Victorian fabrics

[birdlip]

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.

and the younger generation think they've invented recycling....

[FROGSMILE]

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.

"Moleskin" was not the name used at that time but "Fustian", which described the group of milled cotton cloths with a heavy nap.

Fustian was later also developed into a second version of the cloth using a special waving process that eventaully gained the name "Cord du Roy", which was a French expression meaning cloth of Kings.

Some fustians were made with extremely strong warp yarns and very high weft density, in some cases over 400 threads per inch, which requires a special type of loom, of which very few survive.

[bamagirl]

Very interesting thread!

My great grandfather (1829-1912) was a draper in Scotland - mostly in woolen goods, I think. Thanks for the list and discussion on nomenclature.

-Barb

[Coromandel]

"Moleskin" was not the name used at that time but "Fustian", which described the group of milled cotton cloths with a heavy nap.

The Oxford English Dictionary seems to disagree. One of its definitions of 'moleskin' is 'a strong, soft, cotton fustian with a fine pile which is shaved before dyeing, formerly used esp. for protective work clothes.' The earliest example they give of the word's usage in this context is 1792.

[DorothySandra]

Thank you: Bombazine has always been a mystery to me: sometimes mentioned as worn by housekeepers, aunts, grandmothers and other slightly threatening (i.e. authoritative) older women in Victorian fact and fiction.

[Ladkyis]

And don't forget Chintz

Chintz a glazed, patterned cotton fabric. this fabric was banned during the 18th century because the English and French mills couldn't make it. They hadn't yet stolen the process from the makers in India. By arounf 1785-90 the ban was lifted because the process had been followed and copied by manufacturers either side of the channel

Just as a by the way, the glazing or polishing of the fabric was done using china clay - in fact I think it still is done in this way

[daleaway]

As a by-way off the by-way:

Shiny paper for books and magazines, the heavy sort, is also polished with china clay.

[Nightryder]

Hi Davran,You might be interested in this photo, The costume society put on a study day at Bristol in 2004 called Layers of Fashion,where four teams of members completed replica outfits & modelled them,they began in contemporary undearwear & were dressed on stage,From left to right,1928 Evening dress,1861 Bell shape achieved by a cage crinoline,1852 Bell shape created by six petticoats & the last one 1775, I think the society did a fantastic job.