One of the first fabrics I could call by name was dotted swiss (also called swiss dot). It is often used for girl’s clothing so I may have had a dress made of it early on. I remember asking for it by name when my mother was sewing something for me. I loved it, and still do.

In researching for the VFG Fabric Resource, I found out that there are a number of ways to achieve dotted swiss’s tiny regular dots. Read on...

Dotted swiss

Traditionally made of a fine plain weave cotton—now sometimes a blend with manufactured fiber—dotted swiss always is covered in small dots placed at regular intervals. These can be woven in, flocked or printed. Colors may be introduced, although the most common is all white. The original and finest was first made in Switzerland on a swivel loom. Other woven varieties are clip-spot (spot-dot, clip-dot or American dotted swiss) and lappet woven.

Flocked dots are made by applying tiny fibers with glue. Neither the flocked nor the printed versions of dotted swiss are as durable as the woven varieties, although they are less expensive to produce.