Robes de Coeur
  • Blog
  • Quilting
  • Clothing
    • Menswear
    • Womenswear >
      • Self-Made Patterns
      • Commercial Patterns
    • Hats
    • Miscellany
  • About
  • Blog
  • Quilting
  • Clothing
    • Menswear
    • Womenswear >
      • Self-Made Patterns
      • Commercial Patterns
    • Hats
    • Miscellany
  • About

What is Gabardine?

1/9/2020

3 Comments

 
If your pattern calls for "gabardine" fabric, what is it, exactly, that you need?  When we talk about fabrics, we usually describe them by fiber, fabrication (weave, knit, felt?), and finish.  We don't always use these in a predictable order, though.  For example:

sueded silk charmeuse (FINISH/FIBER/WEAVE)
wool flannel (FIBER/FINISH)
cotton twill (FIBER/WEAVE)
cotton/spandex jersey (FIBER/FIBER/KNIT)
polyester crinkle chiffon (FIBER/FINISH/WEAVE)

The term "gabardine" is a little slippery, though, since it can encompass both fiber and fabrication. 

THE WORD

The word "gabardine", as near as etymologists can tell, started in Middle High German as "wallevart", meaning "pilgrimage".  Pilgrims often wore long, shapeless overcoats, which were practical in that they concealed purses and weapons, and served as blankets, but "wallevart" may not have meant the garment at first.  The sounds morphed as the word "wallevert" was taken into Middle French as "galverdine" and into Spanish as "gabardina", and it's here that it got its sense of an overcoat, probably influenced by the pre-existing Spanish words "tabardina" and "gabán", meaning overgarments or cloaks. 

Various spellings are attested in different languages at times: in English, gaberdine/gabardine/gawbardyne/gawberdyne/gabarden/gaberdin/gabberdine; in French, gaban/gauvardine/galvardine/gallevardine; in Spanish gabardina. 

THE HISTORICAL GARMENT

Picture
Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The English word "gaberdine" (note the spelling) always refers to an overcoat, whether the kind worn by pilgrims, whether fashionable or coarse, for adults or children.  It was long and had loose sleeves.  In the Merchant of Venice, when Antonio asks Shylock for a loan, Shylock answers that "You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine"... which raises the question (for fashion historians, anyway) of whether there was a difference between the cloak of a Jew and the cloak of a Christian in that time.  Alas, all the papers in JSTOR amount only to speculation on this point!  (I am being hyperbolic; who has time to read all the papers in JSTOR?  Suffice to say that I have not found anything distinctively Jewish or Christian about a gaberdine, and I think Shylock was just pointing out that his innocent gaberdine suffered abuse because it was owned by a Jew.)     

BURBERRY'S TWILL

In 1879, Thomas Burberry invented a worsted wool or wool/cotton twill, waterproofed with lanolin, which he called "gabardine" in reference to the overcoats.  It was also, in some sources, called "Burberry's Twill".  He used the fabric in 1912 for his patented coat design the "tielocken", which was adapted for use by the army in WWI.  With the addition of epaulettes, gunflap, storm shield, and D-rings, the trench coat was born in 1914 (Great British Brands 2018). 

The word gabardine now could be used for the old fashioned cloak, the modern coat, or the fabric it was made of. 
Picture
Burberry advertisement, 1908, via Wikimedia Commons

THE CLOTH TODAY

Picture
Vintage Sewing Reference Library, Inc.
So what does the fabric look like, and how does it differ from other twill weaves?  The biggest characteristic is that its diagonal ridges are on the face side, but it has a smooth back.  It has more warp threads than weft threads.  It is tough and therefore popular for utilitarian suits, overcoats, and military uniforms.  It can be made of various fibers: wool or polyester gabardines for outerwear, for instance, but cotton gabardine for men's suit pockets.  It's the weave that makes it a gabardine. 
But just to confuse the matter, some manufacturers put out plainweaves or satin weaves of the same weight wool as their gabardine, and call them "plain gabardine" or "satin gabardine".  At this point, it seems to be the weight and durability of the fabric, not the weave, that matters.  But only for wool, as far as I know: I've never seen a plain woven poly or cotton called a gabardine. 

So, if your pattern says it's suitable for "gabardine", you should look for a wool or polyester (or some blend thereof) twill, medium weight, tough, and similar to what men's uniform pants might be made of. 

WORKS CITED

https://www.etymonline.com/word/gaberdine
Great British Brands 2018.  "Burberry."  Country & Townhouse LTD. Pg. 78.
3 Comments
The Sister
1/13/2020 12:12:16 pm

I can't for the life of me remember which of three songs I know that uses this word, and it's driving me mad! But anyway, thanks for getting three tunes in my head! :D . ;)

Reply
Karen Roy link
1/16/2020 10:04:12 pm

It's a Simon and Garfunkle song, yes? "Laughing on the bus / playing games with the faces... / She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy! / I said "be careful, his bowtie is really a camera". :D

Reply
The Sister
1/22/2020 08:48:36 am

YES! Thank you!




Leave a Reply.

    Karen Roy

    Quilting, dressmaking, and history plied with the needle...

    Categories

    All
    1910's
    Alteration
    Antique
    Dyeing
    Embroidery
    General
    Hand Sewing
    History
    Lacemaking
    Mending
    Menswear
    Millinery
    Modern Elizabethan
    Musing
    Other Sewing
    Philippians 4:8
    Project Diary
    Quilting
    Regency
    Retro
    Self Made Pattern
    Self-made Pattern
    Terminology
    Victorian
    Vintage

    Blogs I Read

    The Dreamstress
    Male Pattern Boldness
    ​
    Lilacs & Lace
    Tom of Holland
    Fit for a Queen
    Line of Selvage
    Mainely Menswear
    Bernadette Banner

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

Blog

Quilting

Clothing

About

Copyright Karen Roy
​© 2017-2022