Where did Grosgrain Ribbon come from???

Well, let me tell you....

its an interesting story.

Bengaline

Origin of grosgrain ribbon

I posted a picture a few days ago of a lovely purple dress from my collection. The dress is made

of an obsolete weave called bengaline. Bengaline is one of the precursors to twill. It is characterized by the coarse rib effect that runs on the crosswise of the fabric. It was woven in silk and cotton. Silk, being the more costly weave. Bengaline eventually started to be used as a dress trim. The yardage was cut into strips and manipulated in such a way as to embellish, particularly the mourning gowns of the mid to late 1800s. Eventually, that treatment became so popular that manufacturers started to weave the fabric into narrow strips, renaming it grosgrain. Eventually, bengaline fell out of fashion, but as a result of demand, manufacturers kept manufacturing the grosgrain trim. That grosgrain trim is still used to this day as a ribbon decoration or sweatband for hats.

Cool eh?

#grosgrain #fabric #victoriandress #mauvine #perkinspurple