Poplin

Poplin (Fr. papeline; possibly from the town of Poperinghe, of which an old spelling is Popeling), a fabric which has been long made in France, from which country the manufacture was introduced into England and Ireland in the 17th century by Protestant refugees. Poplin consists of a warp of silk and a weft of worsted, and the latter being thicker than the former produces a corded appearance. The worsted yarn gives substance to the fabric, and a soft silky face is produced by the way in which it is woven. Poplins may be either plain or figured. The Irish poplins are nearly all made in Dublin; the industry has been subject to great fluctuations, notwithstanding the efforts to foster it. Figured poplins, which were much used about 1870 for curtains and covering furniture, are at the present time, in Great Britain at least, employed for these purposes only to a limited extent.