Gabardine is a weave not a fiber: The fabric and fiber content terminology thread

[Lady Day]

Hi all.
I thought it would be nice to have a fabric/weave/content terminology thread. One where we can post links, discuss the differences between, and dispel myths about fabrics, their content, and the correct names for them. Now, I know this can almost be an art as it is a science, so I do hope proper discussion will ensue.

Here are some of my favorite places for getting basic terms for certain fabrics.

Base list of industry definitions (modern)

The Textile Library

Fabric Information & Facts (I love fabric.net!)

Ill start.
Whats the difference in between twill & denim (trick question )?

LD

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Correct. Gabardine can be made of wool, rayon, or even cotton.

.

 

[mattfink]

A lot of gabardine in the US was (or is) made of a blend of wool and rayon. Combine the strength and durability of wool with the softness of rayon and you've got a winning combination. Makes me wonder why they switched to polyester....could it have something to do with the fact it's a petroleum product?

 

[Fletch]

Seersucker was originally silk - cotton came later. It's also been rayon, polyester, and even wool.

What makes it is the puckered/smooth alternating textures.

 

[Mike K.]

I thought it would be nice to have a fabric/weave/content terminology thread. One where we can post links, discuss the differences between, and dispel myths about fabrics, their content, and the correct names for them.

Great idea Lady Day!! :eusa_clap

 

[dhermann1]

Oh, man! This is great! So many questions answered and confusions solved.
But speaking of gabardine, I've always wondered about a line I once had in a Shakespeare play, The Tempest. "I will creep under his gabardine till the dregs of the storm be past." (This is followed by the very famous line, "Misery doth acquaint a man with strange bedfellows!")
I've always wondered what exactly was meant by gabardine, I suppose a cloak?

 

[Paisley]

Hemp

Smoking industrial hemp won't make you high. Almost every time I tell someone my hat is made of hemp, they say, "Oh, so you can smoke it!"

In WWII, the US government produced a film called Hemp for Victory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory

Wikipedia says that Levi's were originally made of lightweight hemp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Smoking industrial hemp won't make you high. Almost every time I tell someone my hat is made of hemp, they say, "Oh, so you can smoke it!"

In WWII, the US government produced a film called Hemp for Victory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_for_Victory

Wikipedia says that Levi's were originally made of lightweight hemp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

Nor can you get high from smoking banana peels, but, you can polish shoes with them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/polish-your-shoes-with-a_n_161559.html

 

[Paisley]

fftopic:

Banana peels are good to put at the base of outdoor plants, too. (Lots of potassium--the last NPK number.)

 

[Carlisle Blues]

fftopic:

Banana peels are good to put at the base of outdoor plants, too. (Lots of potassium--the last NPK number.)

And great for composting lol lol fftopic: sorry lol lol

 

[normanpitkin]

At last!!! A thread i can really get involved with ,this is what i do for a living and have done for 30 years,designing and selling textiles to the u.k high street.Any questions and i should be able to help,hope this doesnt sound big headed!!

 

[Marcus]

TRIKOT?

Is that a wool gabardine?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Seersucker was originally silk - cotton came later. It's also been rayon, polyester, and even wool.

What makes it is the puckered/smooth alternating textures.

Yep ... and seersucker can come in any variety of stripe widths and any combination of colors -- or no combination at all. (Just a solid color.) The crinkliness can vary as well. There are even seersucker plaids!




.

 

[BellyTank]

Ill start.
Whats the difference in between twill & denim (trick question )?

LD

A'hem.

Roses are red, serpents spit venom,
Denim is Twill but Twill is not Denim

Is that the tricky bit?

Bull Denim is not Denim but it is Twill, of course.

I'm just watching a documentary about various poisons, in quite high concentrations,
in Mall jeans. Actually, mall jeans aren't really denim, either...

You're right, it's as much art as it is science.
Nuance is as nuisance does.

A'men.

B
T

 

[BellyTank]

Trikot!
Is that a wool gabardine?

No, Boy Wonder, it's a knit cloth!
(It works if you use a superhero voice)

Tricot is a knit cloth, Gooberdine is a woven.


B
T

 

[Guttersnipe]

A lot of gabardine in the US was (or is) made of a blend of wool and rayon. Combine the strength and durability of wool with the softness of rayon and you've got a winning combination. Makes me wonder why they switched to polyester....could it have something to do with the fact it's a petroleum product?

I think there were a few reasons for the switch. Polyester blended gabardines don't wrinkle as easily as rayon blended ones - I know the whole "wrinkle free" feature was a big selling point when polyester - ahem, ruined everything - I mean came into use.

Primarily, though, I think it was for economic reasons. Rayon was kind of the polyester of its day. It was made from highly processed wood pulp (a cheap commodity of the day), and could be blended with other fabrics to give them different characteristics. But polyester is cheaper to produce...alas

 

[Lady Day]

I think there were a few reasons for the switch. Polyester blended gabardines don't wrinkle as easily as rayon blended ones - I know the whole "wrinkle free" feature was a big selling point when polyester - ahem, ruined everything

But the weave itself is wrinkle resistant. I have some wool and even a cotton gabbie, and they are always the last to wrinkle.

LD

 

[Guttersnipe]

But the weave itself is wrinkle resistant. I have some wool and even a cotton gabbie, and they are always the last to wrinkle.

LD

Interesting. I find that heavier weight gabardines used for outerwear, and particularly vintage suiting weight gab, are fairly resistant to wrinkling - especially if they are 100% wool.

But, lighter weight gabardines, especially those where rayon in the majority of the blend, are notorious for being easily wrinkled. That's where the wrinkle resistant selling point of polyester comes in...

 

[Lady Day]

Ah, okay. Point taken.

LD

 

[normanpitkin]

there was a lot of rayon(viscose) production available after the second world war so the fibre was marketed very agressively.Gradually polyester production was ramped up as it is a cheap by product of the oil industry.Viscose,being made of wood fibre ,became more expensive ,also not so easy to care for!Today most polyester fabrics come from china and are exceptionally cheap ,viscose is still a mainly european/western fibbre in terms of finished production ad therefore more expensive ,and not so popular.All clear i hope,there may be a test later.....