The fabrics I dye are all used in my teaching at some point. Hessian is great for textured projects and can be easily distorted and manipulated as can the muslins and scrim. Linen is great for hand embroidery and works well with goldwork and any other project that reqires a strong support. It is also fantastic to free machine on. Polycotton is a good base for most machine techniques and good for linings where required. Cotton velvets work well with embellishers and any stitch techniques can be used on them including goldwork.