Plate No. 055 · fabric

Grosgrain

Grosgrain is a firm, ribbed cloth, most familiar as ribbon: a fine, dense warp bends around a much heavier weft, raising the pronounced crosswise ridges that give the fabric its name and its strength. The rib makes grosgrain stiff along its length and almost impossible to tear, which is why it binds hat brims, backs button plackets, and ties formal shoes. It is the engineering ribbon of the trimmings world, where satin ribbon is the decorative one.