Looking to level up your sewing and make your own outdoor apparel?! The key to a successful garment is understanding how fabric choice impacts performance on the trail.

This blog post covers the most common things to look for when buying fabric for sewing outdoor bottoms (pants, shorts, skirts). Let's dive in!

Start with Your Adventure Plans
There are a few different scenarios to consider when choosing fabrics for hiking pants. Consider your typical adventures:
Where do you hike most often? Hot, dry climates or cool, wet conditions?
What's your activity level? Casual nature walks or technical scrambling?
What season will you wear these most? Summer heat or shoulder season layering?
How rough is your terrain? Smooth trails or brushy bushwhacking?
These questions will guide which performance features to prioritize when choosing fabric.

Understanding Fabric Weight and Seasonality

One of the most important factors in fabric selection is weight, which directly impacts when and where you'll want to wear your hiking pants. Fabric weight is typically measured in ounces per square yard or grams per square meter (gsm).

Lightweight Fabrics (around 3-5 oz / 100-170 gsm)

These are your hot weather champions. Fabrics in this range will pack small, feel drapey and breezy, and dry fast.

Best for: Desert and Summer hiking, humid climates, ultralight backpacking, trail running
Consider: May be less durable in rough terrain, slightly more finicky to sew with
Garment applications: Typically seen in looser fit, elastic waist styles since zip flys would be a bit heavy.

Midweight Fabrics (around 5-7 oz / 170-240 gsm)

The sweet spot for three-season adventures. These fabrics balance fabric durability with comfort across a wide temperature range.

Best for: Spring through Fall hiking, variable weather conditions, all-around outdoor pants
Consider: May be too warm on hot, sunny days
Garment applications: Hiking pants, climbing pants, softshell jackets

Heavyweight Fabrics (around 7+ oz / 240+ gsm)

Your cold weather and heavy-duty workhorses. These fabrics excel in winter conditions, brushy terrain, and situations where durability trumps weight considerations. Think park rangers who need durable pants while bushwacking.

Best for: Winter hiking, mountaineering, workwear, layering over baselayers for winter activities
Consider: Can be too warm for summer, heavier in your pack
Garment applications: Alpine climbing pants, workwear styles

Essential Performance Features to Look For:

Fiber Content

Learn about the different fibers typically used in outdoor apparel:

Nylon: Known for it’s high durability and abrasion-resistance, nylon offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio; making it ideal for high-wear areas and outdoor applications. It dries quickly but can be prone to UV color fading more than other synthetic fibers.
Polyester: A versatile moisture-wicking synthetic fiber that dries quickly, resists wrinkles and UV damage, and maintains its shape well. It does retain odors more than other fibers, however, it is very affordable and widely available.
Polypropylene: This is a synthetic fiber known to be lightweight, highly durable, and lightfast. It is gaining popularity in outdoor apparel because it has low moisture absorption, allowing it to float easily and resist stains or water.
Spandex: Also known as elastane or Lycra®, spandex provides elasticity and recovery to fabric blends. This means your fabric will have more mobility and will retain it’s shape over time. NOTE: some fabrics have no spandex content but still have what’s called “mechanical stretch.” Fabrics with mechanical stretch achieve elasticity through unique yarn twisting and fabric construction.
Merino Wool: Wool is naturally thermoregulating, meaning it is uniquely efficient at absorbing and evaporating moisture, leaving you feeling dry and comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. This breathability also means wool does not retain odors! It is also flame-resistant and anti-bacterial. While it is more expensive than most fibers, the quality of it’s inherent features make the price tag worth it. Merino wool is not often seen in hiking pant fabrics, but it is an excellent choice for baselayers and midlayers.
Lyocell/Tencel®: This man-made cellulose fiber is a great moisture manager that feels cool to the touch and maintains a soft, drapey handfeel. It also has anti-bacterial properties. Bamboo fiber has similar properties, and while these fibers are not often seen in bottomweight wovens, they do works well in active tops.
Hemp: Similar to cotton in weight, hemp is a durable and naturally anti-microbial cellulose fiber known for its excellent breathability, moisture-wicking properties. It takes less water to grow than cotton, making it a smart choice for materials with a low-carbon footprint. Hemp bottomweights will often be found in heavy weight woven fabrics, suitable for workwear. Hemp knits are a great natural-fiber option for casual hiking tops.
Cotton: Cotton might be common fiber seen in casual pants, but it is not suitable for outdoor apparel. Once wet, cotton stays wet and loses all insulation value, making it heavy and soggy when you’re actively sweating. However, if you are making casual or workwear style pants, then cotton’s durability and ease of use works great.

Fabric Construction/Type:

Common fabric types used in outdoor bottoms:

Plainweave: The simplest and most stable weave structure: warp and weft yarns alternate 1:1. This weave creates a balanced, durable structure with uniform stress distribution. Smooth and flat on both front and back sides. Often used in lightweight styles.
Twill: A diagonal-pattern weave that creates naturally flexible fabric that resists wrinkles due to it’s structure. Twill is most notably seen in denim and more dressy applications. Often used in heavy weight styles.
Ripstop: A reinforced plainweave with thicker threads woven in a grid pattern. This grid structure prevents small tears from spreading into larger rips, making it ideal for lightweight yet tear-resistant outdoor gear and apparel. Often used in light and midweight styles.
Double Weave: This construction has two interconnected fabric layers, often with a different back and face side. Typically, the face will be something flat for abrasion resistance, while the back side has a lofted or grid pattern that allows for moisture management. Double weaves are used often in outdoor apparel for their superior durability, insulation, and stretch recovery compared to single-layer fabrics. Often used in mid or heavy weight styles.

Image sources: Ripstop by the Roll and Yardblox Fabrics

Fabric Stretch

Each garment sewing pattern is drafted to a particular fabric type, weight, and stretch amount. If the pattern calls for a non-stretch woven and you would like to make it with stretch, consider the stretch percentage and how that may affect garment ease, as often stretch garments have negative ease.

2-way stretch fabric stretches in one direction (usually crossgrain). This can work for relaxed-fit styles but may feel restrictive during high steps or scrambling.
4-way stretch moves both lengthwise and crosswise, providing unrestricted movement. This is ideal for fitted styles (including leggings) and technical hiking pants.

Many hiking and climbing pants feature an articulated fit, which means that the pattern has body movement built in to the shaping (ie: knee darts or a pre-bent elbow). Designers may also utilize fabric stretch to provide additional comfort to the style.

Look for fabrics around 5-15% stretch for optimal stretch recovery, so the fabric doesn’t lose shape over time. Here is a downloadable Stretch Gauge to find the amount for your fabric.

Other Performance Features

DWR (Durable Water Repellent): This treatment makes water bead up and roll off rather than soaking in. DWR alone is NOT waterproof, but this treatment is great for stain resistance and staying dry in light rain. Only when combined with a laminated membrane and seam sealing is a garment fully waterproof. DWR can be refreshed with aftermarket treatments as it wears off over time.
UV Protection: Some fabrics provide UV protection by way of dense fabric construction, rated with UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) numbers. This is especially valuable for high-altitude hiking or desert conditions where sun exposure is intense.

Sewing Tips for Stretch Wovens:

For the most part, sewing technical/synthetic stretch wovens isn’t that much different from sewing wovens or denim. The main difference to be aware of is that you will need to consider your iron settings and/or reduce pressing with nylon and polyester.

Be careful! High heat can damage and/or shrink synthetic fibers. We recommend always using a PRESS CLOTH and LOW HEAT when pressing synthetics. Apply no more than 5-10 seconds of heat at a time.
Use a ballpoint or stretch needle to avoid damaging spandex fibers.
We suggest using a Walking Foot for all standard machine steps, as this helps avoid wavy seams.
Opt for using pins, clips, or double sided tape in place of pressing to help align pieces.
Consider using woolly nylon thread in your serger for better stretch and recovery.