For a summer garment, linen is the coolest and most forgiving to sew, viscose has the softest drape and the best hand for flowing dresses, and cotton sits in between: easy, affordable and crisp, but less breathable in a tight weave. Choose linen for loose shirts, shorts and trousers, viscose for gathered or bias-cut dresses and skirts, and cotton lawn or voile for blouses, children's clothes and a first project.
How do cotton, linen and viscose compare?
| Feature | Cotton | Linen | Viscose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber | Natural, from the cotton plant | Natural, from flax | Regenerated cellulose, from wood pulp |
| Feel in heat | Cool in open weaves, warm in dense ones | Coolest; conducts heat away | Cool and silky, clings when damp |
| Drape | Crisp to medium | Crisp, softens with washing | Fluid, very soft |
| Wrinkling | Moderate | Heavy | Moderate, falls out when hung |
| Shrinkage before washing | 3–5 % | 3–10 % | Up to 5–8 %, and the fabric can distort |
| Ease of sewing | Easiest | Easy, frays a lot | Hardest: slippery, shifts on the table |
| Typical weights | 60–200 g/m² (1.8–6 oz/yd²) | 130–260 g/m² (3.8–7.7 oz/yd²) | 90–160 g/m² (2.7–4.7 oz/yd²) |
| Price | Low to medium | Medium to high | Low to medium |
Weight is given in grams per square meter (GSM) and ounces per square yard, the two figures shop listings use.
Which fabric is the coolest to wear in summer?
Linen wins. Flax fibers are hollow and stiff, so a linen weave stays slightly open, air moves through it and it does not stick to damp skin. Linen also absorbs moisture and dries quickly. That is why a loose linen shirt feels cooler than a cotton T-shirt of the same weight, even though both are natural fibers.
Cotton depends entirely on the weave. A cotton lawn at 70 g/m² (2 oz/yd²) or a voile breathes almost as well as linen. A cotton poplin or sateen at 150 g/m² (4.4 oz/yd²) is dense, blocks air and holds sweat against the body. If you are shopping for cotton for a hot climate, look for lawn, voile, double gauze, seersucker or a loosely woven chambray.
Viscose absorbs moisture well and feels cool and smooth when you put it on, but it is heavier when wet and clings to the body. In very humid weather a viscose dress can feel limp by the afternoon. In dry heat it is a pleasure.
Which fabric drapes best?
Viscose, by a wide margin. The fibers are smooth and fine, the fabric falls in soft, narrow folds, and a gathered skirt in viscose moves with every step. A drape like that suits a fit-and-flare dress with a gathered skirt, a slip dress cut on the bias, wide trousers that swing, and anything with ruffles or a tiered skirt.
Linen is the opposite: crisp, with body. A gathered skirt in linen stands away from the body and looks puffy rather than soft. That same crispness is wonderful in a boxy top, a shirt dress, an A-line skirt or straight-leg trousers, where you want the fabric to hold a shape. Washed and sand-washed linens are noticeably softer than a crisp new linen and sit between the two.
Cotton covers the whole range. Lawn and voile are light and fairly soft, poplin is crisp, cotton sateen is heavy with a smooth face. Match the garment to the specific cotton rather than to "cotton" in general.
Which wrinkles the least?
None of the three is wrinkle-free, and that is part of the look of summer clothes. Linen wrinkles the most: sit down for ten minutes and the lap of a linen skirt is creased. Many people accept it as the character of the fiber. If you cannot, a linen-cotton or linen-viscose blend wrinkles less while keeping some of the coolness.
Viscose wrinkles in wear but the creases fall out when the garment is hung up. Cotton sits in the middle: lawn and voile crease, poplin less so, and a cotton with a little polyester hardly at all, at the cost of breathability.
Which is the easiest to sew?
Cotton. A quilting cotton, poplin or lawn stays where you put it, takes a press well, does not slip under the presser foot and forgives a slightly uneven seam. If this is your first garment, choose a light to medium cotton.
Linen is also easy to sew. It cuts cleanly, presses sharply and feeds straight. Its one vice is fraying: the yarns are thick and loosely spun and the cut edges shed. Finish seams promptly with a zigzag, a serger or French seams, and handle the cut pieces as little as possible. Sewing with linen covers seam finishes, needles and pressing.
Viscose is the hardest of the three. It slides on the cutting table, stretches on the bias when handled, and puckers when the thread tension is too tight. Cut it in a single layer with a rotary cutter and weights, use a fine needle (70/10 or 80/12) and a short stitch, and staystitch necklines as soon as they are cut. Sewing viscose without tears goes through the whole process.
Do you need to prewash cotton, linen and viscose?
Yes, all three, and twice for linen and viscose if you can bear it. Cotton shrinks 3–5 % in the first wash, which on a 100 cm (39 in) long dress is 3–5 cm (1 1/4–2 in). Linen shrinks as much or more, and viscose can shrink, twist and go off grain. Wash and dry the fabric the way you will wash and dry the garment, press it and only then lay out the pattern. The prewashing guide explains how for each fiber.
Buy a little extra to allow for the shrinkage: 10 % more length is a safe margin for linen and viscose.
Which should you choose?
- A flowing summer dress, a gathered or tiered skirt, a slip dress: viscose, or a viscose challis or crepe. Nothing else in this price range drapes as well.
- Loose shirts, shorts, wide trousers, a shirt dress, a kimono jacket: linen. It is the coolest to wear and looks better the more it is washed.
- A blouse, a shift dress with a defined shape, children's clothes, a first garment: cotton lawn, voile, poplin or double gauze. Easy to sew, easy to wash, inexpensive.
- Very humid weather: linen or an open cotton weave. Viscose clings when damp.
- You hate ironing: a linen-viscose blend, or viscose hung to dry.
- Pockets, waistbands and anything that takes strain: cotton or linen. Viscose stretches and wears at points of friction; use it for the body of the garment and interface the facings.
When you are unsure, ask what the garment needs to do: hold a shape (linen or crisp cotton), or move (viscose or a soft cotton). The guide to choosing fabric for a pattern turns that question into a short checklist of drape, weight and stretch.