Kersey (cloth)

Last updated
Kersey
TypeFabric
Material Wool
Production method Weaving
Production process Craft production
Place of origin Andover, England
Introduced1262

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

Contents

History

It derives its name from kersey yarn and ultimately from the village of Kersey, Suffolk, having presumably originated in that region. However the cloth was made in many places. It was being woven as early as 1262 in Andover, Hampshire, where regulations prohibited the inclusion of Spanish wool in kerseys. [1] By 1475, the West Riding of Yorkshire including Calderdale was also a major producer, while Devon and Somerset were major producers and exporters until the manufacture later moved to serge making. Kersey was a lighter weight cloth than broadcloth. English kerseys were widely exported to central Europe [2] and other places: a surviving business letter [3] from the end of the 16th century recommends trading kerseys for good wine on the Canary Islands.

Description

Kersey yarns were spun in large gauges (thicknesses) from inferior carded wool, and made thick and sturdy cloth. Kersey was a warp-backed, twill-weave cloth woven on a four-treadle loom.

As a rule, half the relatively small, numerous and closely set warp ends [threads] were struck with a big kersey weft in a two-and-two, unbalanced and highly prominent twill. The rest of the ends were simultaneously struck in a one-and-three twill, so they appeared mainly on the back of the cloth, while the back-warp stitches on the face of the cloth were concealed among the face-warp threads. One of the secrets of weaving a good kersey lay in combining the adequate stitching of the weft by the back warp with the concealment of the back-warp stitches. [1]

The back of the cloth was napped and shorn after fulling, producing a dense, warm fabric with a smooth back. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loom</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weaving</span> 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 interwoven 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denim</span> Warp-faced textile

Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was first produced in Nîmes, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worsted</span> Fabrics manufactured from worsted yarns

Worsted is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century, when pasture enclosure and liming rendered the East Anglian soil too rich for the older agrarian sheep breeds. In the same period, many weavers from the County of Flanders moved to Norfolk. "Worsted" yarns/fabrics are distinct from woollens : the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twill</span> Woven fabric textile weave

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 from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. The term is also used to refer to related and unrelated traditions in other cultures. In Southeast Asia, where it is the most widespread, ikat weaving traditions can be divided into two general clades. The first is found among Daic-speaking peoples. The second, larger group is found among the Austronesian peoples and spread via the Austronesian expansion. Similar dyeing and weaving techniques that developed independently are also present in other regions of the world, including India, Central Asia, Japan, Africa, and the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warp and weft</span> Two constituent threads of woven cloth

In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizontal weft is drawn through (inserted) over and under the warp thread. In the terminology of weaving, each warp thread is called a warp end; a pick is a single weft thread that crosses the warp thread, synonymous terms are fill yarn and filling yarn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damask</span> Reversible figured woven fabric

Damask is a reversible patterned 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double cloth</span> Woven textile type

Double cloth or double weave 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. The movement of threads between the layers allows complex patterns and surface textures to be created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crêpe (textile)</span> 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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile manufacturing</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pile weave</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plain weave</span> 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. Fabrics with a plain weave are generally strong, durable, and have a smooth surface. They are often used for a variety of applications, including clothing, home textiles, and industrial fabrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloth of gold</span> Rich Medieval fabric woven with gold thread or a combination of gold and silk

Cloth of gold or gold cloth is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft—referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk, wrapped (filé) with a band or strip of high content gold. In rarer instances, fine linen and wool have been used as the core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selvage</span> 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.

In the context of materials, stuff can refer to any manufactured material. This is illustrated from a quote by Sir Francis Bacon in his 1658 publication New Atlantis: "Wee have also diverse Mechanicall Arts, which you have not; And Stuffes made by them; As Papers, Linnen, Silks, Tissues; dainty Works of Feathers of wonderfull Lustre; excellent Dies, and many others." In Coventry, those completing seven-year apprenticeships with stuff merchants were entitled to become freemen of the city.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Units of textile measurement</span> Systems for measuring textiles

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pick glass</span> A magnifying glass helpful in counting thread count

A pick glass also known as a piece glass is a magnifying glass helpful in counting thread count. It is used to determine the number of yarns in warp and weft in woven fabrics and courses and wales in knitted fabrics. Compact constructions of fabrics may have a higher thread count. That is also called "cloth count."

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eric Kerridge (1985). Textile Manufactures in Early Modern England. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press. ISBN   978-0-7190-2632-4.
  2. D. C. Coleman, The Economy of England 1450-1750 (Oxford University Press, 1977), 53-4 77 78.
  3. Letter dated June 26th, 1578, from John Withal in Santos, Brazil, to Mr Richard Staper, excerpted in Richard Hakluyt (ed. Jack Beeching), Voyages and Discoveries, (Penguin Press, 1972) 196.