Fabric 101: Canvas 

Canvas is a sturdy and durable fabric known for being heavy-duty and versatile. You often see it used for items that need to withstand a little more wear and tear, like tents, sneakers, and backpacks. Its tight weave not only provides excellent strength but also a degree of water resistance (though not entirely waterproof without additional treatment).

The typical material for canvas is cotton, although historically it was made from linen and even hemp. You’ll find that modern canvas is generally classified into two types: plain and duck. The difference lies in the tightness of the weave, with duck canvas being more tightly woven, thus offering a smoother texture and increased strength. Plain canvas is more often used for clothing and durable home decor that requires more flexibility than duck.

• Learn more about duck canvas material

Fabric	Canvas
Texture?	Somewhat coarse texture
Stretch?	No stretch
Weight?	Heavy weight (sometimes it can be more medium weight)
Stiff or flowy drape?	Stiff drape
Nap?	Not a napped fabric
Typical fiber content?	Typically cotton
Opaque or sheer?	Opaque fabric
Shiny?	Matte fabric
Fraying?	Somewhat resistant to fraying, but it does still fray
Pilling?	Resistant to pilling and snagging
What to make?	Canvas can be used in garments for bottom-weight apparel such as pants, coats, as well as some hats and skirts. It’s also used for bags, home decor and upholstery, art canvases, outdoor gear for gardening and camping, covers, and tarps.
What needle to use?	A heavy duty needle or a universal needle

What kind of fabric is canvas?

Canvas is a durable and sturdy plain weave fabric that is generally made from cotton, although linen or synthetic fibers such as polyester are sometimes used as well. The fabric is known for its heavy-duty quality and is used in items that require sturdiness and longevity.

Compared to other types of cotton fabric, canvas is thicker and has a noticeably heavier weight. This weight contributes to its durability but also means it has less drape than lighter fabrics. Canvas is quite stiff, which makes it ideal for structured items that need to hold their shape.

One of the other qualities of canvas is that it is usually somewhat water-resistant due to the tight weave. or even waterproof. This makes it suitable for outdoor gear, including canvas shoes, tents and backpacks.

Types of Canvas

While all canvas uses a plain weave and as a highly structured drape, there are multiple types you can choose from. Most of the time, you’ll be working with plain canvas, which is the most basic type. But duck canvas is also quite useful for the more heavy duty uses.

• Plain Canvas features a simpler and looser weave than duck canvas. This type is often used for more casual purposes, such as home deco, bags, crafting and lighter-duty products. If you need a canvas that’s easier to manipulate and less rigid, plain canvas offers a flexible material suitable for a variety of creative projects.
• Duck Canvas, known for its extremely tight weave, is a heavyweight and sturdy fabric. It’s used in demanding applications like work clothes, sneakers, and artists’ canvases. Duck canvas has an overall higher thread count (with two warp yarns) and tighter weave, making it smoother and stronger than plain canvas. 

What can you make with canvas fabric?

Common uses for canvas include art canvases for paintings, bags, tents, shoes, and sails. It’s also used for garments items like jackets, casual pants, and accessories (like hats). Moreover, canvas is used for home décor items such as curtains and furniture covers. Its heavy-duty quality ensures long-lasting wear and protection.

Properties of canvas fabric

• Texture: Canvas fabric typically has a coarse texture due to its thick yarns and tight plain-weave pattern. The surface of the canvas is not as soft as lighter weight cotton fabrics; it has a more pronounced texture that can feel somewhat rough or rugged.
• Stretch: Canvas does not stretch or have any notable give. It’s also not a very flexible fabric making it unsuitable for most garments.
• Weight: Canvas is typically a heavy weight fabric, but sometimes you can find garment-weight canvas (used for coats and some pants) that falls into the medium weight category.
• Drape: Canvas is a highly structured fabric with a stiff drape. Canvas maintains its shape and is more rigid than many other fabrics.
• Fiber content: Canvas is typically made from cotton, but it has also traditionally been made from linen. Historically, canvas was even made from hemp, which is known for its exceptional durability, but the fiber is rarely used today. Canvas can also be made from synthetic fibers like polyester, which can offer additional benefits such as increased strength, resistance to water and mildew, and affordability.
• Opacity: Canvas fabric is always opaque due to its dense weave and heavy weight.  
• Shiny or matte: Canvas is not a shiny fabric. It has a matte finish due to its plain weave and the nature of the cotton fibers. However, certain treatments or finishes can be applied to canvas to give it a different appearance. For example, waxed canvas has a slightly glossy finish due to the wax coating, which also adds water resistance. But in its natural state, untreated canvas will have a matte appearance.
• Fraying: Canvas fabric resists fraying better than lighter and more loosely woven fabrics. However, like all woven fabrics, if the edges of canvas are cut and left unfinished, they can fray over time as the threads begin to unravel.
• Durability: Canvas fabric is resistant to snagging and pilling. Since canvas is made from sturdy fibers that are tightly woven together, it is quite durable and unlikely to experience damage from basic wear and tear. However, no fabric is completely immune to damage, and with harsh conditions or repeated heavy use, canvas can still suffer from wear. 
• Wrinkling: Canvas fabric does not wrinkle as easily as lighter and more delicate fabrics. However, it will still develop deep creases if folded or compressed for extended periods.

What to know Before sewing with canvas

1. Canvas is quite thick and not all home sewing machines will be able to handle the layers. Be sure your machine can handle heavy duty material so avoid breaking a needle or damaging your sewing machine.
2. Use a longer stitch length when sewing with canvas to get through all the layers (try something around a 3.5mm stitch length)
3. It’s best to finish the seams open to avoid stacking too many layers.
4. When using canvas for upholstery, you may not need to finish the seams since canvas does not fray easily
5. Use a heavy duty or denim needle when sewing with canvas, size 100 or more
6. When cutting canvas, you may want to cut patterns in a single layer so that you’re not cutting through too many layers at a time.