The Art of the Lingère - Chapter II: Fabrics of Linen, Hemp, Cotton, and Lace
Linge in general being the main product of all nations, its manufacture is multiplied in proportion to need and luxury. The following is a list of linen and other fabrics which are used in France, their width, and the countries and provinces where they are made.
Frise (Frisian), or hollande (holland), is white linen: usually three-quarters of an ell and two fingers wide.
Hollandilles are made in Silesia; they are white linen and three-quarters of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Ghent and Courtray, which are also called holland, are fine white linen, three-quarters of an ell wide.
Flemish rolletes are made in Ghent, Bruges, Courtray, and Ypres; they are linen and three-quarters of an ell wide.
Demi-hollande (half-holland) trussettes from Beauvais are five-eighths or seven-twelfths of an ell wide and are linen.
The fabrics of Ortie de Saint-Quentin are unbleached linen and are two-thirds of an ell wide.
Half-hollands of Beauvais, Compeigne, and Bulles are white and fine linen, and are three-quarters of an ell wide.
Cambraisines or cambrai (cambric) of Péronne are white, fine, and clear linen, and are two-thirds of an ell wide.
Batistes are very white and fine linen; the strongest are called hollandées. They are all two-thirds of an ell wide.
Linons are white, very fine, and clear linen. There are plain, striped, and spotted ones: the plain is from two-thirds to three-quarters of an ell wide, and the striped and spotted are three-quarters of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Beaufort are hemp. There are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all an ell wide.
The fabrics of Cholet are unbleached linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all two-thirds of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Chateau-Gontier are unbleached linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all half an ell wide, or two-thirds or three-quarters.
The fabrics of Clisson are white linen, and are seven-eighths or five-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Quintin are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all three-quarters or five-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Pontivy are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They are a half-ell or two-thirds or three-quarters wide, all in the Bretagne measure, where the ell is a sixth longer than in Paris.
The fabrics of Morlaix and its environs are white linen: there are four main sorts, which are called crés.
Wide, fine crés: two-thirds of an ell wide.
Common crés: a half-ell wide.
Fine rosconne crés: a half-ell wide.
Coarse, scratchy crés: a half-ell wide.
Other white fabrics of Morlaix; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones: they are a half-ell wide, or two-thirds, or three-quarters, or an ell, or five-quarters.
The fabrics of Alençon are hemp; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. Those called boulvardées are half-bleached: they are five-eighths of an ell wide, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or an ell, or five-quarters, or an ell and a third, or one and a half ells.
Those called "yellows" are unbleached: they are an ell wide, or nine-eighths, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or two-thirds, or five-sixths. Those called "washed-out and unbleached" are seven-eighths wide, or five-eighths.
The fabrics of Louviers called guibert are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, and are three-quarters or two-thirds of an ell wide.
The toiles de coffre (coffer-fabrics) from Louviers and Evreux are fine white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The Brionnes-Bernay fabrics are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, and they are seven-eighths of an ell wide, or two-thirds.
The fabrics of Lisieux called cretonnes are white linen, with a warp of this country's linen and a weft of Flanders linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They range from two-thirds, three-quarters, seven-eighths, an ell, nine-eighths, five-quarters, an ell and a half, to two ells wide.
The fabrics called royales are made in Laval, and bleached in Beauvais, Troyes, and Senlis. They are three-quarters of an ell wide unbleached, and a little less when they are bleached.
With regard to the cretonnes spun in Vimoutier, the warp and weft are of Flanders flax. There are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones; they are two-thirds of an ell wide, or seven-eighths, or five-quarters, or one and a half ells.
Blancards, from around Lisieux, Bernay, etc. are white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Saint-Georges are coarse white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The boulvardée fabrics of Tillers are half-bleached hemp, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Mamers are unbleached hemp; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They are five-eighths of an ell wide, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or an ell.
The fabrics of Laigle are half-bleached hemp and are sometimes called boulvardées; these are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
Polizeaux are seven-twelfths of an ell wide, or two-thirds, or five-sixths, or three-quarters.
The fabrics of Mortagne are unbleached hemp, and are three-quarters of an ell wide, or seven-eighths, or an ell.
The fabrics of Laval are unbleached linen, and are three-quarters of an ell wide. They are bleached at Troyes in Champagne and are then called troyes; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones.
Fabrics of Regni are hemp, and are a half-ell wide.
Fabrics of Saint-Jean are hemp; they are five-eighths wide, or three-quarters, of seven-eighths.
The yellow aussons are of the same widths.
Fabrics of Tarare and rouleaux of Beaujeu are seven-twelfths wide.
Napkin fabric is sold in pieces, in which each napkin is marked with two blue pillars, that is, two stripes of blue thread in a thick line, woven into the fabric. The napkins are cut between the two stripes nearest to each other, with about an eighth of an ell between the stripe and the end of each piece.
The Caen napkins are each three-quarters of an ell wide and an ell long. They are half-bleached linen.
The Alençon napkins are each three-quarters of an ell wide and an ell long, or nine-sixteenths wide and seven-eighths long. They are half-bleached linen.
The Mamers napkins are each seven-twelfths of an ell wide and three-quarters long. They are unbleached.
The Mortagne and Belesme napkins are each two-thirds of an ell wide and three-quarters to seven-eighths long, or seven-sixteenths wide and three-quarters long.
From Alençon and Mortagne, they are seven-twelfths of an ell wide.
From Vimoutier, they are eleven-twelfths of an ell wide.
From Perche, where they are called Perche canvas, they are five-sixths of an ell wide.
From Montbelliart, they are a quarter or two-thirds of an ell wide.
From Flanders, they are three-quarters or an ell wide.
From Rouen, following the Ruling of 1701, they are two-thirds or three-quarters of an ell wide.
Treillis (trellises) are coarse, unbleached hemp fabrics, made in Normandy, Perche, Maine, Forez, and Bourbonnois. Their most ordinary widths are three quarters or two and a half thirds.
Worked linens are linen or hemp; they are used only for table linen, blankets, and napkins. They are made most in French and Spanish Flanders, Picardy, lower Normandy, and Beaujolais.
Foutaine (Fustian) is woven entirely of cotton thread; it is made wide, narrow, fine, medium, barley-seed coarse, and with or without nap.
The greatest quantity is made at Troyes; it is also made at Vimoutiers, Beaujolais, and Saint-Syphorien, in Lyon.
The wide fustian with nap is a half-ell and a thirty-second wide.
The narrow fustian with nap is five-twelfths of an ell wide.
The "barley-seed" fustian is two-thirds of an ell wide.
Basin (basin) must be entirely of cotton thread. It is made in France and also comes from foreign countries. It can be made wide, narrow, fine, medium, coarse, plain with nap on one side, without nap, in little and big stripes, or in imperceptible stripes. The best in France is made in Troyes in Champagne.
The wide is a half-ell and an inch wide.
The plain or small-striped narrow basin, when it has twenty-five bars, is a half-ell wide. When it has thirty six bars of three stripes each, it is a half-ell minus an inch wide.
It is also made in other places: some of these are a half-ell and an inch wide, others are a half-ell and a twentieth.
Foreign basins come to us from Holland, Bruges, and the East Indies. Striped ones from Holland are five-eighths wide; plain and napped ones from Bruges are five-twelfths wide; striped or barred are nearly an inch less. Those of the East Indies are made in Pondicherry, Bengal, and Bellafor, and are three, four, five, six-quarters wide.
All mousselines (muslins) come to us from the East Indies, mostly from Pondicherry, Bengal, and Surat.
Slightly coarse betille, five-quarters wide.
Very fine organdy betille, three-quarters or five-sixths wide.
Very clear tarlatan betille, seven-eighths wide.
Very clear tarlatan chavonis, three-quarters wide.
Clear and very fine mallemole, fifteen-sixteenths wide.
Tarlatan mallemole, the same.
Fine and striped mamotbani, three-quarters to five-sixths wide.
Clear and fine hamedis, the same.
Very clear and very fine doublesais, three-quarters wide.
Very fine casse, seven-eighths wide.
Fine and clear abrohani, five-eighths wide.
Very clear and very fine chabnan or rosée: two-thirds or three-quarters wide.
Doreas: there is coarse and fine, striped and checked. It is seven-eighths wide.
Double tangebs, a little clear: some are seven-eighths wide; the embroidered ones are three-quarters.
Fine terindanne, three-quarters or seven-eighths wide.
Fine toques, seven-sixteenths or a half-ell wide.
Garas, fabric of coarse cotton, seven-eighths wide.
Coarse bastas, three-quarters wide.
Fine, medium, coarse haquenaux, from nine-eighths to five-quarters wide.
Guinée, cotton fabric, seven-eighths or five-sixths wide.
Very fine daka, striped and checked, fifteen sixteenths wide.
Fine, medium, coarse, plain, striped, checked manzouque, from eleven twelfths to fifteen sixteenths wide.
Plain and striped jacquenotte, three-quarters to five-sixths wide.
Enlarged jacquenotte cachiora, striped, the same.
Gondetour, plain basin, bird's-eye twill, two-thirds, three-quarters, or seven-eighths wide; the three-quarters is the most perfect.
Percales & Sorcroton, cotton fabrics meant for men's shirts, three-quarters wide.
Dentelles (bobbin laces) are made with bobbins, and point laces are worked with the needle. Bobbin laces or braids are made of gold, silver, or silk, and both are made of white linen thread. Lingères only sell the latter.
FABRICS.
Holland
Frise (Frisian), or hollande (holland), is white linen: usually three-quarters of an ell and two fingers wide.
Silesia
Hollandilles are made in Silesia; they are white linen and three-quarters of an ell wide.
Flanders
The fabrics of Ghent and Courtray, which are also called holland, are fine white linen, three-quarters of an ell wide.
Flemish rolletes are made in Ghent, Bruges, Courtray, and Ypres; they are linen and three-quarters of an ell wide.
Picardy
Demi-hollande (half-holland) trussettes from Beauvais are five-eighths or seven-twelfths of an ell wide and are linen.
The fabrics of Ortie de Saint-Quentin are unbleached linen and are two-thirds of an ell wide.
Half-hollands of Beauvais, Compeigne, and Bulles are white and fine linen, and are three-quarters of an ell wide.
Cambraisines or cambrai (cambric) of Péronne are white, fine, and clear linen, and are two-thirds of an ell wide.
Hainault, Artois, and Cambresis
Batistes are very white and fine linen; the strongest are called hollandées. They are all two-thirds of an ell wide.
Linons are white, very fine, and clear linen. There are plain, striped, and spotted ones: the plain is from two-thirds to three-quarters of an ell wide, and the striped and spotted are three-quarters of an ell wide.
Anjou
The fabrics of Beaufort are hemp. There are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all an ell wide.
The fabrics of Cholet are unbleached linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all two-thirds of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Chateau-Gontier are unbleached linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all half an ell wide, or two-thirds or three-quarters.
Brittany
The fabrics of Clisson are white linen, and are seven-eighths or five-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Quintin are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, all three-quarters or five-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Pontivy are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They are a half-ell or two-thirds or three-quarters wide, all in the Bretagne measure, where the ell is a sixth longer than in Paris.
The fabrics of Morlaix and its environs are white linen: there are four main sorts, which are called crés.
Wide, fine crés: two-thirds of an ell wide.
Common crés: a half-ell wide.
Fine rosconne crés: a half-ell wide.
Coarse, scratchy crés: a half-ell wide.
Other white fabrics of Morlaix; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones: they are a half-ell wide, or two-thirds, or three-quarters, or an ell, or five-quarters.
Normandy
The fabrics of Alençon are hemp; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. Those called boulvardées are half-bleached: they are five-eighths of an ell wide, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or an ell, or five-quarters, or an ell and a third, or one and a half ells.
Those called "yellows" are unbleached: they are an ell wide, or nine-eighths, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or two-thirds, or five-sixths. Those called "washed-out and unbleached" are seven-eighths wide, or five-eighths.
The fabrics of Louviers called guibert are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, and are three-quarters or two-thirds of an ell wide.
The toiles de coffre (coffer-fabrics) from Louviers and Evreux are fine white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The Brionnes-Bernay fabrics are white linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones, and they are seven-eighths of an ell wide, or two-thirds.
The fabrics of Lisieux called cretonnes are white linen, with a warp of this country's linen and a weft of Flanders linen; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They range from two-thirds, three-quarters, seven-eighths, an ell, nine-eighths, five-quarters, an ell and a half, to two ells wide.
The fabrics called royales are made in Laval, and bleached in Beauvais, Troyes, and Senlis. They are three-quarters of an ell wide unbleached, and a little less when they are bleached.
With regard to the cretonnes spun in Vimoutier, the warp and weft are of Flanders flax. There are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones; they are two-thirds of an ell wide, or seven-eighths, or five-quarters, or one and a half ells.
Blancards, from around Lisieux, Bernay, etc. are white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Saint-Georges are coarse white linen, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The boulvardée fabrics of Tillers are half-bleached hemp, and are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
The fabrics of Mamers are unbleached hemp; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones. They are five-eighths of an ell wide, or three-quarters, or seven-eighths, or an ell.
The fabrics of Laigle are half-bleached hemp and are sometimes called boulvardées; these are seven-eighths of an ell wide.
Polizeaux are seven-twelfths of an ell wide, or two-thirds, or five-sixths, or three-quarters.
Perche
The fabrics of Mortagne are unbleached hemp, and are three-quarters of an ell wide, or seven-eighths, or an ell.
Maine
The fabrics of Laval are unbleached linen, and are three-quarters of an ell wide. They are bleached at Troyes in Champagne and are then called troyes; there are fine ones, medium ones, and coarse ones.
Champagne
Fabrics of Regni are hemp, and are a half-ell wide.
Fabrics of Saint-Jean are hemp; they are five-eighths wide, or three-quarters, of seven-eighths.
The yellow aussons are of the same widths.
Fabrics of Tarare and rouleaux of Beaujeu are seven-twelfths wide.
Napkin Fabrics
Napkin fabric is sold in pieces, in which each napkin is marked with two blue pillars, that is, two stripes of blue thread in a thick line, woven into the fabric. The napkins are cut between the two stripes nearest to each other, with about an eighth of an ell between the stripe and the end of each piece.
The Caen napkins are each three-quarters of an ell wide and an ell long. They are half-bleached linen.
The Alençon napkins are each three-quarters of an ell wide and an ell long, or nine-sixteenths wide and seven-eighths long. They are half-bleached linen.
The Mamers napkins are each seven-twelfths of an ell wide and three-quarters long. They are unbleached.
The Mortagne and Belesme napkins are each two-thirds of an ell wide and three-quarters to seven-eighths long, or seven-sixteenths wide and three-quarters long.
Torchons Fabric, or Canvas
From Alençon and Mortagne, they are seven-twelfths of an ell wide.
From Vimoutier, they are eleven-twelfths of an ell wide.
From Perche, where they are called Perche canvas, they are five-sixths of an ell wide.
Mattress Fabric
From Flanders, they are three-quarters or an ell wide.
From Rouen, following the Ruling of 1701, they are two-thirds or three-quarters of an ell wide.
Trellis
Treillis (trellises) are coarse, unbleached hemp fabrics, made in Normandy, Perche, Maine, Forez, and Bourbonnois. Their most ordinary widths are three quarters or two and a half thirds.
Worked Linen
COTTON FABRICS.
Fustian
Foutaine (Fustian) is woven entirely of cotton thread; it is made wide, narrow, fine, medium, barley-seed coarse, and with or without nap.
The greatest quantity is made at Troyes; it is also made at Vimoutiers, Beaujolais, and Saint-Syphorien, in Lyon.
The wide fustian with nap is a half-ell and a thirty-second wide.
The narrow fustian with nap is five-twelfths of an ell wide.
The "barley-seed" fustian is two-thirds of an ell wide.
Basin
Basin (basin) must be entirely of cotton thread. It is made in France and also comes from foreign countries. It can be made wide, narrow, fine, medium, coarse, plain with nap on one side, without nap, in little and big stripes, or in imperceptible stripes. The best in France is made in Troyes in Champagne.
The wide is a half-ell and an inch wide.
The plain or small-striped narrow basin, when it has twenty-five bars, is a half-ell wide. When it has thirty six bars of three stripes each, it is a half-ell minus an inch wide.
It is also made in other places: some of these are a half-ell and an inch wide, others are a half-ell and a twentieth.
Foreign basins come to us from Holland, Bruges, and the East Indies. Striped ones from Holland are five-eighths wide; plain and napped ones from Bruges are five-twelfths wide; striped or barred are nearly an inch less. Those of the East Indies are made in Pondicherry, Bengal, and Bellafor, and are three, four, five, six-quarters wide.
Muslin
All mousselines (muslins) come to us from the East Indies, mostly from Pondicherry, Bengal, and Surat.
Slightly coarse betille, five-quarters wide.
Very fine organdy betille, three-quarters or five-sixths wide.
Very clear tarlatan betille, seven-eighths wide.
Very clear tarlatan chavonis, three-quarters wide.
Clear and very fine mallemole, fifteen-sixteenths wide.
Tarlatan mallemole, the same.
Fine and striped mamotbani, three-quarters to five-sixths wide.
Clear and fine hamedis, the same.
Very clear and very fine doublesais, three-quarters wide.
Very fine casse, seven-eighths wide.
Fine and clear abrohani, five-eighths wide.
Very clear and very fine chabnan or rosée: two-thirds or three-quarters wide.
Doreas: there is coarse and fine, striped and checked. It is seven-eighths wide.
Double tangebs, a little clear: some are seven-eighths wide; the embroidered ones are three-quarters.
Fine terindanne, three-quarters or seven-eighths wide.
Fine toques, seven-sixteenths or a half-ell wide.
Garas, fabric of coarse cotton, seven-eighths wide.
Coarse bastas, three-quarters wide.
Fine, medium, coarse haquenaux, from nine-eighths to five-quarters wide.
Guinée, cotton fabric, seven-eighths or five-sixths wide.
Very fine daka, striped and checked, fifteen sixteenths wide.
Fine, medium, coarse, plain, striped, checked manzouque, from eleven twelfths to fifteen sixteenths wide.
Plain and striped jacquenotte, three-quarters to five-sixths wide.
Enlarged jacquenotte cachiora, striped, the same.
Gondetour, plain basin, bird's-eye twill, two-thirds, three-quarters, or seven-eighths wide; the three-quarters is the most perfect.
Percales & Sorcroton, cotton fabrics meant for men's shirts, three-quarters wide.
Bobbin & Point Laces
The usual width of linen bobbin lace is from four-twelfths of an inch to four inches, and the pieces are from three and a half ells to eight ells in length. It is also made for toilettes from a quarter of an ell in width to two-thirds.
The most beautiful bobbin laces are made in Spanish Flanders, Anvers, Bruxelles, Malines, etc.; then those of French Flanders, Valenciennes, l'Isle, etc.; then those of Normandy, Dieppe, le Havre, and Honfleur. They are made in many other places, but those are inferior and common. Among the point laces, those of England, and in France those of Alençon, pass for the most perfect.
The most beautiful bobbin laces are made in Spanish Flanders, Anvers, Bruxelles, Malines, etc.; then those of French Flanders, Valenciennes, l'Isle, etc.; then those of Normandy, Dieppe, le Havre, and Honfleur. They are made in many other places, but those are inferior and common. Among the point laces, those of England, and in France those of Alençon, pass for the most perfect.
Next: On Measuring
Holy cow the amount of info here! I had never really considered fabric to be regional, aside from obvious things like harris tweed or madras. But apparently every little region is France had its own styles of linen! Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting that linen from different regions was being used for warp/weft in the same fabric. I wonder why?
ReplyDelete