A big difference in advertising now and in the past is that 60 years ago consumers seemed to have a much greater knowledge about fabrics and fibers. Today it would be really strange to see an ad for a fabric, but up through the 1970s these ads were commonly found in fashion magazines. I’m betting that most people these days don’t even know what worsted is.
If you need to brush up on your fabric and fiber terminology, you are in luck. As I announced earlier, the Vintage Fashion Guild now has a Fabric Resource, and you can learn quite a bit by just reading through it. For example, worsted happens to be “Fabric made from high-twist, worsted yarns that have long, smooth fibers.” And don’t forget to click on the fabric samples to see the enlarged fabric.
I learned a lot about fabrics over the years just by reading clothing catalogs and magazines/books about vintage fashion (and wearing some of these fabrics too!). The Internet is such an amazing place – thanks for the link!
Manufacturers of fabrics were also well-known – I remember my mother always referring to fabric by maker and type and so I did, too, when I was learning to sew.
The Fabric Resource Guide is a wonderful tool – thanks!
I need this help- my fabric knowledge is pretty pathetic. Thanks for sharing!
I have noticed the very same thing in looking through older magazines. That VFG fabric resource is just *amazing.* I can’t comprehend the amount of work that Denisebrain put into that.
Didn’t she do a phenomenal job? It was years in the making and well worth the wait.
I love fabric ads in vintage magazines. They’re both educational and pretty!
I also love the VFG’s fabric resource. It really is invaluable.
I studied Fashion Illustration in the early 70s, and my idol was the illustrator who did the Gayley & Lord ads (also my teacher at Parsons School of Design)– Barbara Pearlman. This ad is terrific also–I can’t see the signature–can you tell us?
Yes, it is C Boligard, about whom i can find nothing.
I don’t know that the consumer of 60 years ago could have given you a definition of worsted, but she knew what the fabric felt like, looked like, and how it washed and wore. The trouble with these fabric-dictionary definitions is that they don’t necessarily tell you these things!
For example, it’s useful to know that wool comes in two flavors: worsted and woolen.
In addition to being tightly twisted, worsted yarns for weaving have been straightened, and traditionally use longer-staple fiber, which helps achieve the smooth, tight, uncrimped yarn that is the hallmark of worsted.
Woolen yarn is spun out of wool with still-crimpy fibers running anyhow, which prevents the smooth finish and tight twisting of a worsted. The resulting yarn is fluffier and has little ends poking out.
Because of these properties, worsted fabrics generally wear longer (the smooth finish prevents pilling and felting) and look neater (again, the smooth finish resists lint, hair, and stains) and can be woven into very thin, lightweight fabrics (such as tropical wool) because the yarns can be spun more finely.
Woolen fabrics are warmer, because the crimp in the wool and the looser spin trap more air. They also are thicker and fluffier for the same weight of goods, again because of the looser spin. And they resist creasing, because the natural crimp of the wool and the multidirectional fibers won’t get organized and lie down in the same direction.
All these factors of use and wear are what we REALLY need to know about a fabric, and what Lorraine Worsteds didn’t even need to tell their consumers because they already knew!
Thanks for the detailed information. It is amazing how much there is ti know about the different types of fabrics.