Category Archives: Woven Material

Bedsheets: An Underrated Resource. Yes, Really!

Bed sheets can be an awesome resource for cosplayers. They’re useful for mockups, flat-lining and even making some garments – I made a hoopskirt and matching bodice out of fancy sheet set from Target and they looked great. Previously-owned sheets have done all their shrinking and bleeding in previous washings, so no nasty surprises await you in that regard.… Read More »

Crepon

Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics’ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. A heavy crepe fabric, with a more prominent texture than average. The fabric features distinctly wavy ridges along the warp. I’ve seen it referred to a lot in my 19th century catalog reproductions,… Read More »

About Upholstery Fabrics

You should never neglect the home décor section when shopping for costume fabric. You’ll find patterns and colors there appropriate for a surprising swathe of history and some drawn characters too. For instance, when you need emergency princess gear, pintuck taffeta can be a lifesaver. Sheer gauze curtains can provide material for fairy wings. I’ve lost count of… Read More »

Seersucker

Seersucker is a light-to-medium weight fabric – usually made from 100% cotton. When woven, varying tension on the warp yarns creates a bumpy, textured surface to the finished fabric. It often features a striped or checkered pattern. With striped seersucker, the stripes always run along the warp, parallel to the selvedge edge. It’s somewhat similar to plissé, although the latter… Read More »

Samite

I’ve encountered samite in I don’t know how many bits of historical fiction, but it’s only now that I wonder what it actually is! According to good ol’ Wikipedia, samite is a heavyweight silk fabric with a twill weave, although as time passed, the term came to be applied to any heavyweight fabric with a… Read More »

Faille

Although I keep wanting to pronounce this one as if it’s a French word (“fay”) my books tell me it rhymes with “file”. Faille is a light to medium-weight silk fabric with a subtle rib running parallel to the warp. The hand is somewhat stiff, and the fabric has a slight lustre. It’s popular for jackets, formal… Read More »

Mousseline

Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series. A 19th century term for muslin. I’ve run into it a lot in my late-19th/early-20th century catalog reproductions, usually when describing dainty blouses and dresses. Dainty was a very popular term in Gimbel’s 1915 catalog. Do not confuse it with mousseline de soie. I feel let down. I was… Read More »

Oxford

No, not the university town in the UK – although this fabric apparently went through a period of being in vogue with students in that town in the early 20th century. Oxford is lightweight cotton fabric, woven with a variant of the plain weave known as hopsack (I’ve sometimes seen it described as a basket-weave, but… Read More »