Gingham
Encyclopedia
Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven
fabric
made from dye
d cotton
or cotton-blend yarn
.
The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language
, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch. When originally imported into Europe in the 17th century it was a striped fabric, though now it is distinguished by its checkered pattern. From the mid 18th century, when it was being produced in the mills of Manchester
, England
, it started to be woven into check
ed or plaid
patterns (often blue and white). Checked gingham became more common over time, though striped gingham was still available in the late Victorian
period.
Gingham is made of carded
or combed
, medium or fine yarn
s, where the coloring is on the warp
yarns and always along the grain (weft). Gingham has no right or wrong side with respect to color.
Along with muslin
, gingham is often used as a test fabric while designing fashion, or used for making an inexpensive fitting shell
prior to making the clothing in fashion fabric.
Dorothy Gale
wore a blue gingham dress in the Wizard of Oz book and film
.
Gingham shirts have been worn by mods since the 1960s and continue to be identified with fans of indie and mod music with brands like Liam Gallagher
's Pretty Green, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Rough Trade and Merc producing gingham shirts.
Plain weave
Plain weave is the most basic of three fundamental types of textile weaves . It is strong and hard-wearing, used for fashion and furnishing fabrics....
fabric
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
made from dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
d cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
or cotton-blend yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
.
The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch. When originally imported into Europe in the 17th century it was a striped fabric, though now it is distinguished by its checkered pattern. From the mid 18th century, when it was being produced in the mills of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, it started to be woven into check
Check (fabric)
A check is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines forming squares.-Etymology:...
ed or plaid
Plaid (pattern)
For other meanings, see plaid.A plaid is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in two or more colors in woven cloth.Common examples of plaid patterns include:*Tartan, the pattern most commonly associated with plaid....
patterns (often blue and white). Checked gingham became more common over time, though striped gingham was still available in the late Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period.
Gingham is made of carded
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
or combed
Combing
Combing is a method for preparing carded fibre for spinning. It separates out the short fibres by means of a rotating ring of steel pins. The fibres in the 'top' it produces, have been straightened and lie parallel to each other...
, medium or fine yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
s, where the coloring is on the warp
Warp (weaving)
In weaving cloth, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns that are held in tension on a frame or loom. The yarn that is inserted over-and-under the warp threads is called the weft, woof, or filler. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end or end. Warp means "that which is thrown...
yarns and always along the grain (weft). Gingham has no right or wrong side with respect to color.
Along with muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
, gingham is often used as a test fabric while designing fashion, or used for making an inexpensive fitting shell
Toile
Toile is the name of a fabric that entered the English language around the 16th century from a French word meaning "linen cloth" or "canvas" — particularly cloth or canvas for painting on...
prior to making the clothing in fashion fabric.
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
wore a blue gingham dress in the Wizard of Oz book and film
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.
Gingham shirts have been worn by mods since the 1960s and continue to be identified with fans of indie and mod music with brands like Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
's Pretty Green, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Rough Trade and Merc producing gingham shirts.