Victorian fabrics

[Davran]

Following on from Janice's post on Victorian clothes, I have put together a short list of some of the fabrics used during those times (from what I can remember of what I have read in period novels). It is not comprehensive and others may wish to add to it.

Fabric types
Bombazine – a twilled fabric, especially one with a silk warp and worsted weft, formerly dyed black for mourning
Calico – a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design
Gabardine – a fairly thick cloth used for suits, coats and other clothes
Moleskin - a strong and heavy napped, twilled cotton fabric used for work clothing.
Muslin – a fine, plain-weave cotton fabric
Nankeen -
1.
a firm, durable, yellow or buff fabric, formerly made from a natural-coloured Chinese cotton.
2.
a twilled material made from other cotton and dyed in imitation of this fabric.

Organdie – a fine and slightly stiff cotton fabric used especially for dresses
Poplin – a strong fabric, usually of cotton, in plain weave with fine ribbing, used for dresses, children’s wear etc
Satin – a smooth, shiny cloth usually made from silk
Tarlatan – an open-weave cotton used for stiffening garments
Tweed – a thick, woollen, often knobbly cloth originally produced in Scotland
Velvet – a soft material made from cotton or silk with a thick layer of short-cut threads on one side
Worsted –
1. a closely twisted yarn or thread made from long-staple wool
2. a fabric made from this, with a hard, smooth, close-textured surface and no nap


I stand to be corrected, but I don't think there were any synthetic fabrics until WWII, when nylon was invented, so all fabrics would have been cotton, linen, silk or wool.

[Thomasin]

That's a good list. Don't forget:
Duck - cotton woven with two yarns to the warp and one to the weft, used for men's trousers.

Thomasin

[Penny Gallo]

www.
fibersource.com/F-TUTOR/history.htm shows how early experiments with manmade fibres were taking place, a Swiss chemist patenting cellulose made from chemically-altered mulberry fibres in 1855, and in 1885 the wife of a Sir Joseph Swan (light bulbs) exhibiting crocheted fabric made from manmade filaments (thread) - her husband being more interested in it for his light bulbs. The Victorians were fascinated by chemistry, by manufacturing experiments and by advances in textiles, ornaments and jewellery: elastic webbing, waterproofing of fabrics, as well as plastics such as Vulcanite: www.
plastiquarian.com/vulcanit.htm

There was a lot of water under the bridge by the time Nylon came along!

[Davran]

Penny, how fascinating! I did think there must have been something before nylon, but could find no references.

[Penny Gallo]

www.
nmm.ac.uk/explore/collections/by-type/archive-and-library/item-of-the-month/previous/boat-cloak-or-cloak-boat - "Lieutenant Halkett's India-Rubber Cloak Boat", which he exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Obviously aimed at intrepid but not very optimistic ocean-voyagers, the cloak could be inflated using the bellows stored in one pocket. A pair of paddles came in the other. The diagrams suggest it was a giant rubber ring on the inside! Oh those inventive Victorians!

[Thomasin]

That's a lovely one. Can you imagine it on Dragons' Den?

Thomasin

[Jan65]

Found your list very interesting Davran, and it helps me to picture the clothes my ancestors must have worn. I've never been quite sure, before, what the difference was between all the fabrics. Thank you!

Janice

[MaryFrances]

A fascinating list, Davran, and it adds to the reading of period novels. We are so lucky these days to be able to wash and clean our clothes easily. It must have been a nightmare for our ancestors to try to keep their clothing clean and sweet smelling!

[daleaway]

RAYON was developed in the 1880s from processed cellulose.

I used to own one of my mother-in-law's beautiful rayon trousseau nighties from the 1930s. It was regarded as being the first artificial silk. Fabulous to wear.

[Colin Rowledge]

Hi Davran.

A couple of possible additions to your list - how about Shoddy and Mungo?
Shoddy was made from shredded woollen rags, respun and woven. It was mainly used for making blankets and rugs.
Mungo was made by a similar process out of waste tailor's clippings.

Finbar.

Interesting!! but possibly uncomfortable to users if they knew where the material came from.