Double cloth

Last updated
Dove and Rose jacquard-woven silk and wool double cloth furnishing textile, designed by William Morris in 1879. Morris Dove and Rose textile 1879.jpg
Dove and Rose jacquard-woven silk and wool double cloth furnishing textile, designed by William Morris in 1879.

Double cloth or double weave (also doublecloth, double-cloth, doubleweave) is a kind of woven textile in which two or more sets of warps and one or more sets of weft or filling yarns are interconnected to form a two-layered cloth. [2] The movement of threads between the layers allows complex patterns and surface textures to be created.

Contents

In contemporary textile manufacturing, [2] the term "double cloth" or "true double cloth" is sometimes restricted to fabrics with two warps and three wefts, made up as two distinct fabrics lightly connected by the third or binding weft, but this distinction is not always made, and double-woven fabrics in which two warps and two wefts interlace to form geometric patterns are also called double cloths. [1]

Compound fabrics

Compound fabrics [3] or Double-faced fabrics are a form of double cloth made of one warp and two sets of wefts, or (less often) two warps and one weft. These fabrics have two right sides or faces and no wrong side, and include most blankets, satin ribbons, and interlinings. [2]

Double weaving is an ancient technique. Surviving examples from the Paracas culture of Peru have been dated to before AD 700. [4]

Modern applications of double cloth include haute couture coats, blankets, furnishing fabrics, and some brocades. [2] [5]

Characteristics

Double weave constructions are generally thick, heavy, reversible and warm. Examples are Albert cloth and Biretz. [6] [7] [8]

Uses

"Point-paper" or weaving design for Dove and Rose. Morris and Co Dove and Rose point paper.jpg
"Point-paper" or weaving design for Dove and Rose.
Double cloth bag from Peru. Peruvian double cloth bag.png
Double cloth bag from Peru.

Double cloth textiles are a characteristic artifact of Pre-Columbian Peru, where they were woven of cotton and alpaca yarns in various combinations. [4] [9] [10]

In Medieval England, double weaves called compound weft-faced twills featured weft or filling yarns in multiple colors, with the design completely covering the face warp yarns and the unused colors for any particular section woven into a binding warp on the reverse side. [11]

In early 19th century America, double cloth wool and cotton woven coverlets were made by professional weavers from wool that was spun (and often dyed) at home and then delivered to a local weaver who made up the coverlet. [12]

In the later 19th century, craftsman and designer William Morris offered wool and silk double cloth fabrics for furnishing through his firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (later Morris & Co.). These double-woven fabrics had separate warps of wool and silk yarn and were woven by Alexander Morton & Co. of Darvel, Scotland, who would later weave similar fabrics from designs by C.F.A. Voysey and others. [2]

Contemporary couture designers use "true" double cloth to make self-lined or reversible coats and jackets by using hand-finishing techniques such as separating the two layers at the hem and turning the raw edges under. [13] Double cloth garments may also be made reversible by binding or overcasting edges.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Parry, Linda: William Morris Textiles, New York, Viking Press, 1983, pp. 66–67, ISBN   0-670-77074-4
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kadolph, Sara J., ed.: Textiles, 10th edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007, pp. 254–255, ISBN   0-13-118769-4
  3. Jerde, Judith (1992). Encyclopedia of textiles. Internet Archive. New York : Facts on File. p. 35. ISBN   978-0-8160-2105-5.
  4. 1 2 "Double Cloth 400 B.C.-700 A.D.", The Cleveland Museum of Art, retrieved 2019-03-20
  5. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc., 1997
  6. Jerde, Judith (1992). Encyclopedia of textiles. Internet Archive. New York : Facts on File. p. 56. ISBN   978-0-8160-2105-5.
  7. Nystrom, Paul Henry (1916). Textiles. D. Appleton. p. 248.
  8. Picken, Mary Brooks (2013-07-24). A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern. Courier Corporation. p. 21. ISBN   978-0-486-14160-2.
  9. "Fragment of a Double Cloth c. 1100-1400", The Cleveland Museum of Art, retrieved 2019-03-20
  10. Crawford, M. D. C., Peruvian Fabrics, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XII Part IV, 1916
  11. Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland, Textiles and Clothing: Medieval Finds from Excavations in London, c.1150-c.1450, HMSO Books, 1991, ISBN   0-11-290445-9
  12. Weissman, Judith Reiter and Wendy Lavitt: Labors of Love: America's Textiles and Needlwork, 1650-1930, New York, Wings Books, 1987, pp. 80–97, ISBN   0-517-10136-X
  13. Mazur, Anna: "Reversible Techniques for Double Cloth", Threads Magazine, Taunton Press, February/March 2006 (#123)

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Loom Device for weaving textiles

A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.

Weaving Technology for the production of textiles

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft, woof, or filling. The method in which these threads are inter-woven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band that meets this definition of cloth can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back strap loom, or other techniques that can be done without looms.

Twill

Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under two or more warp threads and so on, with a "step," or offset, between rows to create the characteristic diagonal pattern. Because of this structure, twill generally drapes well.

Ikat is a dyeing technique originated from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric.

Warp and weft Two constituent threads of woven cloth

Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft is drawn through and inserted over and under the warp. A single thread of the weft crossing the warp is called a pick. Terms vary. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end or end.

Damask Reversible figured woven fabric

Damask is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave. Twill damasks include a twill-woven ground or pattern.

Crêpe (textile) Any of various fabrics with twisted threads, often crinkled surface

Crêpe, also spelled crepe or crape is a silk, wool, or synthetic fiber fabric with a distinctively crisp and crimped appearance. The term "crape" typically refers to a form of the fabric associated specifically with mourning. Crêpe was also historically called "crespe" or "crisp".

Textile manufacturing The industry which produces textiles

Textile manufacturing is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods such as clothing, household items, upholstery and various industrial products. Overall many things can be made with cotton not just clothing.

Paithani Variety of sari

Paithani is a variety of sari, named after the Paithan town in Aurangabad district from state of Maharashtra in India where the sari was first made by hand. Present day Yeola town in Nashik, Maharashtra is the largest manufacturer of Paithani.

Pile weave

Pile weave is a form of textile created by weaving. This type of fabric is characterized by a pile—a looped or tufted surface that extends above the initial foundation, or 'ground' weave. The pile is formed by supplemental yarn running in the direction of the length of the fabric or the width of the fabric. Pile weaves include velvet and corduroy fabrics and machine-woven Berber carpets.

<i>Kasuri</i>

Kasuri (絣) is the Japanese term for fabric that has been woven with fibers dyed specifically to create patterns and images in the fabric, typically referring to fabrics produced within Japan using this technique. It is a form of ikat dyeing, traditionally resulting in patterns characterized by their blurred or brushed appearance.

Plain weave Method of weaving cloth in which each warp and weft thread crosses over/under every other thread

Plain weave is the most basic of three fundamental types of textile weaves. It is strong and hard-wearing, and is used for fashion and furnishing fabrics.

Selvage Narrow edge of a woven fabric parallel to its length

A selvage or selvedge is a "self-finished" edge of a piece of fabric which keeps it from unraveling and fraying. The term "self-finished" means that the edge does not require additional finishing work, such as hem or bias tape, to prevent fraying.

Kersey is a kind of coarse woollen cloth that was an important component of the textile trade in Medieval England.

Silk in the Indian subcontinent Overview about silk in the India subcontinent

Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury good. In India, about 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Mysore and North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a US$20 million "Silk City", contribute to a majority of silk production. Another emerging silk producer is Tamil Nadu where mulberry cultivation is concentrated in Salem, Erode and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units.

The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.

Units of textile measurement Systems for measuring textiles

Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units.

Woven coverlet

A woven coverlet or coverlid is a type of bed covering with a woven design in colored wool yarn on a background of natural linen or cotton. Coverlets were woven in almost every community in the United States from the colonial era until the late 19th century.

Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest human activities. The oldest known textiles date back to about 5000 B.C. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving to create cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. Cloth is finished by what are described as wet process to become fabric. The fabric may be dyed, printed or decorated by embroidering with coloured yarns.

Albert cloth is a heavy woollen material with different colors or patterns on either side. The cloth had alternative names such as "plaid-back coverts" and "golf cloth". Albert cloth is a double weave fabric, made using a method of weaving in which two layers of fabric are woven simultaneously. It was a reversible, warm material, and useful for overcoats and cloaks.