With the arrival of new viscose crepe fabrics in the shop, I wanted to talk to you about this oh-so-special material.

Indeed, under the concept of the word crepe, not to be confused with the crepe which is a culinary specialty ;-), lies a set of fabrics with diverse properties.

Let's look at this together...

Fabric category

Crepe is a woven fabric, as opposed to knitted fabrics.

It is woven in plain weave like poplin or batiste. Weave is the technical term to describe the type of weaving. 

The plain weave, for its part, is characterized by each weft thread passing under one warp thread before passing over the next warp thread. This way of weaving creates a dense and solid mesh. 

But then what makes the difference between poplin and crepe? Well, it's the yarn!

In the beginning was the yarn

Yes, the yarn parameters greatly influence the final appearance of a fabric. 

The influencing parameters are:

• the type of fibers composing the strand
• the fineness of the fiber
• the twist

The most important parameter that gives crepe its specificity is the twist of the yarn strand. Indeed, the threads used to make crepe are heavily twisted until they tend to curl up. In fact, the word crepe itself comes from the Latin crispus, which means curly, wavy. This twisting of the yarn strands also gives it a particular feel, very recognizable. 

A little bit of history

Originally, crepe was woven with silk thread. Then, this material being relatively expensive, weavers turned to wool and later still to cotton. 

Today, you can find:

• crepes in natural fibers such as silk crepe, cotton crepe, wool crepe,...
• crepes in artificial fibers such as viscose crepe that you will find in store
• crepes in synthetic fibers such as polyester crepe.

Plain crepe fabric does not exist, it is always followed by the composition of its fiber

Characteristics of all crepes

Crepes are fairly fluid fabrics with mostly a nice fairly heavy drape; it is necessary to carefully refer to the raw material used and the fabric weight. 
Due to the significant twisting of the fibers, crepe has a light elasticity despite being a woven fabric. It is very suitable for making women's clothing such as dresses, skirts, blouses... It is a fabric that is very suitable for drapes like cowl necks, loose and flowing dresses, but also wedding dresses...

The Atelier Brunette viscose crepes offered in store are soft and flowing. With its fine sanded touch (due to the twisting of the fibers) and its lightness, the Atelier Brunette viscose crepe is really perfect for starting to sew this material. And why not a Sonia dress from Maison Fauve in a two-tone version (see photo above)?