Being autistic and not overwhelming yourself with choosing fabrics of clothes can be hard. In this blog, I’ll break down what the difficulty is and how to look after yourself depending on your preferences.
The Difficulty
To start us off, it’s best I explain what it is about fabrics that make choosing clothes a problem. As autistic people, we’re either in the hypersensitive or hyposensitive camps on our senses. If you’re hypersensitive, you’re more likely to feel the fabrics and their itchiness against your skin. If you’re hyposensitive, you’re not as likely to feel the fabrics. Hypersensitive people will likely avoid those scratchy items whereas the hyposensitive people are more likely to seek them out.
Knowing what your preferences are will help you to make the right choices for you. Not all fabrics work for everyone. We’re not all the same, so what works for one autistic person may not work for another autistic person with the same preference.
The Hypersensitive Choices
If you’re like me and are hypersensitive, your choices of fabrics will more likely steer towards the softer fabrics. This could be fluffy PJs, cotton shirts, joggers with fluffy linings or anything avoiding stitching things like sequins onto them. Knowing what fabrics you can work with helps you to choose clothes you can wear all the time.
I love a good pair of fluffy PJs, especially in the colder months. I had a pair of PJs that had a sewn design on the front and I worried I wouldn’t be able to wear it because it came through as a sharp point in the back. My lovely mother sewed a panel into the inside that was soft and it stopped the point digging into my chest.
When out buying clothes for yourself or an autistic person you know and love, having a feel of the fabrics is crucial. Does it feel rough in your hands? Can you feel the embellishments on the inside if something is sewn onto the front? What is the garment made of? Fabrics like cotton and polyester can be nice and soft. Also double check where the labels are on the inside. For the more sensitive skin, those labels will need to be cut out to avoid itchiness. You could always create a folder containing pictures of the garment along with its labels so you still have the washing instructions.
The Hyposensitive Choices
For those that are hyposensitive, you’re more likely to be seeking those textures that those of us who are hypersensitive would avoid. Tule, sewn on embellishments, tighter or heavier fabrics. Finding those fabrics that suit your needs is really important. If you feel that urge to feel weighed down by a heavier fabric, go for it. Fulfilling your needs is the goal here.
Finding rougher fabrics with a little weight to them or what are tight to your body so you can feel grounded is okay. It’s a little bit like how you might need to sleep. To feel grounded in bed, I use a weighted blanket. To get that same feeling in your clothes, get a feel for the fabric of the garments you’re interested in and check the labels to see if you like that fabric and whether it gives you what you need. See if you can try it on in the store to get a feel for how it feels on you. Nothing beats feeling how it sits on you.
Knowing what your needs are when it comes to fabrics is really important, especially when it comes to your clothes. You’re more than likely in them all day or all night and the last thing you want is to overwhelm yourself while wearing fabrics your body can’t cope with. So, do look after yourself and I hope this blog is useful in you finding fabrics that suit your needs.