Fustian

Fustian is a variety of heavy cloth woven from cotton, chiefly prepared for menswear.

History and use

Known in Late Latin as ''fustaneum'' or ''fustanum'' and in Medieval Latin as ''pannus fustāneus'' ('fustian cloth') or ''tela fustānea'' ('fustian mesh'), the cloth is possibly named after the Egyptian city of Fustat near Cairo that manufactured such a material.

It embraces plain twilled cloth known as jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, corduroy etc. The original medieval fustian was a stout but respectable cloth with a cotton weft and a linen warp. The term seems to have quickly become less precise, and was applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and linen, and in the reign of Edward III of England, the name was given to a woollen fabric. By the early 20th century, fustians were usually of cotton dyed various colours.

In a petition to Parliament during the reign of Mary I, "fustian of Naples" is mentioned. In the 13th and 14th centuries priests' robes and women's dresses were made of fustian, but though dresses are still made from some kinds, the chief use is for labourers' clothes. From the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s, fustian was often used for bed hangings.

Fustian, by the 1860s, referred to any cut weft cotton fabric, and its manufacture was common in towns of the fringe of the Lancashire cotton region, such as Congleton in Cheshire, Mow Cop in Staffordshire and Heptonstall in Calderdale. Wilmslow, in Cheshire, was a major centre for the cutting of Fustian. From 1800 to 1850 it was commonly called Baragan Fustian, and much used in Australia.

Manufacture

Fustian cutting was a laborious process using a fustian cutting knife. This tool was around long, and looked like a long spike; about from the tip, the top edge was sharpened into a blade. It was inserted along the fabric alongside two warp threads, and under the raised weft, and as it was guided forward the blade severed the weft. In corduroy, there were seven ridges to the inch, so along a bolt, there would be about 320 cuts to be done.Fustian cutting video
Calderdale Museums and Galleries, Heptonstall Museum, 2010

In the 1860s, the cloth would be stretched over a table, and the cutters would walk the length of the table as many times as was necessary. In recent times the cloth was tensioned over a table where all the cuts were made, and then the cloth would be released and the next two yards tensioned onto the table. Over a 60-hour week the cutter would be expected to produce of 7–8 ridge corduroy. Velveteen was cut the same way but had 32 ridges per inch, so production would be proportionately less.

Cutting was one part of the process. The yarn was sized and the cloth was woven—there would be a high number of weft threads to warp. The ridges were manually cut, and the cloth sent to be finished. It was scoured to remove the size, and brushed to raise the nap. This was then singed over a gas flame, then bleached and or dyed. It was brushed again. It was now stentered to pull it out to the standard width. The cloth was woven at about and during processing shrank to ; stentering stabilised the width to . The back of the cloth would now be filled to give it stiffness: this could be with a glue-based mixture made from boiled bones, although each manufacturer had its own techniques. The cloth was now ready to be taken to the warehouse to be sold.

Political significance

Fustian was worn by workers during the 19th century. Accordingly, radical elements of the British working class chose to wear fustian jackets as a symbol of their class allegiance. This was especially marked during the Chartist era. The historian Paul Pickering has called the wearing of fustian "a statement of class without words."

Fustian also refers to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, starting from the time of Shakespeare. This literary use arose because the cloth type was often used as padding, hence, the purposeless words are ''fustian''. Bombast, plant fibre used directly as padding (and not as fabric), has a similar literary meaning.C Willett & Phillis Cunnington, with illustrations by Barbara Phillipson and Phillis Cunnington. Faber and Faber Limited, 24 Russell Square, London. mcmlv (1955). page 45, 85

See also

* Barragan (cloth), Spanish term describing a variety of medieval textiles
* Evolution of blue jeans
* Fustanella, a skirt-like men's garment

Citations

General and cited references

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* Pickering, Paul, A., "Class Without Words: Symbolic Communication in the Chartist Movement", ''Past and Present'', cxii, August 1986, 144–162.
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External links

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British clothing
Cotton industry
Linen industry
Pile fabrics
Woven fabrics