Delaine (cloth)

Delaine (de laine, Muslin de Laine, Mousseline de Laine) was a kind of mixed cloth with cotton warp and wool in the weft. Delaines have many variations such as made of undyed yarns, and also printed or piece dyed. Delaine was a type of cloth used to manufacture women's dresses that was traded in the nineteenth century under many names to suit importers and traders. Moreover, it appeared that the plaintiffs'^{[clarification needed]} goods differed from delaines in various other respects.^[1][2]

Etymology

Delaine (de laine), Muslin de Laine, and Mousseline de Laine are all French words for wool cloth. This fabric [de laine] is also called "chaine cotton" in French, which means "cotton warp," and sometimes mi-laine, which translates "half wool."^[1]

Fabric structure

Delaines were woven using cotton warp and worsted filling. It was a kind of plain thin fabric.^[3]

Delaine wool

Delaine wool grades were specified for Delain cloth; they were strong and fine with a 3-inch length.^[4]

Dyeing of Delaine

Due to the origins of cotton and wool fibers, cotton and wool have different dye affinities; solid colors in Delaines were difficult to achieve. When delaine colors were mixed in an inept manner, the cotton and wool colors were drastically different, resulting in the "threadiness" impression.^[1]

Variations

Delaines were also produced using a silk warp and a wool weft,^[5] as well as entirely of wool.^[2]

Use

Delaines were used in blouses and various ladies' dresses.^[6] They were printed for summer clothing material between 1830 and 1840.^[3]

See also

• Delaine Merino
• Muslin

References

1. O'Neill, Charles; Fesquet, A. A. (1869). A dictionary of dyeing and calico printing : containing a brief account of dyeing and printing textile fabrics. University of California Libraries. Philadelphia : H.C. Baird. p. 191.
2. Treasury, United States Department of the (1937). Treasury Decisions Under Customs and Other Laws. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 297.
3. Rivard, Paul E. (2002). A New Order of Things: How the Textile Industry Transformed New England. UPNE. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-58465-218-2.
4. Wilkinson, John Walter (1900). Practical Agriculture: A Brief Treatise on Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Stock Feeding, Animal Husbandry, and Road Building. American Book Company. p. 122.
5. Waugh, Norah (2013-10-08). The Cut of Women's Clothes: 1600-1930. Routledge. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-135-85610-6.
6. Grosicki, Z. (2014-03-14). Watson's Textile Design and Colour: Elementary Weaves and Figured Fabrics. Woodhead Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 978-1-78242-008-8.