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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.
➜ Click here to find out more about Indienne floral fabric in fat quarters
Indienne fabrics, still always as fashionable
The fabrication of indiennes
Weaving indienne fabrics
Printing of fabrics in India:
Colouring the cloths:
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
The Indienne fabrics of Maison Sajou
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.
- 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,
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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