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Assuit is a netting fabric embroidered with metal. The embroidery is done by threading wide needles with flat strips of metal about 1/8” wide. The metal may be nickel silver, copper or brass, and it is threaded through the holes in the net, folded over, cut and flattened, making little packets of metal. When finished, the metal packets are further flattened by rolling and/or hammering over the fabric. The netting is made of cotton or linen. The fabric is also called tulle-bi-telli, an Arabic term meaning “net with metal.”

The patterns formed by this metal embroidery include geometric figures as well as plants, birds, people and camels.

Assuit has been made in the Asyut region (where it gets its name) of Upper Egypt since the late 19th century, although the concept of metal embroidery dates back to ancient Egypt, as well as other areas of the Middle East, Asia, India and Europe. A very sheer fabric is shown in Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and the metallic embroidery is referenced in Exodus 39: “and they did beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the very fine linen, with cunning work.”

With the invention of the bobbinet machine, the netting fabric could be machine made, and during the French Protectorate this machine was introduced to the Asyut region (a textile center) by the French. The fabric was first imported to the U.S. for the 1893 Chicago Exposition, and again became popular with the fascination surrounding the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922. The geometric motifs were well suited to the Art Deco style of the time. Assuit is generally black, white or ecru. It is found most often in the form of a shawl, but also seen in small squares, large pieces used as bed canopies and even traditional Egyptian dresses. Assuit shawls were made into garments by purchasers, particularly during the 1920s.

The fabric’s name is seen in many alternate spellings including asyut, assyut, asyute, asuit, assuite and azute.

A jersey knit named for the town in Ireland where it was first made, balbriggan may be cotton, wool or a blend. It often has a soft, napped reverse. Balbriggan—or just bal—is also the name given to underwear made of it.

Uses: Underwear, including long underwear

See also:
Jersey

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

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

See Crepon

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

Named for Jean Baptiste, a French weaver of the 13th century who wove fine linen cloth, batiste is now most commonly made of cotton or a cotton/polyester blend, The fabric is light and sheer, with lengthwise streaks. It is a balanced plain weave. When cotton is used, the soft, limp fabric is often mercerized to bolster its luster and strength. The fabric is often white, pale solids or delicate prints.

There are also wool, silk and rayon batistes.

Uses: Blouses, shirts, nightwear, infant clothing, lingerie, handkerchiefs and dresses

See also:
Cambric
Lawn

One of the piqué fabrics, made in cotton or cotton blends and with a small, distinct raised pattern on its face. Birdseye piqué’s pattern is a tiny diamond shape, reminiscent of a bird’s eye. A similar but somewhat larger oval pattern is called bullseye piqué.

Also written bird’s-eye piqué, bird’s eye piqué.

Uses: Dresses, blouses, sportswear, children’s clothing

See also:
Piqué

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

An elaborately-patterned fabric woven on a jacquard loom since the early 19th century, brocade uses color, texture or both to emphasize its figures. The figures and ground may be of contrasting weaves such as satin on plain weave. Brocade is not considered reversible; the reverse is often distinguished by long floating threads.

Brocade was originally made in Asia, of silk with gold or silver threads, and it may still be silk or a manufactured filament fiber with metallic threads. The original looming was done manually.

Uses: Evening wear, accessories, household items

See also:
Brocatelle
Damask

Broché is a French term for brocade, or figured, and broché coutil is coutil with a jacquard pattern in its closely woven herringbone twill.

Uses: Corsets

See also:
Coutil

See Birdseye piqué

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

Velvet woven of two fibers, printed with a chemical that destroys one of the fibers, leaving a pile/ground pattern. Dévoré velvet is synonymous.

See also:
Burn-out fabric
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 soft, plain weave fabric originally made from linen, now usually of cotton. It is named for the French city of Cambrai—a linen center since medieval times. The fabric is calendered to give it a glossy finish. On its finer side, cambric is much like lawn or batiste, while in its heavier weight (called “lining cambric”), it can be similar to fine muslin.

Uses: Handkerchiefs, shirts, aprons, dresses, lingerie. Lining cambric is used for linings. Linen cambric is used for collars and cuffs, and tablecloths.

See also:
Batiste
Lawn

The name challis comes from the Anglo-Indian word “shalee,” meaning soft. Challis is indeed a very soft fabric, particularly fine in wool. It may be made of wool, rayon, cotton or manufactured fiber blends, and was originally made (1832) in Norwich, England, of silk and worsted. Characteristically in a light and open plain weave, although twill challis may be found. Challis is one of the few printed wools with the most common prints being floral or paisley on a dark ground. Also spelled challi, challie, challys, shallie.

Uses: Dresses, skirts, robes, pajamas, scarves and shawls

See also:
Étamine

Chambray gets its name from Cambrai, a linen weaving town in Northern France where the fabric was first made. Originally linen, chambray is now usually cotton or a cotton blend. It is characterized by dyed warp yarns and undyed (white) weft yarns. It is a plain weave fabric and can be found in light to moderately heavy weights. The variations include stripes and checks as well as dobby-woven patterns.

Uses: Shirts, children’s clothing, dresses, skirts aprons; heavier for workwear, sportswear, household items

A soft, lightweight, flowing silk fabric, charmeuse is now also made of manufactured fiber. With its semi-lustrous satin face and dull back, it compares to crepe-back satin, except it is lighter, less glossy and is used only with the satin side out. The name is French for “charming woman.”

Uses: Blouses, evening gowns, dresses, lounge wear, lingerie and high-quality linings

See also:
Crepe-back satin

In the U.S., cheesecloth is the name of sheer, soft, loosely-woven bleached gauze fabric used for non-clothing purposes such as bandaging, dust cloths, and pressing cheese, butter and meat.

In the U.K., cheesecloth is a light shirting weight soft cotton which is most often bleached but can be dyed, and is characterized by a crinkled texture.

See also:
Gauze
Muslin
Cotton crepe
Cotton georgette