Plate No. 091fabric
The rippling watermark is pressed into the rib, not woven.
- First documented
- 1600s
- Origin
- France, France
- Fiber
- silk
- Weave
- ribbed plain weave, calendered
- Family
- plain
Plate No. 091 · fabric
Moire
Moire is the watered silk: a ribbed cloth like faille run through engraved rollers under heat and pressure so the ribs are flattened unevenly, throwing a rippling, woodgrain-like figure that shifts as the cloth moves. The watermark is a finish, not a weave, pressed in rather than woven, and historically it could not survive wetting, which is half why watered silk read as luxury. It clothes ceremonial sashes, academic and ecclesiastical robes, and the lining of opera capes, anywhere a surface should seem to move in the light.
Named for
From the French moire, itself an alteration of English mohair; the verb moirer means to water, for the watered finish.
Sources & References
- 1.Moire (fabric), Wikipedia
- 2.moire, Online Etymology Dictionary