CHAPTER XVIII
PRINCIPAL SILK FABRICS
Alma. Cloth, double twilled from left to right diagonally, first made in black only as a mourning fabric. The name is from the Egyptian, as applied to a mourner or a singer at a funeral.
Barège. Sheer stuff of silk and wool for veiling, named from the town of Barèges, in France.
Bengaline. An imitation of an old silk fabric made for many centuries in Bengal, India, whence the name. The weave is similar to that of ordinary rep or poplin, being a simple round-corded effect. The cord is produced by using a heavy soft-spun woolen weft which is so closely covered by the silk warp threads that it is not exposed when examined from the wrong side. The same weave is also found in all-silk goods, under the designation of all-silk bengaline. When cheapened by the use of a cotton weft in place of wool the fabric is known as cotton bengaline, although the cotton is in the filling only.
Berber. Satin-faced fabric of light-weight cloth. It came into favor about the time of the defeat of the Berbers by General Gordon in his campaign against the Mahdi in North Africa.
Brocade. Raised figures on a plain ground.
Brocatel. A kind of brocade used for draperies and upholstery; usually raised wool figures on a silk ground.