We often hear the word popeline when talking about fabric... but do you know what lies behind this term?
For my part, I love this material! I even think it's the one I sew the most along with jeans!
So, ready to discover popeline and more precisely cotton popeline in this article?
Let's go!
What is popeline?
Popeline is not a fabric but a weave with a particular thread composition; that is, a way of weaving the thread to create a piece of fabric.
Toile weave: This weave consists of interlaced warp and weft threads in a grid. Popeline is a toile weave because one weft thread passes under only one warp thread and vice versa.
Cotton threads: The warp threads are finer and therefore twice as numerous as the weft threads.
Be careful, the word popeline does indeed refer to weaving; you can have cotton, viscose, silk, polyester popeline. Always ask what material your popeline is made of.
A bit of history
First hypothesis: the most accepted
At that time, in Avignon, popeline was created on lands owned by the pope by Italian artisans.
These artisans mingled with the local population and brought their knowledge of sericulture. In Avignon, a fabric was then produced with a silk warp and a weft in fleuret (coarser silk thread), reserved for the Pope and his court. You guessed the name of this fabric: "papeline."
Merchants tried to sell it outside France where it was reserved exclusively for the pope's use. Can you guess how the A became an O and papeline became popeline?
Well, when papeline was exported to Anglo-Saxon countries, only one letter was changed to "pope"... hence the current name popeline. QED!
Second hypothesis: more Belgian 😊
Do you know Poperinghe, a Flemish town very close to the French border? It was a very important city for the trade of "cloths" as early as the 11th century. Poperinghe is renowned for its wool fabrics that were sold throughout Europe.
Poperinge produces different quality sheets and compositions... we talk about Poperinge sheets and in English we say poplin... The word poplin would therefore come from an alteration of Poperinge or popresh (sheet in Flemish).
Incredible, isn’t it, for our small Belgian town, capital of hops and birthplace of our remarkable astronaut Dirk Frimout, our starred chef Kobe Desramaults, and Henri Permeke.
Nowadays, what material(s) is poplin made from?
This is where it gets a bit tricky... let me explain! As we saw earlier, poplin is a plain weave with finer and twice as many warp threads. It can therefore be made with several materials: silk, wool, cotton, polyester, etc.
However, you can also find poplins with different fibers in the warp and weft. Generally, the problem with these composite products is their recycling. Indeed, the addition - for example - of polyester lowers the production cost of fabrics but makes their recycling impossible. It is unfortunately too complex to separate the different types of threads to include them in the appropriate recycling process. These fabrics will then be destroyed...
At c'est du Joly, we have chosen to offer you poplins made from a single type of fiber: cotton or viscose, natural or artificial materials mostly certified oeko-tex standard 100 and/or Eco Vero...
Advantages of cotton poplin
Cotton poplin has many advantages:
- it is lightweight,
- it is breathable
- soft on the skin
- it has a certain fluidity while maintaining structure
- it comes in all colors and patterns
- it is easy to cut and sew
- ironing is very easy
- it is easy to care for
It should be noted that poplin is a fine fabric and therefore not suitable for all types of clothing. Also, since it is a natural material, it wrinkles a bit. You will need to iron your clothes after machine washing.
What sewing skill levels is poplin suitable for?
You’ve got it, cotton poplin can be used by all sewers and especially beginners who will get a lot of satisfaction from sewing this material.
However, advanced sewers will also enjoy including poplin in their "more difficult" projects, for example a pocket on jeans or a jacket, a blouse with a hidden button placket...
In short, cotton poplin, as long as you like it, will accompany you throughout your sewing journey.
One of the first blog posts
Passion patchwork!
For which projects do we use cotton poplin?
Cotton poplin is a really pleasant fabric to sew and suits a wide range of projects.
We often think of using it to make dresses or women’s blouses, but it’s also used for shirts or accessories!
Indeed, cotton poplin will be a great ally for sewing blouses and shirts (men’s and women’s) that combine good structure, a nice drape, and let your skin breathe.
It’s also used for children’s clothing and baby accessories like bibs, nests, blankets...
Plus, poplin also allows for a lot of creativity in terms of patterns.
It allows you to create pretty linings and facings. A often effective way to recycle your scraps. Imagine the facing of a trouser waistband, the lining of a jacket, the bottom of a bag or a printed, etc., to which it will add that little extra that catches the eye. The same goes for linings of accessories, bags, and printed...
For my clothes and accessories, I really like to use poplin, especially our pretty Japanese fabrics!
How to sew poplin?
As I mentioned earlier, poplin is very easy to sew; it’s the ideal fabric for beginners in sewing! Use a standard size 80 sewing needle and good quality polyester thread like Gütterman threads.
And off you go with your first projects as well as your more advanced ones!
There you go, I hope you now know a bit more about cotton poplin and poplins in general.
Feel free to check out our beautiful selection in the shop, especially our lovely Japanese patterns!
Get your needles ready!
