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Mille raye (“a thousand stripes” in French) was originally a cotton percale with narrow black and white stripes. According to Louis Harmuth (Dictionary of Textiles, 1920), the mille raye effect was in vogue at the time of Marie Antoinette, and has had numerous fashionable times since.

Mille raye has also been used to describe a top weight fabric of cotton and silk with narrow stripes and a fabric with narrow vertical ribs, particularly in silk.


Mille raye (silk)