The Jacquard
Jacquard loom
The Jacquard machine is a device fitted to a power loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. It was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804. The loom was controlled by a "chain of cards"; a num…
What is the difference between a brocade and a Jacquard?
Almost all modern brocades are woven with a jacquard device, so one could say that all modern brocades are jacquards, but not all jacquards are brocades, because jacquard looms are used to create other weaves, such as brocatelle, damask and tapestry.
What is jacquard fabric?
Jacquard is a fabric with an intricately variegated or raised pattern, distinct from other patterned materials because the pattern is woven into it rather than printed onto it. The motif or image on a jacquard often appears in a different color or texture than the rest of the material, but it can be the same color.
What are brocade fabrics?
Brocade fabrics are a type of shuttle-woven textiles often made with metallic threads. Because of their decorative appearance, these fabrics are highly popular among fashion designers. Brocade is used to make special occasion garments and evening gowns.
Are jacquard patterns directional?
Jacquard patterns are often directional, but if your fabric’s design is not directional, you can use a without-nap layout. Many machine-woven brocades and jacquards measure up to 60 inches wide, but some are narrower.
How do you identify jacquard fabric?
Any jacquard fabric is all about the pattern, which looks that unique due to the way it is applied. Very often, if you look at the back of the cloth, long floats can be found; these are threads used to produce the pattern, and it tells you straight away that you are dealing with jacquard.
What fabric is similar to jacquard?
These include modern brocades, brocatelle, damask fabric, and tapestries. In fact, even our signature matelassé fabrics are woven on jacquard looms. Generally, you'll find these fabrics most commonly used in home goods and upholstery, because of their thickness and texturing.
What is a jacquard fabric?
Jacquard fabric refers to any type of pattern that is woven directly into the material, rather than embroidered, printed, or stamped onto the fabric. Jacquard can be any type of weave and can be crafted from any type of yarn.
What type of fabric is brocade?
Brocade is made up of a number of material blends. Traditionally, the fabric was made with silk, but nowadays it's made up using a whole lot of different fabric mixes, like silk and cotton, or even polyester.
Is brocade and jacquard the same?
The Jacquard is a special loom, or a machine employed in the weaving of a figured fabric. The term jacquard also means the weave or a fabric with an intricately woven pattern. The Brocade on the other hand is a heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design.
What does brocade look like?
A brocade is merely an example of a jacquard, a heavy fabric with a colorful allover raised pattern or floral design with an embossed or embroidered effect; it may or may not incorporate gold or silver threads.
Is brocade same as damask?
The texture of Damask fabric is way smoother and more refined than the brocade because of satin threads. Brocade fabric has a touch of roughness as the motifs can literally be felt like they are embossed. The design uses a satin weave, and the background is made using a plain twill.
Is jacquard a cotton fabric?
The term jacquard is used to describe a decorative design that's woven into the fabric on a jacquard loom. Typically made of cotton, these designs can range from basic florals to very large, intricate patterns.
What can I sew with brocade?
2:508:37How to Sew With Brocade - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo we have an overlock stitch overcast stitch or you can also use one of the zig zag stitches aMoreSo we have an overlock stitch overcast stitch or you can also use one of the zig zag stitches a three-step zig zag or a regular zig zag stitch.
Is brocade a good material?
Silk brocade Silk is simply one of the smoothest and most lustrous textile materials on the face of the planet, and this fiber is also extremely tensile and durable.
How many types of brocade are there?
11 Different Types of Brocade Fabric.
What does brocade feel like?
brocade is smooth and lustrous. Great for evening wear, wedding gowns, costumes and more. brocade has a great soft texture. It can be used for semi-formal and informal wear, office suits, jackets and blazers.
What is the difference between a jacquard and a brocadeon?
The term jacquard also means the weave or a fabric with an intricately woven pattern. The Brocadeon the other hand is a heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design.
What is a jacquard?
Jacquard is a fabric with an intricately variegated or raised pattern, that is distinct from other patterned materials because the pattern is woven into it rather than printed onto it.
How did the Jacquard loom revolutionize the fabric industry?
The Jacquard loom revolutionized the production of elaborately patterned fabrics . Skilled craftsmen who could read pattern diagrams and manipulate the pattern as it was being woven were no longer needed to weave brocades and other designs, and the Jacquard loom did not require the assistance of an additional draw boy to help create the jacquard design.
How does a jacquard weave work?
A jacquard weave is woven on a loom fitted with a head programmed to raise each warp thread (the thread held stationary while the weft is drawn through it) independently of the other threads.
How many warp threads can a jacquard loom interlace?
The jacquard loom gives the weaver a finely tuned control to interlace up to several hundred warp threads, thereby inspiring countless possible designs.
What are the advantages of Jacquard?
One of the chief advantages claimed for the Jacquard machine was that unlike previous damask-weaving machines, in which the figuring shed was usually drawn once for every four shots, with the new apparatus, it could be drawn on every shot, thus producing a fabric with greater definition of outline.
What can be used to make a jacquard?
Multiple color threads can be used to create a jacquard weave, resulting in complex gradations and patterns—landscapes, portraits, and other unique motifs are possible in a jacquard.
Why do brocade and jacquard require some consideration to sew successfully?
Brocade and jacquard require some consideration to sew successfully because of their firm hand and tendency to ravel.
What is brocade fabric?
Brocade is made with supplemental weft yarns on a plain, satin, or twill weave, which create raised patterns.
What is a jacquard loom?
Inheriting the name from the inventor, jacquard is now used to refer to fabric woven on a jacquard loom. This textile features intricate patterns that are woven into the fabric rather than printed on the surface. Traditional jacquards mainly featured floral motifs, but now jacquards can be found in nearly any style. Formerly woven only from silk, modern jacquards are made from silk, cotton, linen, and synthetic fibers such as polyester and rayon.
What fabric has no obvious wrong side?
Jacquard fabrics have no obvious wrong side, so you get double the design potential. Fabric: viscose jacquard, MarcyTilton.com. Pattern: Named Clothing Agate Pencil Dress.
How wide is a brocade?
Many machine-woven brocades and jacquards measure up to 60 inches wide, but some are narrower. Chinese brocade is often narrow, sometimes less than 30 inches. Check the fabric width before buying yardage, and plan the layout accordingly.
Why do brocades have to be cut in the same direction?
Opt for a with-nap layout. Because of the weave structure , brocade especially must be cut in the same direction, as the fibers’ shine causes the textile to appear different when upside down.
How long has the Jacquard loom been around?
Jacquard’s creation lived on: For nearly 200 years, the jacquard loom, as he designed it, remained the pinnacle of weaving technology. Recent advancements in computerization have led to the punch cards being replaced with digitally pixelated images, but the principle remains the same.
What is brocade fabric?
Brocades are fabric with an elaborate embossed or embroidered surface effect, usually with different ground and pattern weaves. The name comes from the Italian brocatto, meaning ’embossed cloth’. Unlike damask, brocades are not reversible. Continuous brocades have the weft threads left loose and floating on the back.
What is a jacquard loom?
Today the name jacquard usually applies to all weaves that can be achieved with the machine, but it is sometimes used to describe one specific type of fabric woven using a Jacquard loom: a light, soft, draping damask weave (see damask weaves below) of silk, rayon or synthetic fibres, which is why descriptions of jacquard as a fabric sometimes say daft things like ‘similar in appearance to damask’.
How did the Jacquard loom revolutionize the fabric industry?
The Jacquard loom revolutionised the production of elaborately patterned fabrics . Skilled craftsmen who could read pattern diagrams and manipulate the pattern as it was being woven were no longer needed to weave brocades and other designs, and the Jacquard loom did not require the assistance of an additional drawboy.
What is the difference between a dobby loom and a jacquard loom?
Dobby loom patterns, however, are limited to designs that stretch over 40 threads, whereas designs made on a Jacquard loom are virtually limitless. Today jacquard weaves are achieved not with a Jacquard loom, but rather a Jacquard head which is fitted on to a dobby loom.
What is the significance of the Jacquard loom?
If the punch cards with holes which create a pattern sounds a little like an early computer – it is. The Jacquard loom and its punch card pattern system is considered an important point in the history of the computer. Babbage and Lovelace (the ‘Father of the Computer’ and world’s first computer programmer and first person to envision a computer that did much more than mathematical calculations (also Byron’s daughter), respectively) were familiar with Jacquards loom, and Babbage intended to use punch cards based on the loom punch cards in his Analytical Engine.
What is Polly Oliver's jacket made of?
My Polly Oliver jacket is made from a red tone-on-tone jacquard damask. Tea gown with 18th century inspired back pleats, ca. 1905, Callot Soeurs, silk damask, lace, Victoria & Albert Museum. The damask for my Mariana Victoria frock. Front and reverse of a rayon damask.
What is discontinuous brocade?
A discontinuous brocade is one where additional yarns are only woven into the patterned areas, resulting in a smoother back.
What is the difference between brocade and jacquard?
The difference between brocade and jacquard fabrics. A non-reversible patterned fabric with a lavish embossed effect. If it is woven with golden or silver colored threads, it is called Imperial Brocade. A fine patterned fabric made with several weaves – one for the ground, another one for the pattern.
What is brocade fabric?
Brocade fabrics are a type of shuttle-woven textiles often made with metallic threads. Because of their decorative appearance, these fabrics are highly popular among fashion designers. Brocade is used to make special occasion garments and evening gowns. Originally it was made of silk, but today you can find it in all kinds of fibers.
What is Zari brocade?
Zari brocade is a type of silk brocade with silver, golden and copper threads. Originally zari threads were made of real silver and gold, but nowadays they are often substituted for metallic yarn.
Why is brocade so expensive?
The brocade garments were worn by nobility and the royal court. These days brocade material is much more affordable, partly because it is woven of cheaper fibers like cotton, rayon, viscose, etc. Noble metal threads are often replaced with metallic yarn.
What is patterned jacquard?
A patterned jacquard fabric that imitates vintage tapestries. Thicker than brocade or damask, it is non-reversible.
What is continuous brocade?
Continuous brocade, where weft threads are left floating on the back, or cut away.
What is reversible fabric?
A fine patterned fabric made with several weaves – one for the ground, another one for the pattern. Reversible, the pattern is like a film negative on the back side.
Who invented the jacquard fabric?
It was a French weaver Joseph-Marie Jacquard who invented this technology in 1804, so the jacquard fabric was named after him.
What is Jacquard?
Any jacquard fabric is all about the pattern, which looks that unique due to the way it is applied. Very often, if you look at the back of the cloth, long floats can be found; these are threads used to produce the pattern, and it tells you straight away that you are dealing with jacquard.
What is the difference between jacquard and heavy cloth?
These fabrics are available in a variety of compositions and weights and serve various purposes. Lightweight jacquards are often picked for spring and summer apparel, whereas heavy cloths have their say in colder seasons.
What was the secret behind the Jacquard loom?
Nowadays, highly detailed motifs are woven automatically in a much shorter time. The secret is in controlling warp yarns. The jacquard loom creates a pattern by selecting and lifting warp yarns.
What is natural jacquard?
Cotton jacquard is another type of natural jacquard options that bring the best properties of cotton fabrics to a wide range of fashion garments and accessories. What is special about this fabric?
What is damask fabric?
Damasks can be tone-on-tone or multicolored, which means that the colors of the background and the pattern reverse from front to back.
Can silk jacquard be used for trousers?
Just be careful and choose the right type of silk jacquard for your sewing project. Silk chiffon fabric is not a number one pick for trousers, but it’ll give you a fantastic blouse that can be worn even on special occasions.
What can brocade fabric be used for?
What can brocade fabric be used for? Dresses. Trousers. Coats and Suits (ala Elie Saab and Dolce and Gabbana). Evening jackets. Brocade can be used for a million different things (and we’ve only listed clothes here – don’t forget how great brocade can look in décor). Back in the day, brocade was a stiff, starchy fabric because its original use was for upholstery. However, at some point someone clocked its potential for clothing design and it evolved into the fashion fabric we see today. Modern brocades tend to have a softer handle than the older versions, which makes it more versatile than ever. One of our clients just made an incredible line of men’s evening jackets with a few of our brocades, and they look amazing.
What is brocade made of?
Brocade is made up of a number of material blends. Traditionally, the fabric was made with silk, but nowadays it’s made up using a whole lot of different fabric mixes, like silk and cotton, or even polyester. The wonders of technology. (A brocade gown owned by Queen Victoria)
Why is brocade used in fashion?
Back in the day, brocade was a stiff, starchy fabric because its original use was for upholstery. However, at some point someone clocked its potential for clothing design and it evolved into the fashion fabric we see today.
What is the difference between brocade and cloqué?
One of the main differences between brocade and cloqué is that brocade is stiffer and has more body. If you want to make, say, a dress or a blazer with a really strong hold and structure, go with brocade. Joel & Son Fabrics holds the largest, most diverse selection of brocade fabrics.
The Jacquard Loom
A Lasting Legacy
- Jacquard’s creation lived on: For nearly 200 years, the jacquard loom, as he designed it, remained the pinnacle of weaving technology. Recent advancements in computerization have led to the punch cards being replaced with digitally pixelated images, but the principle remains the same. Jacquard’s automation system is said to have formed the basis for the first computer, designed …
What’s The difference?
- Technically speaking, most brocades fall under the umbrella term “jacquard” because they are often woven on a modern jacquard loom. However, not all jacquards are brocades. I’ll describe the characteristics of each fabric type, explain how they differ, and provide tips for sewing these intriguing fabrics.
The Tale of Two Fabrics
- Though brocade and jacquard have similarities, the following characteristics can help you tell them apart.
Sewing Tips
- Brocade and jacquard require some consideration to sew successfully because of their firm hand and tendency to ravel.