Flannel
From Free net encyclopedia
Flannel is a woollen fabric of various degrees of weight and fineness, made usually from loosely spun yarn.
The origin of the word is uncertain, but in the 16th century, flannel was a well-known production of Wales, and a Welsh origin has been suggested- The French form fianelle was used late in the 17th century, and the Ger. Flanell early in the 18th century. Baize, a kind of coarse flannel with a long nap, is said to have been first introduced to England about the middle of the 16th century by refugees from France and the Netherlands.
Today, many so-called flannels are made with a large mixture of cotton or synthetic fibres. These are more correctly called flannelettes. In fact, in some countries (e.g. U.K), it is illegal to trade flannelettes under the name 'flannel'.
Flannelette is a light-to-medium weight woven cloth that is commonly used to make clothing and bedsheets. It is usually made from either wool and cotton, or wool and synthetic fibre. The term "flannel" is also often used to refer directly to the clothing created from flannelette.
Flannel and flannelette can be woven in either a tight twill weave or a plain weave, although this is often obscured by napping one or both sides. After weaving, it is napped once, then bleached, dyed, or otherwise treated, and then napped a second time.
In the U.S., flannelette, commonly referred to as flannel, was commonly thought to be the fabric of woodsmen, lumberjacks, and farmers. In the U.S, due to the fact that many people in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (especially in Seattle, Washington) have had a tendency to wear it, flannelette there has become associated with grunge music. This idea was even further popularized by the fact that many rock, metal and grunge musicians from the 70s to the present often wear clothing made from it. Flannel has been thought by some, generally beginning in the 1980s and most prevalently in that period, to be a fashion statement (or in some cases an anti-fashion statement), and has been more broadly associated with slackers.
In the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia (or in fact any where that speaks English instead of American) the term "flannel" refers to wash/face cloths.
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