Indienne floral fabric in fat quarters

Why indienne fabric?

In the 17th century, the method known as “indiennes” referred to wool, silk or cotton fabrics with a printed or painted motif (as opposed to motifs obtained by weaving different coloured threads). By extension, the term was also applied to men’s dressing gowns made from these fabrics. At the time, indiennes came from India, Persia or China. These brightly coloured fabrics were immensely popular in Europe, both for clothing and upholstery. Despite the numerous bans to protect national production, hundreds of manufactories opened to imitate these fabrics. In the 18th century, “indiennes” signified printed cotton fabrics, “indiennage” was the printing of these fabrics and “indienneurs” referred to the producers. Today, indiennes refers to fabric with exotic floral motifs.