Fabric of the week: Organza

The fabric of the week is a personal favorite, particularly if made of silk. It says party like almost nothing else.

Organza 

Organza is a balanced plain weave similar to organdy in that it is crisp and very sheer, but it is not quite as stiff as organdy. It is also made of filament silk (or nylon, polyester or rayon) instead of cotton. When made of silk, the stiffness comes from the natural gum that remains on the filaments, while manufactured fibers require a finish. Organza is often used as a ground for embellishment such as embroidery, cut-work embroidery, and tufting (achieved in the weaving process) or flocking. 

Uses: Blouses, dresses, evening wear, bridal wear, girl’s dresses, facings, interfacings, linings for sheer fabric 

See also:
Chiffon, Mousseline de soie, Organdy

 ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter 

70s dress with an organza outer layer, in my Etsy store—organza is perfect for the dress's ruffles

Fabric of the week: Waffle cloth

Cool in warm weather, texturally interesting, waffle cloth is a vintage summer wear staple. (It snowed yesterday here in Spokane, but I insist on thinking ahead!)

Waffle cloth 

A dobby weave cotton fabric with a small, waffle-like texture of raised squares woven into the material. Waffle cloth is synonymous with waffle piqué, and is related to all the other fabrics with small dobby-woven textures. 

See also:
Birdseye piqué
Honeycomb
Huckaback
Piqué

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

New in my Etsy shop: 60s waffle piqué dress

Fabric of the week: Tulle

Welcome to the the Valentine week edition of the Fabric of the week!

Today, a fabric in which many a woman has flirted, danced, walked hand-in-hand and even wed. 

Tulle

Fine netting with a hexagonal mesh, tulle may be of silk (as it was originally), cotton or rayon, but most commonly nylon since the 1950s. In 1768, the netting was machine made for the first time in Notthingham, England. The French city of Tulle first produced its namesake netting by machine in 1817, much aided by the invention of the bobbinet machine in 1806. 

Uses: Bridal veils, evening gowns, crinolines, veiling, millinery trim 

See also:
Illusion
Point d’esprit
Bobbinet 

Nylon tulle

Silk tulle ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Printed tulle gown by Emma Domb, in my web store

My Spanish heart

My February monthly theme is up, and I have Ralph Lauren to thank for it.

As usual, Lauren’s inspirations are vintage and when seen as a collection, slightly costume-y. For spring 2013 the collection was an hommage to a fanciful Spain and Latin America of the 1920s-40s. There were red roses, black lace, cut-out leather, black and red combinations, boleros, gold braid, ruffles, even matador jackets.

I have to admit, I was in love with the drama of it all!

So, without further ado, my brief Valentine’s Day trip to Spain:

The gorgeous song “Amado Mio” comes from the 1946 Rita Hayworth movie Gilda. It was written by Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts. The original, mimed by Hayworth, was sung by Anita Kert Ellis. My theme’s version comes from the band Pink Martini. 

Fabric of the week: Butcher cloth

Have you seen a fabric that seems much like linen, but you’re pretty sure it isn’t? If you are interested in vintage clothing you will see this fabric regularly. From the VFG Fabric Resource:

Butcher cloth

Butcher cloth is rayon or rayon/cotton, spun and woven to resemble linen with linen-like slubs. Butcher cloth used to be called butcher linen, but that is no longer correct according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. 

Uses: Dresses, suits, skirts 

See also:
 Butcher linen, Linen

Machine-embroidered butcher cloth ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

Robin's egg blue butcher linen dress currently in my Etsy shop

Fabric of the week: Satin

I dedicated one weekly fabric post to the basic weaves, including satin. Today, satin the fabric.

One mistake that is sometimes made is calling satin ‘silk.’ It certainly could be made of silk, and it has a silky feel, but all satin is not silk. (By the way, silk is relatively easy to distinguish in a burn test. There’s a burn test how-to in the VFG Fabric Resource.)

Another small issue with satin is the spelling: Satan does not get its spelling corrected, and pretty vintage ‘satan’ dresses show up regularly on eBay and Etsy!

Satin 

Satin is the name of one of the basic weaves, and also a fabric made in this weave. Owing to its silk or manufactured filament yarns and its uninterrupted warp yarn face, satin is very lustrous. Satin originated in China, and takes its name from Zaytoun, now Guangzhou, in southern China. 

Uses: Apparel (particularly evening wear), lingerie, lining 

See also: Satin weave, 
Duchesse satin

Silk satin, shown close enough to see the weave ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Good examples of satin’s formality are in my shops right now, including:

50s silk satin gown by Helga

50s rayon satin strapless dress

Fabric term of the week: Crepe

It is a little pet peeve of mine that people describe a fabric as crepe, not indicating the fiber or any other aspect of it. Crepe—the word alone—is not actually a fabric, but a texture which is made in a number of ways. The name is applied to many fabrics, as you can see.

As always, this comes from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Crepe 

Crepe is a texture, which is probably best described as grainy, puckered or crinkled. The texture can be achieved by the type of fiber (especially hard or crepe twist yarns, textured yarns), chemical treatment, textured weave, or embossing. It may be made of any fiber and may be woven or knit. The name comes from the French word for crimped, crêpe. 

A wide range of fabrics are crepes.

See also:
Chiffon
Cloqué
Crepe de chine
Crepe-back satin
Crepon
Georgette
Matelassé

Rayon crepe

Worsted wool crepe

Woven nylon with embossed crepe texture ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

This 1940s rayon crepe dress is currently in my Etsy store. Those who have experience with it really appreciate the natural give and drape of the fabric. Just be sure not to wash (it shrinks) or iron (it shines) rayon crepe.

Fabric term of the week: Lamé

Happy New Year! If your party dress sparkled recently, it might have been thanks to lamé, the fabric term of the week. 

This is from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Lamé

A general term for a metallic effect, lamé is usually created using yarns made of aluminum laminated between layers of film. Lurex, which became a household name in the 1980s, is the name trademarked by The Lurex Company for plastic-coated aluminum yarn. Lamé is most often gold or silver in color (with the color added to the film or adhesive) but can be any color. 

A more traditional method of adding the gleam of metal to a fiber is by winding flattened metal wire around a thread. The metal may be gold (as in the expensive Indian jari thread), silver or aluminum. Actual gold and silver fiber, made of fine wire or flattened ribbons of metal, has been used in weaving the finest and costliest cloth since ancient times. 

Uses: Lamé threads may be used in any type of fabric, woven or knit. It is often light and can be used for anything from a sweater to evening wear. Heavier fabrics can be used for interior decorating. Metallic fibers are also used for their conductivity and ability to insulate.

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

60s silver lamé damask dress

60s gold lamé cocktail dress

50s iridescent taffeta with gold metallic threads

Back to the future

Happy 2013, and welcome to a new year of monthly themes!

This time: Want a small trip to the future by way of the past?

{Click image to view - sound up}

 P.S. The super mod white sunglasses I'm wearing are going to be for sale very soon! 

Fabric of the week: Velvet

Welcome to the day-after-Christmas edition of the fabric of the week, and what more perfect fabric for a the winter holidays than velvet? Each and every one of you know velvet, but perhaps not how it is made, or the many velvet variations and similar fabrics (under See also below).

As usual, I am pulling this from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Velvet 

Sumptuous fabric with a soft pile, velvet is constructed with a plain or twill weave back with one set of warp and one set of weft yarns. An extra set of warp yarns forms the pile. Velvet is now usually constructed by weaving two cloths together with pile ends connecting to both surfaces. The two are cut apart to give two pieces of velvet (double-cloth method). It may also be made by wires which lift and cut the pile. 

Velvet may be treated and varied in a number of way—including embossing, crushing, burning out—and can be made to be water- and crush-resistant. It is made of silk or manufactured filament fibers. If made of cotton it is called cotton velvet. 

The name velvet stems from the Latin vellus, or hair. 

Uses: Suits, coats, dresses, evening wear, shoes, hats, trim 

See also:
burn-out velvet, chiffon velvet, ciselé velvet
crushed velvet, dévoré velvet, façonné velvet
nacre velvet, panne velvet, tapestry velvet
velour, velveteen

Rayon velvet

Rayon velvet, rumpled to show pile

Cotton velvet

Cotton velvet, rumpled to show pile  ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Right now I have a number of examples of velvets of different fibers and of Victorian through early 1970s era:

Victorian silk velvet capelet

50s velvet (most likely rayon) short cape

60s velvet-striped organza party dress

70s cotton velvet jacket by Granny Takes a Trip

Fabric of the week: Assuit

This is not an ordinary, run-of-the-mill fabric, assuit. I have a 1920s assuit shawl right now and I feel very fortunate to see it in person. I don't know when I will get another chance. Apparently, there is a modern assuit, but it is of vastly inferior quality to that made in the 1920s and before.

This (and all my fabric-of-the-week posts) is from the 

VFG Fabric Resource:

Assuit

Assuit is a netting fabric embroidered with metal. The embroidery is done by threading wide needles with flat strips of metal about 1/8” wide. The metal may be nickel silver, copper or brass, and it is threaded through the holes in the net, folded over, cut and flattened, making little packets of metal. When finished, the metal packets are further flattened by rolling and/or hammering over the fabric. The netting is made of cotton or linen. The fabric is also called tulle-bi-telli, an Arabic term meaning “net with metal.”

The patterns formed by this metal embroidery include geometric figures as well as plants, birds, people and camels.

Assuit has been made in the Asyut region (where it gets its name) of Upper Egypt since the late 19th century, although the concept of metal embroidery dates back to ancient Egypt, as well as other areas of the Middle East, Asia, India and Europe. A very sheer fabric is shown in Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and the metallic embroidery is referenced in Exodus 39: “and they did beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the very fine linen, with cunning work.”

With the invention of the bobbinet machine, the netting fabric could be machine made, and during the French Protectorate this machine was introduced to the Asyut region (a textile center) by the French. The fabric was first imported to the U.S. for the 1893 Chicago Exposition, and again became popular with the fascination surrounding the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922. The geometric motifs were well suited to the Art Deco style of the time. Assuit is generally black, white or ecru. It is found most often in the form of a shawl, but also seen in small squares, large pieces used as bed canopies and even traditional Egyptian dresses. Assuit shawls were made into garments by purchasers, particularly during the 1920s.

The fabric’s name is seen in many alternate spellings including asyut, assyut, asyute, asuit, assuite and azute.

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Here is the assuit shawl from which these photos were taken:

Deco-era Egyptian Assuit Shawl in Ecru with Silvery Metal Embroidery

There is a remarkable variety of assuit (and you will definitely see the name spelled differently here as elsewhere) in an exhibit at the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, with a slideshow on their website.

Fabric of the week: Chinchilla cloth

Chinchilla cloth can be a confusing name for a fabric, given that it contains no chinchilla fur or fur fiber. A friend of mine speculated that it is called chinchilla cloth because chinchillas would rather you wear it than their fur! The real reason for the name? Read on...

This is from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Chinchilla cloth

Constructed like fleece with a long nap, chinchilla cloth is given a machine finish which rubs the nap into nubs. It is made of wool or wool blends, and the warp may be cotton for strength. The town of Chinchilla, Spain, is where the present fabric was first made. 

Uses: Coats, hats 

See also: Fleece

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

Right now I have a soft-as-a-blanket 1950s chinchilla cloth coat in my Etsy shop.

That “100% Sheeps Wool” seems to be directed at the confusion possible with the fabric’s name.

Fabric of the week: Jersey

This week, with cold weather settling in, I feel like a knit. Jersey is the most basic knit, the kind you learn to do first when you knit by hand. Jersey is also made by knitting machines, in all weights and fibers.

But first: I’m happy to see the VFG Fabric Resource is in threadsmagazine.com Threads Daily Blog this week! Associate editor Stephani Miller discusses the ways to search for a mystery fabric in the resource.

This is from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Jersey

Jersey (also called single knit) is the simplest plain knit fabric, with two distinct sides. The face has vertical ribs while the reverse has horizontal rows. Sometimes the fabric is used with the technical back on the outside. 

Jersey can be light to heavy and made of any natural or manufactured fiber, although originally wool. It gets its name from its history of being made on the island of Jersey, in the Channel Islands off the English coast, and traditionally used for fishermen’s garb. 

Uses: Wide range from socks, underwear and sleepwear, to day wear and sportswear, to evening gowns

See also: Lisle

Wool jersey, face

Wool jersey, reverse ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Acetate/nylon jersey dress, in my Etsy shop

Fabric term of the week: Basic weaves

There are various ways to organize fabrics, such as fiber, and their weave or knit. Today, from the VFG Fabric Resource, I am pulling out the three basic weaves: Plain, satin and twill. There are variations (see leno weave and basket weave) but they are based on these three plans.

First this definition:

Weaving 

The interlacing of yarns to create a fabric. Weaving can be done by hand or by machine.

Here are the three basics. Of course, knits are separate and have their own basic patterns. (Click on any highlighted word to see its definition.)

Plain weave 

The most basic, common and important weave, in plain weave each weft yarn passes alternately over and under each warp thread. Tabby weave is synonymous. 

Sharkskin, filament type

Satin weave 

Satin is one of the basic weaves, along with plain and twill. The warp yarns in a satin weave cover the weft yarns as much as possible (less common is the opposite where weft covers warp). This creates a lustrous surface. The pattern is most often 4/1 but can also be 7/1 or 11/1. In these patterns, warp yarns float over weft yarns in numbers of 4 to 1, 7 to 1 and 11 to 1, and the interlacings do not occur in rows, giving the most uninterrupted gloss possible. 

Satin originated in China, and takes its name from Zaytoun, now Guangzhou, in southern China. Fabric called satin was originally and still is made of silk, or may be made of manufactured filament fiber. Satin weave fabric may also be made of cotton. 

See also:
Satin

Silk satin

Twill 

Twill is one of the basic weaves, along with plain and satin. It is characterized by a diagonal rib, and there are a number of variations possible, including right-hand twill, left-hand twill and broken twill. 

The diagonal wales are formed by the weaving pattern, which varies somewhat but always involves weft yarns crossing two or more warp yarns. In successive rows the weft float will move in position by one warp yarn to the right or the left. The weave is inherently sturdy: Twills have more yarns per square inch than plain weaves. 

A 2/1 twill is called an uneven twill and a warp-face twill, uneven because of the two to one ratio, and warp-face because there will be more warp than weft yarns on the surface. Gabardine is an example. Even more sturdy is a 3/1 twill, because the warp is stronger than the weft. Examples are drill and denim. 

A 2/2 twill is an even twill, and such a twill shows its diagonal wale equally on its face and its reverse. Wool fabrics such as serge and authentic tartans and district checks are even twills. 

Wool and silk twills have traditionally been woven with their diagonal wales angling up to the right (right-hand twill), while cottons have traditionally angled to the left (left-hand twill)—although there are exceptions. 

Another distinction in the twill weave group is the angle of the twill. The steeper the angle (from a horizontal line), the more warp yarns are employed, and the sturdier the fabric. A 63˚ angle is considered steep, 45˚ is regular, and 23˚ is reclining. This last is relatively rare. 

A broken twill has variations in the regular twill line. A broken twill line that reverses directions at regular intervals is called herringbone.

Worsted wool gabardine

Chino

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text and diagrams by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Fabrics of the week: Tartan and plaid

Dress Gordon tartan kilt, Gordon tartan bagpipe bag

I grew up with a father who was the pipe major of several bagpipe bands (oh yes, I learned the pipes) and I very often heard that no plaid-patterned fabric that wasn’t a genuine tartan should ever be called a tartan. For those of you who didn’t have this drilled into your consciousness at an early age, I offer today’s fabrics of the day, from the VFG Fabric Resource:

Tartan

Tartan is traditional Scottish right-hand twill weave wool in distinct criss-cross patterns. The pattern is called a sett. Each tartan is tied to a clan, regiment or district of Scotland, and there have gradually been added further officially-recognized tartans, such as those of Canadian provinces and U.S. states. All tartans are registered in Edinburgh, by the Scottish Register of Tartans, maintained by the National Records of Scotland. All tartans are plaids, but no plaids without official recognition should use the name tartan. 

For each clan there may be a number of official tartans, such as dress, hunting and ancient (which use more muted colors—from the days of natural dyes). Originally worn as the belted plaid (long straight shawl belted at the waist), then the pleated, wrapped kilt, tartan has also historically been worn in the form of trousers, or truis. 

The best known tartans are generally thought to be Royal Stewart and Black Watch. 

Now tartans may be made of any fibers, but still are most characteristically wool. 

The origin of the word tartan is thought to come from a combination of the French tiretain (probably derived from tirer, “to pull,” referring to a woven cloth) and the Gaelic breacan, “many colors.” 

Uses: Kilts, plaids and trousers are traditional, also now used for everything from coats to evening wear 

See also:

Plaid (below)

Wool tartan (Buchanan)

Plaid

Plaid is a pattern of bars and/or lines that criss-cross at right angles. 

The name plaid comes from the traditional Scottish tartan woolen shawl, fastened with a brooch at the shoulder. Confusion arises in regards to its nomenclature since in the U.S. it is the name of a fabric pattern. A plaid without official registration as a tartan should not be called a tartan. 

See also:

District checks

Glen plaid 

Madras

Tartan (above)

Plaid taffeta ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

One additional note: I find the House of Tartan Reverse Tartan Search helpful for finding the names of true tartans, such as this one, which I found to be Dress MacDonald.

Detail from a previously sold Pendleton wool jacket

Pendleton 49er jackets can be found in tartans, but this one, currently available in my Etsy shop, is a plaid

Buy local

Note to self: If you really like a store, shop there.

If you are happy it is in your neighborhood, make a point of letting the proprietor know you feel that way. Even if you are almost completely broke (as I sometimes am) stop in and make a small purchase when possible.

I am making this note to myself because a pretty little store called Eye Candy Antiques is calling it quits in my neighborhood. I don’t know the proprietress well, but each of the three or four times I was in the shop, Anita was unfailingly helpful, kind and friendly. Her shop was a little jewel box, with her love of pink, girly, sparkly things on full display in beautiful presentations. I don’t know the story behind Eye Candy closing, just that the owner said the economy had been really hard on her business. She said it was her dream to own a store, and her dream is coming to an end.

Some store shots from Eye Candy’s Facebook page:

Now it may seem that as an online vintage clothing dealer I might not care to try to make a case for buying locally, but I consider what I do to be a

different

 worthy thing. I have a

small

business—denisebrain.com is not amazon.com—and I work hard to make it as a sole proprietor. Small businesses online also are great places to shop, but for now I’m thinking about the small stores in my city, Spokane.

For many shop owners I’ve met here, the store is their Dream Come True—their heart and soul is thoroughly in it. Further, they are tasked with making their rent, paying bills and other brick-and-mortar store realities. They need customers.

But there’s a selfish side to this too:

I

need to go into a shop and browse. Especially with Christmas coming, I remember very fondly the days when I, as a young girl, would go into shops with my mother, the idea being to find a present for someone in particular. I would let my imagination roam as I looked at things and carefully picked them up and turned them around. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but this was just as good if not better, this non-keyword search. I found a music box that played a tune my father always sang, I found gloves that perfectly matched my mother’s blue eyes. I found books and toys and napkins and jewelry that I had no idea I was looking for until I found them.

I’m pretty certain that Anita is going to make it. She’s got style and talent and passion, and her dream is most likely going to find a new way to take shape. I just wish her lovely little store wasn’t closing. (If you are in Spokane, she is offering 50% off most items right now. The store is located at 3017 North Monroe.)

Now, I just need to make sure I go to the other shops I am glad are open. Here are just a few, with images from the stores’ Facebook pages and websites.

Carousel

Wonders of the World

Painting by Ric Gendron from Tinman Gallery

Atticus Coffee and Gifts

Boo Radley’s

Auntie’s Bookstore

Vino

Tossed and Found

The Chocolate Apothecary

Glamarita

Fabric term of the week: Manufactured fiber

Many people want to know when fabrics were first available, especially those that were newly created in the 20th century.

I used quite a few sources to come up with these dates, and found there is some discrepancy, but I believe it should help with dating items.

For more specific information about the history of each of the manufactured fibers, including the date of invention, go to each of the fabrics by name.

Manufactured fiber 

Formerly known as man-made fiber, manufactured fiber is defined as “any fiber derived by a process of manufacture from any substance which, at any point in the manufacturing process, is not a fiber.” (Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, 1960) 

Manufactured fibers include those regenerated from natural materials, synthetic fibers and inorganic fibers. 

Regenerated fibers include those based on cellulose (rayon, acetate, triacetate) and protein-based fibers (azlon). 

Synthetics include acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, spandex and vinyon. 

Inorganic fibers include ceramic, glass and metallic fibers.  

Timeline of first commercial use of manufactured fibers 

1905 rayon in the U.K.
  

1910 rayon in the U.S.
 

1918 acetate in the U.K. (called celanese)
 

1924 acetate in the U.S. (trademarked Celanese)
 

1939 nylon
 

1939 vinyon
 

1950 acrylic
 

1953 polyester
 

1953 acetate and rayon given separate groupings by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
 

1954 triacetate
 

Late 50s Modal
 

1959 Spandex
 

1961 Olefin
 

1993 Lyocell

Fabric of the week: Bouclé

It’s getting cold here, time for a cozy fabric like bouclé, with its small loops that insulate, as well as decorate. This comes from 

VFG Fabric Resource

.

Bouclé

Characterized by loops on one or both sides, bouclé comes from the French word for “buckled,” “ringed” or “curled.” Some versions of the fabric combine looped sections with plain; others are looped all over. Most commonly wool—with mohair a fine choice for this treatment—bouclé may also be acrylic or other fibers. It may be woven or knitted. 

Uses: Coats, suits, sweaters 

See also:

Bouclette, Poodle cloth, Ratiné, Terry cloth

Woven mohair bouclé

Wool knit bouclé

Bouclé and plain yarns ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photos by Hoyt Carter

Right now I have a number of items made with bouclé yarns, including this red coat:

Classic woven bouclé, the loops seen all over the surface

The bouclé yarn in stripes

Wool bouclé knit

Fabric of the week: Corduroy

Vintage corduroy: The beloved 1968 children's book about a teddy bear in corduroy overalls

Parlez-vous français?

If so, you probably believe that the word corduroy means something like “cord of the king,” with some sort of royal lineage. When preparing the VFG Fabric Resource saw that there is not a consensus on this in references.

Corduroy

There is argument about the derivation of the name corduroy, with many claiming it got its name from the French corde du roi, or King’s cord, and that it was used for the clothing of servants in French royal households in the 17th and 18th centuries. It may have been a form of marketing (wear a fabric worn in the presence of French nobility!) by an English entrepreneur. Whatever the origin of its name, corduroy is a rugged and sturdy fabric, most often made of cotton, although today cotton blends are common. More rarely, and expensively, it is made of silk. 

The wales (ridges) of corduroy are formed by having extra filling yarns woven into a background. The filling yarns float over several or more warp yarns, then under one or two. The yarns floating over the surface are then cut, leaving tufts of yarn that are brushed up into soft vertical ridges. The wales are rounded as the float threads are longer at the centers of the ridges. Corduroy’s ground is plain or twill weave, and these are called tabby back and Genoa back, respectively. 

There are many weights of corduroy, defined by the number of wales per inch. The lighter, finer corduroys have tiny wales and as many as 25 wales per inch in the case of featherwale, while widewale (also called jumbo and elephant cord) can have as few as two wales to the inch. Corduroy can be made with alternating wider and narrower wales—called thick and thin corduroy. 

Uncut corduroy is a fabric that has a corded appearance, but without the velvety ridges of the cut floats. Very sturdy, it is used for sportswear. 

Uses: Depending on the weight, everything from dresses and shirts to upholstery, with suits, coats, slacks, children’s clothing, workwear and accessories in between. 

See also:
 Featherwale corduroy, 
 Midwale corduroy, 
Pinwale corduroy, 
Widewale corduroy

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

I would be thrilled to see and touch a silk corduroy someday! For now, I have a couple fine cotton corduroy items in my Etsy shop:

50s pinwale cotton corduroy coat

A flaring skirt dress, also from the 1950s, in pinwale corduroy

Fabric of the week: Surah

Did you ever wonder what to call that silk fabric used for so many scarves? You know, the elegant light fabric with a diagonal twill weave? 

From the VFG Fabric Resource:

Surah 

Surah is usually made of silk, or sometimes with silky manufactured fibers. It is found in a right-hand twill weave with the diagonal pattern of the twill visible on both sides. It is soft, smooth and fine and can be printed or solid. The French name surah comes from Surat, India, where the fabric was either first made, or dealt in, depending on the source of information. 

Uses: Neckties (it is sometimes called tie silk), scarves, blouses, dresses, and lingerie 

See also:
Foulard

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

Although scarves are certainly more common than dresses made of surah, it makes a beautiful dress fabric—as Claire McCardell must have thought in designing this dress (from my web store).