Crape or crepe is a silk, wool, or polyester fabric of a gauzy texture, having a peculiar crisp or crimpy appearance. Basically, its not a fabric of any specific type as explain before Crepe fabric is made from other fibres such as silk, wool or polyester. During weaving, Crepe fabric is made by giving simple variation in the weaves such as by reversing, interlacing one weave over other and so on.
Crepe fabric gets its wavy appearance from a simple manner in which the weft is prepared, the yarn from two bobbins being twisted together in the reverse way. The fabric when woven is smooth and even, having no crape appearance, but when the gum is subsequently extracted by boiling, it at once becomes soft, and the weft, losing its twist, gives the fabric the waved structure which constitutes its distinguishing feature. Crepe fabric can be made more variable by using coloured or mixed yarns in it for constructions of scarves and shawls, bonnet trimmings, etc.
Due to its wavy and uneven structure, it is commonly used in clothing and decorative fabric constructs. It comes in a multitude of colors and can be purchased in bulk or small sizes depending on the quantity needed for your project or client.
Twisting gets an essential place in construction of crepe fabric. Crepe fabric is also known for its very twisted yarns in the weft and sometimes in the warp and or seam. Crepe fabric can be the right fabric to use for a number of occasions from costumes to decorating, from dress materials to home furnishings.
Twist in crepe fabric can be given in two direction such as S-twist and Z-twist. The fabric is usually woven with crepe yarn, a hard-twist yarn produced either with a higher number of twists per inch than ordinary yarn or with alternate “S” and “Z” twists. In the “S” twist the twist of the yarn resembles the centre part of the letter “S”; in the “Z” twist the resemblance is to the centre part of the letter “Z”; these are sometimes referred to as left-hand and right-hand twists.
The fabric is woven from all of the major fibres, natural or man-made. Surface textures range from fine, flat crepes to pebbled and mossy effects; some surfaces resemble tree bark. There are number of variations of crepe fabric but some of its popular varieties include Canton, crepe-back satin, crepe de Chine, Georgette, marocain, faille, lingerie, mossy, romaine, and rough. Therefore, Crepe fabric has a lots of variety just because of its weaving construction.
