Fabrics of the Georgian Era 1714 1837 Fibers

Fabrics of the Georgian Era 1714– 1837

Fibers • There are five fibers known to have been in use for clothing during this era: wool, silk, cotton, linen, and nettle (hemp was also in production, but I haven’t seen it used for clothing).

Wool • Sheep were abundant in the British Isles, so wool could be produced domestically. Wool can be broken down into two types: carded (short-fiber) or worsted (long-fiber). Long-fiber threads and fabrics are superior in strength and softness.

Silk • While there was a world-class weaving industry in Spitalfields (a part of greater London), the fiber itself still had to be imported.

Cotton • Most cotton fabrics (muslin, calico, chintz) were imported from India or America. India was the main supplier until the invention of the cotton gin (1794), which (along with slave labor) allowed America to became a major world supplier.

Linen/Flax • Made from the stalks of the flax plant, linen was a major product of Ireland.

Nettle • Produced in Scotland Germany, this was an extremely sheer cloth that rivaled the finest muslin. •

Weaves • First let me explain the most basic weaving terms. The threads set into the loom are called the warp. The threads which are woven into the warp are called the weft or the fill. By altering the number of warps that are passed over and under different weaves and patterns are created. The most complicated example of this is Jacquard, created on a Jacquard loom (first exhibited in 1801).

Plain/Tabby/Taffeta • The most basic weave, the threads go over and under, one by one. Modern examples of things made from plain fabric are sheets, or a man’s dress shirt.

Twill • Created by passing the weft over a set pattern of multiple warps and under one (e. g. over 2, under 1, etc. ) then offsetting the next weft by one so that a diagonal rib is created. The pattern can be altered to create a herringbone effect, or even diamonds. Good modern examples of this fabric include the denim used for blue jeans and the wool gabardine used for many suits.

Satin • This is both a weave and a fabric. What the designation means is that the thread (warp or filling) dominates the face, giving a smooth, lustrous surface. The warp is passed over as many as 12 warps at a time. Duchesse satin, commonly used for wedding gowns, is probably familiar to all of you.

Velvet • A pile fabric with a plain back (ground). A common modern fabric used for everything from drapes to evening gowns. It could be cut (as modern velvet is) or uncut (like an extremely fine terry) or a combination creating a subtle pattern of texture.

Finishes and Printing Techniques • Ways of decorating fabric post weaving

Block-printing • A hand printing process employing wood blocks or metal sheets on which the design is carved. One block is used for each colour. The dye is applied to the block and the block is pressed or hammered against the fabric. Usually a cotton fabric of Indian origin in our period.

Calendering • First the fabric is coated with something (water, starch, paraffin, shellac, etc. ) then it is run through a set of heated rollers. Both the heat and pressure are used to alter the fabric. The rollers can even be engraved for an added effect. Glazed fabrics are created this way, as are moirés.

Fulling • Wool fabric is subjected to moisture, heat, friction and pressure causing the fabric to shrink. Heavily fulled fabric looks like felt • When used for items like coats there is no need to hem the edge, and it is nearly waterproof. • At right is a period fulling stock.

Painting/Penciling • Many fabrics from both India and China were hand painted. • It was common for blockprinted fabrics to be have additional colours (usually blue) painted on after being printed. This was called penciling.

Roller-printing • Invented in 1783 in Scotland. • A method of printing fabric by passing them over copper engraved rollers. Originally one colour could be printed, and this was then enhanced with block printing. • It wasn’t until the late 1820 s that multiple rollers and colours were being employed.

Watered silk (Moiré) • In period these fabrics were called moiré tabisée or calendered moiré. The watery pattern is achieved by running damp fabric through engraved rollers which impress the pattern (calendaring). Patterns other than the watered-effect could also be produced, such as stripes (bar moiré). • Moiré fabrics are known to have existed at least as far back as the 16 th century when you see them depicted in paintings and fashion studies, such as the one done by Hans Weigel in 1577. • Any weight of fabric could be treated this way, so the stiff-heavy gowns of the 18 th century as well as the light round gowns of the early 19 th century and the slightly heavier ones of the Romantic period could all have been of moiré silk.

Watered Silk

Muslin • High-quality muslin in the 18 th and 19 th centuries was fine, sheer, and could be plain or patterned (Swiss dot, striped, or even window boxed). Think of it like what would be used for window sheers now. • It was commonly embroidered either with an all-over repeating pattern (sprigged) or with tambour work (chain stitches worked with a special tambour hook). It could also have been printed or painted. It became a popular dress fabric in the 1780 s (starting with the scandalous robe a le reine) and continued to be used through the Victorian era.

Muslin

Calico & Chintz • Calico is a general catch all term for medium-weight cotton fabric of Indian origin (heavier than muslin). Chintz is calico which has been printed or painted. Many sources state that chintz was also glazed, but this does not seem to be true of all chintz. These fabrics were commonly used for day dresses throughout the entire period. • Indiennes was the term applied to French imitations of Indian chintz, the most famous of which were produced in Jouy (such as the copperplate printed scenes we now call "toile”, which were only used for furnishings in the 18 th and 19 th centuries).

Extant Chintz

Velvet • A soft fabric of silk, cotton or wool having a smooth, dense pile and a plain underside. • Velvet is, of course, a heavy fabric, and unsuited to the airy gowns of the late Georgian and early Regency periods. It was used for men’s clothing, however (especially court suits), as well as for ladies’ spencers, habits, redingotes, hats, etc. • When the classical influence waned, replaced by a Tudor/Elizabethan one (about 1815) the new “A” line style of gown was frequently made of velvet.

Extant Velvet Items

Linen • This is still a common cloth today. It’s woven from flax fiber thread and can be sturdy and thick or light as airy (so-called handkerchief linen). It was the fabric of choice for shirts, chemises, drawers, stays, etc. Most extant gowns are lined with linen (sometimes called kenting, and made in either Ireland or Scotland). Informal clothing was also sometimes made of linen. • When blended with other fibers (most notably cotton [fustian] or wool [linsey]) it was frequently used for other items of apparel, especially among the lower classes.

Extant Linen Items

Sarsenet • A thin, fine plain weave silk with a soft finish, it was sometimes calendared to achieve a twill effect. It was a bit lighter than taffeta and would have been appropriate for the early round gowns and dresses from the first part of the extended Regency.

Lustestring • A fine, glossy ribbed silk fabric. It was calendared to achieve added gloss and body. It would have had a lovely rustle. It would have been used for the lighterweight gowns of the late 18 th century and the Regency.

Sarsenet or Lustring

Stuff • This is the catch-all term for wool fabric which would have been used for men’s coats, ladies’ habits, cloaks, great coats, etc. A few of the finer examples (Kerseymere, Tammie, Camlet, Shaloon, Druggett) would have also shown up as dress goods for women (especially for things like 18 th century petticoats and Regency traveling gowns).

Extant Stuff

Nettle Cloth • A lightweight, sheer cloth woven with the nettle fiber in Scotland Germany. As far as I can tell, this cloth no longer exists. What is now being sold as nettle cloth is either cotton or linen. The extant example I’ve seen looks as if it were made of cheese cloth. It’s extremely light and fine, almost gossamer (though is hangs like it has more substance than modern chiffon).

Possible Nettle Cloth • Point de Convention: 1797 by Boilly • This gown is sheer enough that it might be of nettle cloth

Poplin • A durable plain weave made of a silk warp with a wool filling (weft). It’s a sturdy fabric used for coats, pelisses, etc, and would have been suitable to the gowns of the 18 th century, the late Regency, and the early Romantic period. It would have been used for men’s coats and waistcoats throughout the period.

Nankeen • Durable firm-textured cotton from Nanking, China. It was made from a naturally occurring brownish-yellow cotton. This fabric no longer exists. What is made now is simply regular, common cotton, dyed yellow. The fabric was popular for boys’ skeleton suits as well as working men’s breeches and trousers.

Regency era Skeleton Suit

Brocade • Usually it was a heavy, silk, Jacquardwoven fabric with a raised pattern emphasized by surface textures and colours. There are, however, examples of lighter brocaded fabrics from the early Regency period (in the Kyoto Costume Institute’s collection).

Extant Brocade

Taffeta • A plain weave with a smooth, crisp feel. Can be dull or lustrous. Usually silk, but can be cotton or wool. It’s body and weight made it suitable for the clothing throughout the Georgian era.

Extant Taffeta

Satin • A weave in which the one thread (warp or filling) dominates the face, giving a smooth, lustrous surface. Can be combined with Jacquard to form patterns. Usually of silk, but it can be of other fibers, as the wool satin breeches in the V&A’s collection are. It’s a heavier fabric, more suitable for the clothing of the 18 th century, late Regency, and the Romantic era. Because of its construction it snags easily and was usually reserved for evening wear.

Damask • Silk jacquard-woven fabric. Similar to brocade, but flatter and of a single colour. The heavier nature of this fabric make it unsuitable to the light frocks of the early Regency, but it would have been used during the rest of the Georgian era. During the Regency you might have seen it as a man’s waistcoat (like the white-on-white one Colin Firth wears in A&E’s version of Pride and Prejudice).

Extant Damask

Tobine • A medium-weight twilled silk. It would have been suitable for gowns, as well as waistcoats, throughout the era.

Changeables or Shot • A plain weave fabric (usually silk) whose colour shifts with the light due to the fact that it is one colour in the warp and a different one in the filling. Could be of any weight, so it could have been seen at any time during the Georgian era.

Red and Blue Shot Silk

Machine Netting • Machine knit silk net (invented in the 1760 s) was a popular material for overgowns by the end of the century. The net gowns were frequently embroidered and/or spangled. They were worn over another gown of either matching or contrasting fabric. There also examples of men’s waistcoats with net overlays or insets.

Machine Net

Machine Knit Fabric • Though the first machine for knitting was invented in the 16 th century, it doesn’t appear that much beyond stockings and gloves was made from this fabric until the 1790 s. When the silhouette of men’s clothing narrowed, knit fabric began to be used for breeches and pantaloons.

Knit Pantaloons c. 1810 -1820

Tartan • Tartan is a wool fabric originating in Scotland. The oldest documented tartan is known as Falkirk or Shepherd’s Check (c. 325). It is comprised of equal width stripes of light and dark natural wools in a twill weave. • The first record we have of many patterns is from the pattern book of William Wilsons and Sons of Bannockburn, who began business sometime around 1765. Wilsons was using standard patterns and colors by the late 1780 s. They were not “clan tartans”, but patterns identified by number. By the end of the eighteenth century Wilsons began to identify their tartans by names, as well as by number. These were fanciful names given to the patterns by Wilsons, and were in no way connected to the clan whose name it now shared.

Madras • Madras was pretty much identical to what it is today: a brightly coloured plaid fabric of cotton or silk. The earliest record I can find of the term is 1833, but I’ve seen extant examples dating from as early as 1810, and I would guess that it was imported much earlier (the British East India Company set up in Madras in 1639!). There is an extant neck cloth c. 1810 -1840 in the Old Sturbridge Village collection.

Tartan vs Madras

Extant Neckcloth • c. 1810 -1840 • Cotton

Bombazine • A twilled fabric with a silk warp and wool filling. It was manufactured in Norwich beginning in the 16 th century. It was popular for mourning as it has a dull finish. The extant examples I’ve seen are all Victorian, and have roughly the weight of wool suiting.

Chine • Fabric with the pattern printed on the warp before weaving, resulting in a blurred design. It is not the same as crepe de chine. This technique could have been used on fabric of any weight, so it could have been seen throughout the era.

Chine • Extant 18 th century gown

Corduroy • Extremely similar to the modern fabric of the same name, though it was usually of the wide-wale variety. It was popular for the breeches and trousers of the working man. Fancier versions were used by the upperclass.

Extant Corduroy • Note how wide the wales are, making the breeches appear striped

Silk Gauze • An extremely fine and sheer silk. Almost like chiffon, but with a little more weight and hand. All the examples I can think of are from the late-Georgian and Regency periods (1790 s-1820 s).

Silk Gauze 1820 -1824

Dimity • A light cotton fabric which usually had a checked effect caused by the way the weaving was done. I haven’t seen any extant gowns labeled as dimity, but there are lots of references to dimity wrappers, petticoats, waistcoats, etc. in period household accounts.

Dimity Waistcoat c. 1800

Flannel • Flannel was originally a napped woolen fabric, not the cotton flannel we are now familiar with for pajamas and sheets.

Flannel Dressing Gown

Fustian • A rough fabric with a linen warp and a cotton filling. A poor person might have had clothing made from this fabric (just as they might have used linsey).

Glazed Cotton or Silk • The fabric is treated with starch, paraffin, shellac, etc. and run through a friction calendar (heated rollers) to give a shiny surface. Glazed silk was called moiré lissé. Glazed fabrics show up throughout the era.

Linsey (linsey-woolsey) • A coarse fabric with a linen warp and a wool filling. This kind of fabric would have been used by the lower class for everything from petticoats and coats to bed jackets and gowns.

Paduasoy • A type of rich, heavy, corded silk made in Padua, Italy. While I’ve been unable to find any extant gowns made of this kind of silk, there are references to it in stock lists from period drapers.

Pongee silk • A plain weave characterized by nubs and irregular ribs created by uneven yarns. Rather like modern shantung. While I don’t have an extant garment example, there are period references to this fabric in letters and draper’s accounts.

Royalette • A satin fabric with a cotton warp and wool fill, popular for breeches. I haven’t seen an extant garment, I have seen it listed in 18 th century drapers’ advertisements.

Trimmings • A great catch-all term to use is passemeterie, which basically covers all your options: tassels, braid, cord, gimp, rosettes, and fringe.