Poplin, also called tabinet (or tabbinet), is a fine (but thick) wool, cotton or silk

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

with crosswise ribs that typically give a corded surface. Nowadays, the name refers to a strong material in a

plain weave Plain weave (also called tabby weave, linen weave or taffeta weave) is the most basic of three fundamental types of textile weaving, weaves (along with satin weave and twill). It is strong and hard-wearing, and is used for fashion and furnishi ...

of any fiber or blend. Poplin traditionally consisted of a

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

warp with a weft of worsted yarn. In this case, as the weft is in the form of a stout cord, the fabric has a ridged structure, like rep, which gives depth and softness to the lustre of the silky surface. The ribs run across the fabric from selvedge to selvedge. In Britain, woollen yarn from the spinners in Suffolk would be sent to Dublin to be woven with silk into tabinet. Poplin is now made with

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

or a mixture of these. Since it has a plain under/over weave, the fabric displays a plain woven surface with no ribbing if the weft and warp threads are of the same material and size.

Shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

s made from this material are easy to iron and do not wrinkle easily. Poplins are used for dress purposes, and for rich

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...

work which are formed by using coarse filling-yarns in a plain/hard weave. The term "poplin" allegedly originates from ''papelino'', a fabric made at

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, France, in the 15th century, and named for the papal (pope's) residence there, and from the French ''papeline'' (a fabric, normally made with silk, of the same period). An alternative derivation associates "poplin" with products of the cloth industry of Poperinge in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in present-day Belgium. The most common usage of poplin until about the 20th century was to make silk, cotton or heavy-weight wool dresses, suitable for winter wear. In the early 1920s, British-made cotton poplin was introduced to the United States, but the American market thought that the name had connotations of heaviness and arbitrarily renamed it " broadcloth", a name that persists for a cotton or polyester-cotton blend fabric used for shirting. In Europe, "broadcloth" typically describes a densely-woven woolen fabric with a smooth finish.

References

{{fabric Woven fabrics

See also

References