Indienne floral fabric in fat quarters

Why do we say indienne and not Indian fabric?

Indienne fabrics, sometimes mistakenly called Indian fabrics, are those printed or painted cotton fabrics that Europeans discovered with great enthusiasm from the 17th century onwards. They came, through the various East India Companies, from India, Persia, and the Levant (modern-day Middle East). They are called indiennes because it implies "Indian cloths", named after the cotton weave, plain weave, on which they were printed. Their success was immense because they were colourful, lightweight, and washable—qualities that European-made fabrics did not possess.

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The arrival of indienne fabrics in France triggered a veritable war with the national fabric manufacturers who saw this as unfair competition and requested the intervention of royal power, which resulted in a ban on indienne fabrics. This ban on importing and imitating Indian women for 73 years.

Maison Sajou tells you all the details in our section indienne fabrics by the metre, and by clicking on Find out more…, you can Read the article on “The Affair of Painted Cloths”.

Indienne fabrics, still always as fashionable

Once the ban was lifted (1759), the craze for Indian women only increased. They became an integral part of clothing and furnishing fashion, contributing to the taste for orientalism in all areas of the decorative arts. There is a famous painting of the Marquise de Pompadour, painted by François-Hubert Drouais in 1763, which represents her dressed in an indienne print dress. The development of industrial production of indiennes in the 19th century only increased their distribution to a wider public, their cost being relatively low. This in the context of the development of the railway and the appearance of department stores. Many folk costumes from all regions included a scarf, a skirt, a camisole, a petticoat, all with these bright prints.

The fabrication of indiennes

In 1751, Diderot and d'Alembert wrote in their Encyclopedia: "we have been searching a long time in Europe for the art of fixing colours and giving them that adhesion that we admire so much in Indian fabrics. Maybe one day we will discover the secret…” In reality, this secret had been revealed to Antoine de Beaulieu, agent of the Compagnie des Indes, who had, for several days, engaged in “artisanal” espionage by witnessing all the stages of the manufacture of indiennes. But he was only able to deliver his secrets once the ban was lifted.

Weaving indienne fabrics

Colouring know-how is not enough. Indeed, the first secret of Indian production is the quality of the cotton fabric. Only the Indians knew how to produce it in large quantities. In France, it was not until the middle of the 18th century that the weaving of cotton fabric ceased to be empirical and that we were able to produce weaves (crossing of warp threads and weft threads) entirely in cotton. . Once woven, the canvas was washed, beaten then bleached before being printed

Printing of fabrics in India:

Depending on the places of production and the patterns, these could be drawn with a calame (reed pen), a sort of bamboo pen equipped with a reservoir, freehand or following a model transferred by a stencil. it is for this reason that they are known also as “painted cloths”. The cloth could also be printed by applying the pattern carved into a block of wood. The three methods could be used simultaneously to produce the same fabric. The second secret of indienne production lies in the colouring.

In the section dedicated to all of our products on the theme of indiennes, by clicking on Find out more…, you can discover the origins of the names given to indiennes: painted cloth, calico, chintz, kalencars, Palampores chintz, nankeen, khaddar, poplin, muslin, twill, batiste, percale…

Colouring the cloths:

Most indiennes had an ecru background. The two dominant colours are red and blue combined with the techniques of mordanting and resist-dyeing. Mordants (iron salts and alum salts) allow colours to penetrate the cotton fibre, unlike the resist-dyeing (wax or paste) which prevents the colours from fixing.
The red comes from the root of the madder which, combined with the mordants can give shades of reds and pinks but also purples, mauves, browns and even blacks, depending on the concentration of the colour.
The blues come from the indigo tree and are obtained by total immersion of the cloths. The parts that should not be dyed are protected by a resist of wax, which is then removed.
The yellows come from turmeric, Indian saffron. They are not resistant to washing and are applied last with a brush. Greens are obtained by applying yellow to parts dyed blue.
Between each operation, the cloths are washed several times. A final rinse is done with rice water, then the cloth is beaten and polished with shell which obtains the famous Indian “chintz” effect, this thin layer which gives shine and hold to the fabric.

Indienne fabrics adapted to European taste

Charmed by these exotic decorations representing plants and animals unknown in Europe, the Europeans did not take long to ask the Indians to adapt the decorations to their taste, particularly those referring to deities of the Hindu religion. This phenomenon of adaptation became more accentuated with the imitation prints in Europe. However, the prints retained the exuberance of the patterns and the very colourful appearance which had triggered their success.

The Indienne fabrics of Maison Sajou

Maison Sajou offers a wide range of indienne fabrics, both by the metre and in swatches.
The swatches are what we call quarter metres, with fat quarters being the term commonly used in patchwork. As indienne fabrics are traditionally offered in a width of 1.10 metres, a fat quarter measures 55 centimetres x 50 centimetres.
See all indiennes sold by the metre.

In our collection, you will find some indienne fabrics that are true stars:

Les Coquecigrues, by the metre, in 50 x 70 cm swatches and in cross-stitch kit,
The indienne from Napoleon’s campaign tent, by the metre, in 50 x 70 cm swatches and in cross-stitch kit,
The pineapple from the private apartments of the queen at Versailles Palace, by the metre, in 50 x 70 cm swatches and in cross-stitch kit,

You can also take a look at our section featuring all of our products on the theme of indiennes.

And of course, our series of cross-stitch projects on the theme of indiennes in our Museums and Heritage embroidery collection.
Indienne fabrics are also featured in our embroideries dedicated to the Oberkampf Manufacture in Jouy-en-Josas.

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