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Wool fabrics were available in a wide range of qualities, from rough undyed cloth to fine, dense broadcloth with a velvety nap; high-value broadcloth was a backbone of the English economy and was exported throughout Europe. [68] Wool fabrics were dyed in rich colours, notably reds, greens, golds, and blues. [61]
c. 1988 BC – Production of linen cloth in Ancient Egypt, along with other bast fibers including rush, reed, palm, and papyrus. [6] c. 1000 BC – Cherchen Man was laid to rest with a twill tunic and the earliest known sample of tartan fabric. [7] c. 200 AD – Earliest woodblock printing from China. Flowers in three colors on silk. [8]
Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest human activities. The oldest known textiles date back to about 5000 B.C. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning.
Calico and chintz, types of cotton fabrics, became popular in Europe, and by 1664 the East India Company was importing a quarter of a million pieces into Britain. [33] By the 18th century, the middle class had become more concerned with cleanliness and fashion, and there was a demand for easily washable and colourful fabric.
In 1764, Thorp Mill the first water-powered cotton mill in the world was constructed at Royton, Lancashire, England. It was used for carding cotton. [9] The multiple spindle spinning jenny was invented in 1764. James Hargreaves is credited as the inventor. This machine increased the thread production capacity of a single worker — initially ...
Whole-cloth quilt, 18th century, Netherlands.Textile made in India. In Europe, quilting appears to have been introduced by Crusaders in the 12th century (Colby 1971) in the form of the aketon or gambeson, a quilted garment worn under armour which later developed into the doublet, which remained an essential part of fashionable men's clothing for 300 years until the early 1600s.
During the 14th and 15th century, English merchants brought woollen cloth and other goods to Iceland, trading it mainly for dried fish, but also for Icelandic vaðmál (coarse wool fabric). [19] [20] Guild organisations seem to have emerged in the textile industry in England in the 12th century. [21] This was earlier than elsewhere in Europe.
The woven fabric portion of the textile industry grew out of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century as mass production of yarn and cloth became a mainstream industry. [7] In 1734 in Bury, Lancashire John Kay invented the flying shuttle — one of the first of a series of inventions associated with the cotton woven fabric industry.