Printed pattern fabrics

Although we now associate bandanna with a handkerchief of red or navy with a black and white pattern, a much older resist-dyed fabric from India is the progenitor of the mass-produced modern version. The name comes from the Hindi word bandhana meaning “to tie”—as in the preparation for dying the fabric. Tying small areas of a cotton cloth and then dying the fabric creates a tie-dye pattern of white spots in a darker ground.

Bandanna discharge prints are also mentioned in some sources.

Uses: Handkerchiefs, scarves (Note that bandanna is both a fabric type and the scarf to which it gives its name.)

See also:
Tie-dye
Discharge print

An ancient form of resist printing from Indonesia in which wax is used in patterns where dye is not desired. The wax resist is then removed and the process may continue, creating rich multicolored patterns—most often in blues, browns and oranges. Characteristic of batik are tiny lines where the wax has cracked and the dye has seeped into the resist pattern. This is not considered a flaw, rather part of the fabric’s distinct beauty. Originally almost always made of cotton, batiks today are usually cotton can be made of silk or blends.

Imitation batik is machine printed to resemble true batik.

Uses: Apparel, household decor

See also:
Tie-dye

Burn-out (burned-out, burnt-out) fabric is woven of more than one fiber type, then printed with a chemical that will destroy the surface fiber, leaving the ground intact. The result is a fabric patterned with a distinct surface and ground. The ground is usually sheer.

Velvet is probably the most common type of burn-out fabric. Dévoré (literally “devoured”) velvet is synonymous.

Uses: Evening wear, bridal, scarves

See also:
Burn-out velvet
Dévoré velvet
Façonné velvet
Velvet

Calico is a cotton or cotton blend fabric with a long history and distinct meanings in the U.S. and U.K. The fabric was first made of cotton in Calicut (Kozhikode), India, and there it was block printed with intricate designs. In the U.S. the fabric evolved into a relatively inexpensive fabric with small machine-printed patterns, usually flowers.

In the U.K., calico is a plain weave cotton cloth, white or unbleached.

Uses: The printed calico used for dresses and quilts

A ditsy print is a very small scale all-over pattern with a random look, not linear or geometric. Flowers are often depicted, but are not exclusively used.

American textile manufacturers, particularly from the 1920s through 40s, mass-produced cotton ditsies, dumb-dumbs and bread-and-butters. These were popular and inexpensive, and the names refer to their innocuousness, as well as their saleability.

Traditionally made of a fine plain weave cotton—now sometimes a blend with manufactured fiber—dotted swiss always is covered in small dots placed at regular intervals. These can be woven in, flocked or printed. Colors may be introduced, although the most common is all white. The original and finest was first made in Switzerland on a swivel loom. Other woven varieties are clip-spot (spot-dot, clip-dot or American dotted swiss) and lappet woven.

Flocked dots are made by applying tiny fibers with glue. Neither the flocked nor the printed versions of dotted swiss are as durable as the woven varieties, although they are less expensive to produce.

Uses: Blouses, dresses, wedding gowns and curtains

See also:
Flocked fabric

Flock is the name given to very short fibers, either from fabric-making waste or created from rags. A flocked fabric is one on which flocking has been applied with an adhesive, either all over or in a pattern. A common flocked print is dotted swiss. Any fabric weight can be used.

Flocked fabrics have improved, but the all-over flocked (velvet-like) fabrics can be fairly stiff. Flocking also has the tendency to wear off.

Uses: Dresses, household decoration, aprons

See also:
Dotted swiss

A 2/2 twill weave fabric originally from India, it is presently made of silk—as it was originally—as well as rayon and other fibers. Foulard features a plain ground and one of a variety of simple, small geometric prints. These are recognizable as characteristic prints for a necktie. Foulard is the French word for scarf.

Uses: Neckties, scarves

See also:
Surah

Tie-dye is a method of resist dyeing involving tightly tying areas of fabric that are not to be dyed. When the ties are removed, a pattern emerges. The resist areas can be tiny or large, and the patterns usually have irregular edges where the dye bleeds into the pattern. This hand dyeing method is traditional in Indonesia and India, but since the 1960s, it has become very popular around the world. It is most often applied to cotton, but silk or other fibers may be used.

Imitation tie-dye is machine-printed to resemble true tie-dye.

Uses: Clothing, household, accessories

See also:
Batik

Toile de Jouy is a fabric print style in imitation of mid- to late- 18th century prints made by Christophe Philippe Oberkampf, a German, in the town of Jouy, near Paris. Toile is a French word for cloth; the fabric features late 18th century bucolic scenes, usually with people, trees and flowers.

Typically the print is in fairly large scale, using one dark shade on white or off-white. It is printed on plain weave cotton or cotton blends of a substantial weight, although the style of print can be found on silk, linen or manufactured fibers.

Uses: Household decorating, not so commonly for accessories and apparel