remove from the bottom (say it's 4") and use the tape measure to work round the entire hem to the same 4 inches all the way round. I don't bother with pins till I'm actually doing the next stage - the turn-up. Never bother to tack either but I am a very experienced dressmaker, so each to their own method!

AuntieE

If you do ever decide to alter the length of a fairly full skirt yourself, fold the skirt to the length you want, then pin it.

You will need to pin the part you have turned up at the top too.

Try the skirt, preferably with someone to advise you if the new hem is straight, or squint.

If it is all right, tack it in place, then cut the excess material away, leaving a centimetre or two to turn in at the upper, inside edge of the hem. Then hem.

I never buy polyester as I am allergic to it, so I do not know if it would fray or not.

Like you, I would not buy anything in a shop where the assistant was rude. She is after all paid to be polite and helpful, even on her "off" days.

My point was there was no hem- it was just cut.

I'm no seamstress either, but even I could see you couldn't turn it up and make a hem because of the thick plastic backing.

It said 95%polyester with 5% elastic fabric.

I don't know what Ponte Roma is- but I know there was no sewing involved at all. Just scissors!

The closest was to describe it was a bit like patterned oil cloth like tablecloths, but it had a brushed cotton feel to it on the front. It certainly wasn't pleated.

fluff

I wonder if the fabric could have been Ponte Roma?

Sounds like it. Perfect for a beginner to sewing.

keepingquiet

Hope this is in the right place to post.

I like when I can to patronise my local shops and we are lucky I suppose that we have an independent fashion clothes shop in the high street.
I go in now and again for a look but they very rarely have anything that's right for me.

Today, though, they had exactly what I was looking for- a maxi length tartan skirt.

There was no size label but the woman in the shop explained it was one size as it had an elasticed waist. Fair enough.

I tried it on and it looked pretty good. I thought it was lined, but I realised the lining was just the back of the fabric, and it had no hem- it was just cut at the bottom. I had never seen fabric like it, checked it was washable (polyester) and decided at just over £30 that I would buy it.

I asked her about the fabric and the lack of a hem- but she just said lots of clothes are made like this now so people can cut them off if the length is too long (I'm slightly above average height) and that lots of clothes are made like this now.
I asked if it might fray after washing though, and she said rather snappily that no one had ever brought one back, and people like the fabric because it means they can cut it to size.

I wondered how it could be cut so that the hem would be straight and just asked her how it was done. I was just being curious.

She said with scissors- did I not know how to cut things? Although I was planning to buy the skirt I was put off doing so by her being very rude. Another customer then came in as I was trying to put the skirt back on the hanger, still unsure whether to buy it or not.
Another customer came in and she left me at the counter- so I just decided to leave the skirt there and left the shop.

Has any one else come across this 'cut it yourself' fabric before?

Do you think I should have bought it, seeing as it looked quite nice?

Do you think I was right to leave when she had been so rude?

What would you have done?

She’s just the sales girl she probably didn’t know the answers. It sounds like you did go on a bit v

I wonder if the fabric could have been Ponte Roma?

If you do ever decide to alter the length of a fairly full skirt yourself, fold the skirt to the length you want, then pin it.

You will need to pin the part you have turned up at the top too.

Try the skirt, preferably with someone to advise you if the new hem is straight, or squint.

If it is all right, tack it in place, then cut the excess material away, leaving a centimetre or two to turn in at the upper, inside edge of the hem. Then hem.

I never buy polyester as I am allergic to it, so I do not know if it would fray or not.

Like you, I would not buy anything in a shop where the assistant was rude. She is after all paid to be polite and helpful, even on her "off" days.

It would be very hard to get a good finish from hemming it up if the fabric was pleated.

I think it may have been that they like their regular customers. Only for locals where I live. I get it all the time!

For me it would depend if she was always rude or not. if she was, she's not up to the job.

if it was a one off I might think something was going on in her life and she just wasnt up to being as she should.

I do feel sorry sometimes for my hairdresser and similarwho have to talk all day and some people rabbit on about themselves at length sort of dumping stuff and don't try and connect as a person. Must be absolutely exhausting.

Oh thanks for this info. It's good to know about these innovations but I remain sceptical that it can be washed a lot without fraying- either way the woman was rude and didn't deserve my custom.

AmberGran she wasn't embarrassed at all but clearly thought I was stupid when most of her customers clearly buy this stuff and then go home and cut it shorter! I think she thought I was clearly dim for not seeing this and maybe I was?

If it was polyester it could have been laser cut, this melts the fibres which prevents fraying. Simply cutting it won't do this but if the fibres are tightly knitted you may get away with it.

I've seen lots of denim skirts and jeans without hems over the last few years - it was a bit of a thing for a while. Some fabrics are plasticized as well, which means it can be cut without it fraying.

I do think the assistant was rude, maybe she was embarrassed at not being able to answer the questions properly. Maybe she didn't understand that you were just curious and thought you were being rude about the clothes. Maybe she's not selling enough to make her commission, or whatever. Who knows.