Sept/Oct 2012
The Citizens & Soldiers Digest
A Closer Look at Ribbons
By Anna Worden Bauersmith According to George Cole, author of Complete Dictionary of Dry Goods and History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, Wool and other Fibrous Substances a ribbon is “A strip of fine fabric, as silk, satin, or velvet, having two selvages.” (Chicago: W. B. Conney,1892.) Two key points are consistent through the century – Ribbons are silk and ribbons have a finished edge. These narrow strips of fabric are found through-out the nineteenth century in a span of widths from the smallest fraction of an inch to many inches for a vast array of purposes. Whether a ribbon is used to tie a sewing case closed, secure a bonnet to your head or become a sash around your waist, it deserves a closer look as each can be a remarkable work of art. Anatomy of a Ribbon Ribbons are woven similarly to silk fabric. Warp threads run the length of the ribbon. Weft threads run the width of the ribbon. In ribbons, the warp is also be called organzine; the weft is called tram. Marabout is used for gauzes. The selvage is the edge of the ribbon. This selvage can be straight and plain or have loops called a picot edge or have scallops.
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The type of weave The way the edge is woven The finishing and blocking
Finishing a ribbon includes a process to smooth and stiffen them. For example “Satins are soft and flossy when taken out of the loom; to smooth and stiffen them, they are calendered, or pressed between heated steel cylinders, and afterwards dressed, or passed over a small cylinder covered with flannel, which is moistened with a size made from buffalo hides, and then over a large one of heated steel. Gauzes also are dressed, and sometimes even lutestrings. The French goods are in general better dressed than the English. Types of Ribbons There were a great number of types of ribbons available in the nineteenth century. Just as with comparing the silk available now, a great many of the weaves and finishing methods have become very difficult to come by. These are some of the ribbons you most likely would have used in the mid-century for your wardrobe. (additional ribbons or ribbon type materials were used for other purposes.) Chine - A fancy ribbon where figures are painted or printed on the warp while it is on the ribbon.
A ribbon’s appearance is determined by a number of factors: The twist and thickness of the warp The twist and thickness of the weft
Clouding - A coloring technique used to vary the color in a ribbon. This coloring technique takes place at the thread dying stage. “The silk, already warped,
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