Gabardine is the name of a special type of fabric that is difficult to manufacture. However, due to this complexity, it acquires very important properties, such as wear resistance and the ability to maintain shape.
Gabardine
Gabardine belongs to the category of woolen fabrics, since it is made using merino wool - a valuable breed of sheep with very thin wool fibers, which is bred mainly in Australia. In the process of making the fabric, the thread from merino wool is used both as a warp and as a weft, that is, it goes in both directions of the fabric.
However, the nature of the threads used for these purposes differs: for example, a very thin thread is used for the warp, which is pre-twisted in both ends, and the merino wool thread used for the weft is single, that is, thicker. In this case, the weft and warp threads are intertwined in a special way, which in the textile industry is called complex twill. Thanks to this weaving, the surface of the fabric acquires a special pattern in the form of a small scar, which is oriented obliquely to the cut of the fabric, observing an angle of 60-70 °.
Such requirements for the process of creating this fabric were formulated by its inventor - the famous fashion designer Thomas Burberry, whose fashion house is still well known to connoisseurs of the latest trends in this field. At the same time, the creator of gabardine created this fabric in 1879, and since then its characteristics have not undergone significant changes.
Application of gabardine
However, significant changes have affected the predominant use of gabardine. For example, Thomas Berbury developed it as a durable and warm fabric that was well suited for making suits for agricultural workers: it kept body temperature, was not too wet and was not blown by the wind. Subsequently, due to the same properties, gabardine was used to sew the uniform of soldiers during the First World War.
At the same time, in the modern textile industry, the range of applications for gabardine has expanded significantly. Today it is used primarily for making coats and suits. In addition, today, in the production of this fabric, synthetic thread is often added to the main fiber, which improves the consumer properties of the finished fabric: it wrinkles less, is less exposed to dirt and becomes easier to clean. Thus, gabardine became a material characteristic of the business style of clothing, but it also retained its military purpose: it is still used to make military uniforms for senior officers.