Pattern- or pucker-textured fabrics

See Crepon

A fabric with a crepe-like texture, woven barkcloth is actually a granite or momie weave textile, as compared to non-woven traditional barkcloth. The term barkcloth as applied to this type of fabric appears to date from the 1920s, and it is most associated with interior decorating in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The fiber is cotton and the weight substantial. The texture is characteristic of the fabric—as are the decorative, bold patterns and colors—which truly evoke Mid-century home decor.

Uses: Interior decorating, decorative items

See also:
Barkcloth, nonwoven

French for “blistered,” cloqué is sometimes anglicized in spelling to clokay. It is made the same way matelassé is made, but has a smaller puckered pattern.

Uses: Eveningwear

See also:
Matelassé

A crepe-textured lightweight cotton fabric, with the crepe texture achieved either through the use of crepe twist yarns or the treatment of the fabric with caustic soda. The caustic soda causes yarns to shrink, puckering the fabric. The result can be a crepe texture, a crinkled texture, or an even pattern such as dots or stripes. When caustic soda is applied in stripes, the result is plissé.

See also:
Crepe
Plissé
Caustic soda crepe
Cotton georgette
Crinkled gauze

A British term for a crepe-textured cotton fabric made of long staple cotton, the crepe texture achieved by the use of Z- and S-twist yarns, similar to silk georgette.

Uses: Blouses, dresses, skirts

See also:
Georgette
Crinkled gauze
Cotton crepe

Crepe is a texture, which is probably best described as grainy, puckered or crinkled. The texture can be achieved by the type of fiber (especially hard or crepe twist yarns, textured yarns), chemical treatment, textured weave, or embossing. It may be made of any fiber and may be woven or knit. The name comes from the French word for crimped, crêpe.

A wide range of fabrics are crepes.

See also:
Chiffon
Cloqué
Crepe de chine
Crepe-back satin
Crepon
Georgette
Matelassé

Crepon and its close cousin bark crepe are characterized by lengthwise wrinkles. Bark crepe resembles the bark of a tree and is usually cotton, linen or rayon. Crepon, too, has a sturdy, vertically-rippled textured and may be silk, manufactured fiber, wool or cotton. The fabrics are compound fabrics, woven on dobby or jacquard looms.

Uses: Dresses, blouses, suits, interior decorating

See also:
Matelasse

Gauze that has been given a wrinkled texture in the finishing process, usually mechanically, but also by the shrinking of high twist yarns. Similarly crinkled cotton fabric can also be seen in a heavier muslin sheeting weight, called crinkled muslin in the U.S.

Uses: Loose-fitting, unstructured garments, most often blouses and dresses

See also:
Gauze
Crepon
Muslin

Embossing is a process by which any type of fabric (or leather) is pressed by a stamp or engraved rollers, leaving a pattern. Heat is usually involved and often the fabric has a property to help hold the pattern; cotton, for instance, is usually resin-coated. A great range of fabrics may be embossed, and the pattern of the emboss may be crepe-like, jacquard-like or one of many other designs.

With a name meaning “padded” in French, matelassé has a distinctly blistered, wadded or quilted look with raised areas of fabric. The texture is achieved in weaving, which is done on either a jacquard or dobby loom. The crepe-twist yarns used shrink in the wet finishing process, causing other yarns to puff out from the surface.

Matelassé may be silk, manufactured fiber, wool or cotton (the latter two mainly for upholstery and other household uses).

A cheaper matelassé-look fabric is made by shrinking the backing of a layered fabric—puckering the surface which is attached to the backing at regular intervals. Embossed fabrics can also achieve similar looks.

Uses: Dresses, eveningwear, outerwear, also home decorating

See also:
Cloqué
Crepon
Embossed fabric

Cotton fabric with a puckered stripe texture caused by a chemical treatment (with sodium hydroxide) is called plissé. The chemical is applied in stripes which causes the fabric in those areas to shrink, leaving the remaining area puckered. The puckered stripes usually follow the warp of the fabric. The appearance is much like seersucker.

The term plissé (French for “pleated”) is often applied to chemically-puckered manufactured fabrics as well.

Uses: Summery shirts, sportswear, children’s clothing, nightgowns

See also:
Seersucker
Cotton crepe

Recognized by its crinkled vertical stripes alternating with smooth stripes, seersucker is created by weaving slack yarns in the warp alternating with yarns of normal tension. The stripes may be of varying and various proportions, all one color or two or more colors.

Originally cotton, seersucker is still made of cotton or cotton blends, sometimes manufactured fibers. Since it doesn’t usually need ironing, it has always been popular for summer wear. The name is derived from the Persian for milk and sugar— shir o shakar —presumably due to the smooth and lumped up pairing.

Uses: Dresses, blouses, suits, nightwear

See also:
Plissé