Once a name with a registered trademark, barathea is a silk or silky manufactured fiber fabric with a broken rib weave.
Note that wool barathea is unrelated.
Uses: Ties, cravats, dresses
Barathea, silk type
Horizontally ribbed fabrics
Search Horizontally ribbed fabrics:
Bengaline
A plain weave fabric made with thicker (or grouped) weft yarns and fine and more numerous warp yarns. The result is a very noticeable horizontal rib with a silky surface. The weft is often cotton while the filament warp is silk or a manufactured fiber. The name is from Bengal, India.
Uses: Dresses, coats, suits
Broadcloth, cotton type
Broadcloth is a shirt weight fabric most commonly made of cotton or cotton blends. It is plain weave with a very fine horizontal rib.
In the U.K., broadcloth is virtually synonymous with poplin. In the U.S. and Canada, poplin is considered a heavier fabric. Cotton broadcloth was introduced from England in the 1920s, and as it was a fine poplin, it was given a name to distinguish it from poplin. Broadcloth was originally a name given to fabrics wider than 27”; applying this name to the shirting fabric was fanciful.
There is also a similarly made fabric of silk, silk broadcloth.
Uses: Shirts, dresses, sleepwear
See also:
Broadcloth, wool type
Poplin
Faille
A plain weave fabric with pronounced, fairly flat crosswise ribs and a silky, somewhat lustrous surface, faille is the name given to such fabric in a range of weights. The weave is constructed with heavier (or grouped) weft yarns and finer and more numerous warp yarns. The warp fibers are usually filament (silk, manufactured fibers) while the weft is usually cotton or cotton blends, sometimes wool or silk. Faille may be used for moiré.
Taffeta’s ribs are even finer, while bengaline’s are heavier than faille’s.
Uses: Evening dresses, skirts, under skirts, spring coats, suits
Grosgrain
Best known in ribbon width, grosgrain may also be fabric. It shares with other horizontally-ribbed fabrics a plain weave with heavier weft yarns and finer and more plentiful warp yarns. As compared to faille, the ribs are rounder. The warp is characteristically silk or rayon with the weft being cotton, sometimes silk.
The name comes from the French gros (coarse or large) and grain (grain or texture).
Uses: Ribbon for trim, hatbands; fabric for dresses, skirts, spring coats
Moiré
Looking like a woodgrain pattern, or a watermark in paper, moiré is a French word meaning “watered.” It can be achieved in a variety of ways, including engraved rollers, weaving, and printing. Most characteristically, moiré uses a horizontally ribbed fabric—most often taffeta or faille—and the design is pressed into the fabric and chemically set for durability. Without this setting treatment, moisture can destroy the pattern.
The present meaning of moiré was first used in the 18th century when it was achieved by folding a horizontally ribbed fabric lengthwise and pressing. The ribs that didn’t align were flattened, resulting in the characteristic pattern on both sides of the fold. This is now called moiré antique.
Moiré is a pattern, not a fabric, but in its most characteristic form it is achieved on silk, acetate, rayon, nylon or polyester taffeta or faille. It is sometimes called watered silk.
Uses: Dresses, trims, household decorations
Ottoman
In the family of silky-faced, horizontally ribbed fabrics, ottoman has the largest ribs, larger and rounder than those of faille and bengaline. The plain weave fabric involves thicker and/or grouped weft yarns with more numerous and finer warp yarns that totally cover the weft. Ottoman can be made of silk, wool or manufactured fibers, with the filling (weft) often of cotton.
The name comes from a luxurious silk fabric woven in Turkey beginning during the Ottoman Empire.
Uses: Coats, dresses, suits, upholstery
Poplin
Originally made with silk warp and wool weft, poplin is now a cotton or cotton blend fabric with fine horizontal ribs. The fabric is plain weave, and the ribs are formed by thicker (or grouped) weft yarns.
In the U.S. and Canada, poplin is considered a heavier weight fabric than broadcloth, while in the U.K., this distinction is not made. In fact, British poplin is another name for broadcloth.
First made in Avignon (which was the Papal seat from 1309-1378), papeline or poplin—in its silk and wool form—was used to make church vestments.
Uses: Shirts, dresses, raincoats, sportswear
See also:
Broadcloth, cotton type
Rep
With a name derived from the Latin for “rib,” rep (also spelled repp) is in the family of silky faced, horizontally ribbed fabrics. The ribs are closely spaced and rounded. Silk or another filament yarn used for the warp is usual, but rep may also be cotton, wool or linen.
Uses: Neckties and accessories for filament fiber rep; upholstery for cotton, wool or linen rep
Taffeta
A crisp, tightly-woven plain weave fabric usually with very fine horizontal ribs, taffeta is made of filament yarns (silk, acetate or rayon), sometimes with staple yarn filling. It is often lustrous.
When woven of two different colored yarns, shot taffeta is created, also called changeable or iridescent. When the iridescent taffeta is silk, it can be called shot silk. Woven of three colors (two in the weft, one in the warp), it is called chameleon taffeta.
Taffeta is often the fabric used for moiré, and it can be processed to create ciré.
Taffeta makes a characteristic rustling sound when moved. The sound is called scroop (a late 18th-century word blending scrape and whoop) in the case of silk taffeta. The scroop sound results from an acid finishing treatment.
The name comes from the Persian taftah, a 16th-century fine silk fabric.
{…}Weft piqué
Weft piqué features a horizontally corded texture on its face, and a distinctly different reverse side. It is woven on a dobby loom and is made of cotton or cotton blends. Piqué is a French word meaning “quilted”; piqué fabrics have the appearance of being subtly padded.
Uses: Dresses, blouses, sportswear, children’s clothing
See also:
Piqué
Warp piqué
