Doeskin. Of the broadcloth range, made with shiny napped face, soft finish, as the pelt of a doe.
Drap d’Été. A heavy cashmere or double warp merino, with the back teasled or scratched, used mostly for clergymen’s clothing and in lighter weights for women’s dresses. The name is French for “cloth of summer.”
Empress Cloth. Similar to poplin; made of hard twisted worsted filling and cotton warp. Was made a success in the early seventies of the last century by the Empress Eugenie of France. Empress cloth was a staple in all well-regulated dress goods lines.
Épingline. A fine corded fabric of wool or silk, showing the cords woven close together and appearing as if lined with a pin point. This application is from épingle, French for pin.
Etamine. French name for bolting or sifting cloth, made of silk for sifting flour; applied to mesh or net weaves in America.
Felt. Fabric made by rolling or pressing a pulpy mass or mixture of wool into a flat mat. The name is from the process. To felt is to mix and press into shape.
Flannel. Wales appears to have been the original home of flannel, and history informs us that this was the only textile produced in that country for hundreds of years. It is constructed either of cotton or wool, or of an intermixture of these fibers, and is a coarse-threaded, loosely woven, light-weight fabric, more or less spongy and elastic, with an unfinished, lusterless surface. Generally speaking all grades of plain colored flannel are piece dyed, the soft open texture of the goods permitting the fibers to absorb the dye as readily in the web as in the yarn. Flannels are subjected to several finishing operations, such as fulling, teaseling, pressing, and stretching. Flannels do not require a great deal of fulling. All that is necessary is enough to give a degree of stability and body to the goods.
Dress Flannel. All wool fabric used chiefly for women’s winter dresses; also called flannel suiting. It has a diversity of qualities, colors, and styles of finish. It is commonly put up in double fold, width from twenty-six to fifty inches.
French Flannel. A fine, soft twill, woven variety dyed in solid shades, and also printed with patterns after the manner of calico; used for morning gowns, dressing sacques, waists, etc.
Shaker Flannel. A variety of white flannel finished with considerable nap, composed of cotton warp and woolen weft.