"Shelved" - that's what we say when the solution of any issue does not move forward. A good cloth is the material for a great coat or suit. What is the history of this word, material properties and purpose?
Reading dictionaries
Cloth is an old Old Slavonic noun, which is formed from the verb “to knot” (yarn, threads). By the method of knotting, threads were made from pure sheep's wool, which became the basis for a fabric cloth - cloth. Now this word is used for the name of any woolen or half-woolen fleecy fabric of plain weave, very dense, knocked down to the formation of felt. Less commonly, but it is possible to use the word to define cotton linen. Derivative words related to the production of fabric went from the main meaning: clothmaker, cloth, fuller, fuller, cloth-making.
Synonyms for the word: sukontse, sermyag, kirzach, bumazeya, flannel, bike.
The second use of the word is connected with the theater. In this case, the cloth is the wings or curtains, regardless of what material they are made of. Sermyag frames the stage and is used instead of scenery.
Drapers instories
The need for warm, strong fabric arose in areas with low temperatures in winter a very long time ago. The ancient Greeks and Romans learned how to produce cloth from sheep's wool. The processes of cloth-making are captured in the drawings of ancient painting; archaeologists find devices for these purposes during excavations. The felting of the fiber was done by hand, and special presses were used for pressing. The dense structure of the fabric is created due to the property of woolen threads to “fall off”, that is, to cling to each other, especially during mechanical action and contact with water. In the Middle Ages, sheep breeding areas - England, Holland, Flanders, Saxony - became the center for the manufacture of dense fabrics. A little later, the French also mastered the technology. The British were the first to learn how to produce fine textiles that were both warm and beautiful, with many colors. English cloth became famous and spread all over the world.
Textile in Kievan Rus
On the lands of the Russians, felted coarse fabrics were made by handicraftsmen in the territories of developed sheep breeding. Such cloth was not used for the nobility - people of the poor class sewed coarse clothes from it. For more refined consumption, textiles were imported from the same England. When the tsar, the innovator Peter I, got down to business, the situation changed. Cloth production moved into the category of industrial. There were enough raw materials, since at the same time the breeding of fine-fleeced livestock was encouraged at the state level. 1668 is marked by the opening of the first factories for the production of cloth,and in 1705 the tsar put on the first cloth caftan of domestic production. Soon, durable and warm overcoat cloth became the main material for uniforms of the Russian army. The decline of the cloth business came after 1800, when less durable but finer and cheaper woolen and cotton fabrics entered the market.
Classification of cloth material
At the present time, dense felted fabric, created on modern equipment, continues to be in great demand among fashion designers and in technical production. According to its characteristics, modern cloth is divided into three categories, which have their own classification.
- Army cloth. It has several varieties depending on the rank of the serviceman and the type of troops, but the technology for the production of such textiles is distinguished by strictly observed standards.
- Technical cloth is the most durable material that is used for various purposes in industrial plants. Durability, strength and waterproofness are qualities that attract workwear manufacturers in this material.
- Civil cloth is the kind of woolen cloth that is divided into a lot of groups, allowing it to be used for a wide variety of purposes.
Expensive and cheap – varieties
For the production of fabric for mass use, strict technological standards are not required. Textiles that are used for sewing fashionable coats, jackets, suits, skirts, hats and everything else, depending on the complexity of creation, there are moreexpensive, or simple and cheap. The most expensive type of civilian cloth is drape velor. The best grades of merino wool are used to make the fabric from which shoes and coats are sewn. The simplest and cheapest material used for household needs is felt. In addition, cloth fabrics are called drape, bieber, vigon, dradedam and others.
Billiard cloth
Bloody for billiard tables is a separate article on the use of fabric. The game with a cue and balls originated originally as a street game. When the English lords were bored of spending cold evenings, they came up with the idea of moving billiards to a warm room, they came up with special tables for this. So that the balls do not beat off the bumps and do not slip, they began to upholster the table with cloth. Over time, the growth in popularity of the game required for the decoration of billiard tables a material with increased strength, but soft. So the production of specialized cloth for this purpose grew into a separate industry. The technology of its manufacture provides for special softness and the direction of the villi in one direction. The color of the billiard table can be red, blue, purple, black, but green cloth remains traditional for such a coating - an association with the lawn on which the game originated. The billiard sheet is produced both universal and specialized for special types of games: pool, snooker, pyramid.
Fabric specification
The composition of the cloth is artificial and natural. The main raw material for natural fabrics isfluffy merino yarn, a little less often camel or sheep wool, cotton base. Artificial cloth is used more often for technical purposes, as a pad to absorb excess moisture.
Cloth products are loved and appreciated in everyday life for their warmth and naturalness. For clothing manufacturers, working with such a fabric is easy - it does not crumble, it is well cut, and does not move. The grippy rough surface keeps the material from slipping on the surface.
From the features of care - the fabric does not like contact with water, it shrinks. Therefore, things made of natural cloth, without artificial impurities, are not washed. Cleaning of such products is carried out in dry cleaning. The cloth is wrinkled, but smoothed out well with a hot iron.
Why are we shelving?
Let's return to the well-known expression. Where did it come from, anyway? The rough tables of the tsarist officials of various ranks needed to be covered. The peculiarity of clinging well to irregularities made cloth for the table indispensable: it evens the surface and does not slip. And its density allowed some papers to be hidden under this tablecloth so as not to interfere. Yes, there sometimes they were forgotten by negligent performers. Since then, the cloth has become a symbol of bureaucracy and slowdown.
