Poplin

This article is about the textile. For the village in Poland, see Poplin, Poland.

Poplin, also called tabinet (or tabbinet), is a strong fabric in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswise ribs that typically gives a corded surface.

Poplin traditionally consisted of a silk warp with a weft of worsted yarn. As the weft is in the form of a stout cord the fabric has a ridged structure, like rep, which gave depth and softness to the lustre of the silky surface. It is now made with wool, cotton, silk, rayon, or any mixture of these, though originally made from silk. The ribs run across the fabric from selvage to selvage. Poplins are used for dress purposes, and for rich upholstery work. They are formed by using coarse filling yarns in a plain weave. Shirts made from this material are easy to iron and do not wrinkle easily.

The term poplin originates from papelino, a fabric made at Avignon, France, in the 15th century, named for the papal (pope's) residence there, and from the French papelaine a fabric, normally made with silk, of the same period. Common usage of poplin until about the 20th century was to make silk, cotton or heavy weight wool dresses, suitable for winter wear. Poplin was also a popular upholstery fabric.