Part of the Antique Fabrics series. A heavy woolen cloth, dyed brown with extracts from the butternut tree. If you want to play a Confederate soldier in the US Civil War, you’re going to learn a lot about butternut, as it was a widely-used homespun fabric used to replace official-issued uniform jackets and trousers as… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. Cambric is a lightweight, densely-woven, plain-weave cloth. Originally made of linen, but later made of cotton as well. It’s name derives from Cambrai, France, where it was once made in significant quantities. Today, linen cambric is… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. A firm, plain-weave cotton fabric. Imported from India in the 17th & 18th centuries, then produced in France, thereafter. Thread count is usually 200 per inch or more. Percale uses long-staple cotton, resulting… Read More »
(By popular request – Ed.) Baize is a dense, plain-weave wool cloth, traditionally used as a surface for gaming and pool tables. It’s usually green, but it can be found in other colors (red is a popular alternative). A lot of fabrics will be described by sellers as baize simply because it’s green and fuzzy, which can be… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics’ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. A sturdy fabric woven with a hemp warp and linen weft. Used for coats and harder-wearing clothes in the 19th century. Today, cretonne is a mid-weight fabric, usually cotton, printed with a floral motif. One… Read More »
Chambray is a plain-woven cotton with a colored warp and a white weft, very similar to gingham, although chambray is not often woven into checks. When it is, then it’s called a chambray gingham. Historically, it was woven from linen, today it’s made from cotton and cotton blends and it remains in popular usage. It’s closely… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. AKA drugget. A coarse, economical wool fabric (sometimes wool-silk or wool-linen). It was used for coats, breeches and waistcoats. Today it is still a coarse fabric, but with a cotton warp and wool… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. Lightweight, loosely woven plain-weave cotton or worsted wool fabric. Étamine is similar to cotton gauze and cheesecloth. Historically derived from a fabric used to sift flour, hence the name (the French word for sieve).… Read More »
Microfiber is a synthetic fiber less than 1 denier wide. It can be made of polyester, rayon, nylon or from almost any other synthetic material – but most often, it is made from polyester. What’s a denier? Denier is a way of quantifying a fiber’s mass. A fiber’s denier number is equal to the weight of 9000… Read More »
Silk noil is made with silk yarns created from very short fibers – usually remnants from other cloth manufacture. The yarn has a rougher texture and is less reflective than longer-yarn silk, which results in a fabric similarly dull and somewhat rough underhand. It’s sometimes called raw silk which isn’t accurate. It’s finished silk, alright,… Read More »
Fabric For Cosplayers