Fabric of the week: Batik

Even if you haven’t heard the name, I’m sure you have seen this famous fabric. What some may not know is how batik gets its uniquely marbled appearance. 

Batik

An ancient form of resist printing from Indonesia in which wax is used in patterns where dye is not desired. The wax resist is then removed and the process may continue, creating rich multicolored patterns—most often in blues, browns and oranges. Characteristic of batik are tiny lines where the wax has cracked and the dye has seeped into the resist pattern. This is not considered a flaw, rather part of the fabric’s distinct beauty. Originally almost always made of cotton, batiks today are usually cotton can be made of silk or blends. 

Imitation batik is machine printed to resemble true batik. 

Uses: Apparel, household decor 

See also: Tie-dye

Batik-printed handwoven silk from India

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text and photo by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain

Currently in my web store is a fascinating silk batik 7-piece outfit

Fabric of the week: Linen

It’s high summer, shouldn’t we best talk about linen? 

I am fascinated by this fabric, in part because in my yard I have small blue flowers nodding on their delicate stalks—flax. It is hard for me to imagine the process by which sturdy linen is made from the flax plant, and how it ever got created in the first place. Do click on the flax link below for more information on this very useful plant.

A field of flax in bloom. Photo by Nick O'Doherty via Wikimedia Commons

Linen

Both a fabric and a fiber, linen is one of the oldest of textiles, with examples dating from many thousands of years B.C.E. 

The fabric is made of the fibers of the flax plant, and because of the natural variations in the fibers, characteristic slubs occur in both warp and weft. It is of a balancedplain weave. Linen is coveted for its absorbency, strength even when wet, being lint-free and quick-drying. It is famous for its use in making garments worn in hot climates. The name linen is derived from linon, the Greek word for the flax plant, and linum, the Roman word. 

Bedding and table coverings can be called linens, no matter what their fabric. 

Uses: Suits, slacks, skirts, dresses, tablecloths, dish towels 

See also: Butcher cloth, Butcher linen, Handkerchief linen

Two examples of linen

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

Early 60s Jane Derby linen dress in my web store

Fabric of the week: Weft piqué

Once you have identified weft piqué it will stick with you, it is so distinctive. It was one of my “mystery” fabrics when I started working with vintage clothing, and most often I have found summery cotton Hawaiian dresses made of this. Compare weft piqué to warp piqué and I’m pretty sure you will not forget either one.

Weft piqué

Weft piqué features a horizontally corded texture on its face, and a distinctly different reverse side. It is woven on a dobby loom and is made of cotton or cotton blends. Piqué is a French word meaning “quilted”; piqué fabrics have the appearance of being subtly padded. 

Uses: Dresses, blouses, sportswear, children’s clothing 

See also: Piqué, Warp piqué

Weft piqué face

Weft piqué reverse

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

The dress from which the close up photo was taken, in my Etsy shop now

Fabric term of the week: Novelty print

This week we come to an all-time favorite.

Novelty print 

Novelty, or conversational, prints feature motifs that are neither abstract nor simple florals. Frequently the prints feature themes such as places, activities or holidays. The prints can range from the very simple to such complexity as to be hard to discern; from black and white to many-colored; and from serious to whimsical (more often the latter).z 

With any interesting print, check the selvage in case there is information that identifies the print and the maker.

1940s “date for the ballet” novelty print rayon ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Photo by Hoyt Carter, text and additional photos by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain

50s poodles in Paris novelty print cotton

Selvage information identifying a print by Stig Lindberg for the Nordiska Kompaniet

To say I'm fascinated by novelty prints would be an understatement. I have considered keeping nothing but in my closet, except I love polka dots almost as much! Here are a few of my favorite vintage novelty prints from the sold archives, a Flickr set.

 Currently in my shop is a 1960s blouse with butterflies and the word butterfly in many languages

...and a 60s antique sailing ship print

Fabric of the week: Terry knit

This week’s fabric is one that is great for summer casual wear...and was often used for this in the 1970s and 80s.

Terry knit

A plain stitch knit fabric with a set of yarns pulled out on the technical back to form loops, as in woven terry cloth. Unlike woven terry, the loops are only on one side, and the fabric stretches. 

Terry knit is usually made of cotton and cotton blends, also manufactured fibers. It probably was originally made of silk. 

Uses: Sportswear, loungewear, sleepwear, children’s clothing 

See also: Terry cloth, Velour knit

Terry knit

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

A vintage classic for this fabric: 1970s unused terry knit romper currently in my Etsy store

Fabric of the week: Crepe-back satin

This Fabric of the week has the option of using either side as its face. When I find crepe-back satin used for a vintage garment, that item most often has dated from the 1920s or 1930s. It is a wonderfully substantial and fine fabric. 

Crepe-back satin

Lustrous on one side and with a crepe texture on the other, this light to medium weight fabric is called crepe-back satin when its glossy side is its face, and satin-back crepe when the dull side is the face. It can be called crepe satin or satin crepe as well. Sometimes the contrasting sides of the fabric are both used on the outside of a garment. Characteristically silk, it can be made of rayon or manufactured fibers. 

Uses: Blouses, dresses, evening gowns, lining 

See also: Charmeuse

Crepe-back satin - Face and reverse shown, with selvage down the middle ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter 

In my Etsy store I have a silk crepe-back satin dress dating from the 1920s. This dress doesn’t show the crepe side on the face anywhere, but I have run across dresses (one from the 1930s comes to mind first) that used both sides to great advantage.

Fabric of the week: Batiste

Although it has streaks in both directions, you can tell batiste from its cousins by its plentiful lengthwise streaks. This, along with all my Fabric of the week posts, comes from the VFG Fabric Resource.

Cotton batiste

Named for Jean Baptiste, a French weaver of the 13th century who wove fine linen cloth, batiste is now most commonly made of cotton or a cotton/polyester blend, The fabric is light and sheer, with lengthwise streaks. It is a balancedplain weave. When cotton is used, the soft, limp fabric is often mercerized to bolster its luster and strength. The fabric is often white, pale solids or delicate prints. 

There are also wool, silk and rayon batistes. 

Uses: Blouses, shirts, nightwear, infant clothing, lingerie, handkerchiefs and dresses 

See also:  Cambric,  Lawn

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

1920s embroidered cotton batiste blouse in my Etsy shop

Fabric of the week: Plissé

Fabric nerd alert: Not all fabric with puckered stripes is called seersucker. If you learn how plissé and seersucker are made, you probably will be able to spot the difference.

Plissé

Cotton fabric with a puckered stripe texture caused by a chemical treatment (with sodium hydroxide) is called plissé. The chemical is applied in stripes which causes the fabric in those areas to shrink, leaving the remaining area puckered. The puckered stripes usually follow the warp of the fabric. The appearance is much like seersucker. 

The term plissé (French for “pleated”) is often applied to chemically-puckered manufactured fabrics as well. 

Uses: Summery shirts, sportswear, children’s clothing, nightgowns 

See also: Seersucker, Cotton crepe

Cotton plissé

Nylon plissé ©Vintage Fashion Guild - This photo by Hoyt Carter, Text and additional photos by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain  

1940s cotton plissé sun suit/romper currently in my Etsy shop

The Fabric term of the week returns with Leno weave

Did you miss the Fabric of the Week? Well like it or not, it’s back! :)

With things starting to warm up here in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope to concentrate on fabrics well suited to summer.

Airy leno weave is not one of the basic weaves, rather it is a variation on plain weave. Read on:

Leno Weave 

Leno weave insures a more stable open weave than could be accomplished with a plain weave. It is made by pairs of warp yarns arranged crisscrossing the weft yarns, holding the weft yarns evenly apart. 

It is also called doup weave, named for the doup attachment on a loom which manipulates the warp yarns. Somewhat erroneously, the weave is also called gauze weave. Gauze fabric can be in a leno weave, but is often plain weave. 

See also:
Mock leno

Leno weave

Leno weave, heavily sized

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

Early 40s leno weave rayon dress in my Etsy shop

May wallflower?

Let me coax you into blooming~! 

My inspiration for my May theme was a small hoard of bright, unused, bright, flower power, ca. 1967, bright (...did I say BRIGHT?) items I have ready to list. You seriously can not hide in these dresses!

{Click image to view my May theme, sound up}

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