Fabrics and materials used in a wedding dress

Fabrics and materials for a wedding dress

Wedding dresses come in a wide variety of materials. What is the difference between organza and chiffon? What do moiré and plissé mean? These are questions you might want answers to when you’re on the hunt for the perfect dress.

EMBROIDERY

Hand- or machine-sewn white embroidery on strips, executed using a running stitch and edged holes, and sewn with cotton thread.

BROCADE

Originally a silk or velvet fabric woven with gold or silver thread.

CHIFFON

A thin, transparent and lightweight fabric made from silk, rayon or polyester.

CREPE

A collective term for thin fabrics, originally made of silk, with a crinkled (creped) surface, achieved using so-called crepe yarns, which are combined in various ways.

DUCHESSE

Silk woven in a dense and firm satin weave.

JACQUARD

A patterned woven fabric. It can be woven into various types of patterns using a Jacquard loom. The pattern often appears with a matt or glossy sheen.

MOIRÉ

Two layers of fabric pressed together in a hot calender, so that the pattern effect of one layer is imprinted onto the other, giving the fabric a (flamed) pattern.

ORGANZA

A thin, very fine-threaded, stiff two-shaft weave. Originally made from silk, but nowadays also produced from rayon, nylon or polyester. The fabric is often used for large, flowing dresses; embroidery is sometimes woven into the fabric.

PLEATED

Pleated fabric, with closely spaced, narrow, permanently pressed pleats.

VELVET

A fabric consisting of a base weave whose right side is wholly or partly covered by a dense, short, cut pile. Through different weaves, fibre types and yarns, velvet can take on a wide variety of appearances and other properties.

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SATIN

A weaving technique that produces a smooth, dense and non-symmetrical fabric. Often has a glossy right side and a matt wrong side.

SHANTUNG

A fabric made from wild silk, woven in a two-shaft weave. The fabric is slightly uneven, which gives it a distinctive character.

SILK

Silk is a fabric made from silk. Silk is a pure natural product and comes from the cocoon threads of silkworm larvae. A distinction is made between natural and artificial silk. Artificial silk is much cheaper than genuine silk and is made from the synthetic fibre rayon. However, artificial silk is not as durable as genuine silk.

LACE

Lace is a thin, patterned fabric that is often partially transparent. The fabric can be made from linen, cotton or silk.

TAFFETA

A fairly light but somewhat stiff and crisp fabric woven in a twill weave. Taffeta was originally woven from silk but is now often made from synthetic fibres.

TULLE

A thin fabric with a mesh structure, consisting of small square or hexagonal meshes, produced by looping or knitting. Tulle is the fabric used to make bridal veils. The material can be silk or artificial silk.

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