Chiffon is the ultimate fabric for all the people who love lightweight clothes but with a luxurious appeal. The main attraction of this fabric is the transparent appearance, which is attained by means of a mesh-like weave. This plain woven fabric is mainly made from silk, cotton, or other synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, and rayon. This fabric is mainly used in dresses and decors.
History
The history of chiffon fabric is dated back to many decades and it was made exclusively using silk. Later, nylon fiber was introduced in 1938 and became a good source to make chiffon cloth. Polyester fabric was introduced in 1958, and the polyester-chiffon blend clothes became one of the most popular and trendy choices then. The main reason for this was the accessibility, economic viability, and durability of the garment.
The Making of Chiffon Fabric
Chiffon is a plain woven fabric where the weft and warp threads of similar weights are employed on the looms in order to manufacture it. The main thing that people look for in a chiffon fabric is the mesh-like and checkered appearance. This is achieved by weave the cloth in a crisscross pattern. Additionally, the slight wrinkles of the fabric are obtained by twisting the yarns used in the fabric in an alternate manner.
Since the fabric is flowy and slippery, it will be very challenging for the designers to sew or weave this. In order to tackle this, they usually keep a non-slippery surface such as paper on the fabric so as to achieve the perfect stitch. If chiffon fabric is stretched during the sewing process, it may bunch up and ruin the whole suture. Hence, craftsmen usually work very slowly while sewing this, as a precaution.
Variety of Chiffon Fabric
The most popular variant of chiffon fabric is silk, as the shimmering texture of the silk material will give a richer look and a shimmering texture to the fabric. However, the chiffon made from natural silk fiber will be expensive. An affordable variant of chiffon fabric will be synthetic fibers such as nylon, rayon, and polyester. Another advantage of using these variants is that you can easily dye them into any color. The sturdier nature of synthetic chiffon also contributes to its popularity.
Chiffon outfits are usually hand washed or machine washed. Proper care must be taken while washing the clothes as there are chances for it to get frayed. Additionally, it is not advisable to wash these clothes with other outfits as chiffon garments may bleed color in the first few cycles of washing.