Microscopic picture of piqué weaving.
Piqué, or marcella, refers to a weaving style, normally used with cotton yarn, which is characterized by raised parallel cords or fine ribbing. Twilled cotton and corded cotton are close relatives.
The weave is part of white tie, and some accounts even say the fabric was invented specifically for this use. It holds more starch than plain fabric, so produces a stiffer shirt front. Marcella shirts then replaced earlier plain fronts, which remain a valid alternative. Marcella's use then spread to other parts of the dress code and it is now the only fabric used in the tie and waistcoat of white tie. A knit fabric with a similar texture is used in polo shirts.
Marcella weaving was developed by the Lancashire cotton industry in the late 18th century as a mechanised technique of weaving double cloth with an enclosed heavy cording weft.[1] It was originally used to make imitations of the corded Provençal quilts made in Marseille, the manufacture of which became an important industry for Lancashire from the late 18th to the early 20th century.[1] The term "marcella" is one of a number of variations on the word "Marseille".[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Quilting - see, trapunto, Quilting in the North Country, Needlework through the Ages, http://arts.jrank.org/pages/9841/Quilting.html, retrieved 2010-05-02
- ^ Atkins, Jacqueline M. (2001), "From lap to loom: The transition of Marseilles white work from hand to machine", The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3983/is_200103/ai_n8942593/, retrieved 2010-05-02
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