Moire

Moire (from the French verb moirer, to water silk in a large pattern, as distinguished from tabiser, to water or wave it in a small pattern), silks figured by the peculiar process called 'watering.' The silks for this purpose must be broad and of a good substantial make; thin and narrow pieces will not do. They are wetted, and then folded with particular care, to ensure the threads of the fabric lying all in the same direction, and not crossing each other, except as in the usual way of the web and the warp. The folded pieces of silk are then submitted to an enormous pressure, generally in a hydraulic machine. By this pressure the air is slowly expelled, and in escaping draws the moisture into curious wavy lines, which leave the permanent marking called watering. The finest kinds of watered silks are known as Moirés antiques.—The same process has been applied to woolen fabrics called Moreen, which is only an alteration of the word moire.