Where does Flannelette come from?

Flannelette comes from the United Kingdom, England, first documented in the 1800s.

Plate No. 105fabric

Soft napped cotton, the winter-nightwear cloth.

First documented: 1800s
Origin: England, United Kingdom
Fiber: cotton
Weave: plain or twill, napped one or both sides
Family: plain

Plate No. 105 · fabric

Flannelette

Flannelette is cotton brushed to imitate wool flannel: a plain or lightly twilled cotton with a soft napped surface raised on one or both faces, warm and cheap. It became the cloth of winter nightwear, sheets, and babies' clothes, the soft cotton you reach for in the cold. Its great drawback gave it a grim Victorian reputation, for the raised nap is dangerously flammable, and a long history of nightgown fires drove the flame-resistance laws that still govern children's sleepwear.

Illustration: a 1900s nursery at night, soft brushed-cotton nightclothes folded on a cot, a guarded hearth, a candle, warm low light — A 1900s nursery at night, soft brushed-cotton nightclothes folded on a cot, a guarded hearth, a candle, warm low light.

Named for

A diminutive of flannel: the cotton imitation of the wool cloth.

Also known as

cotton flannel

Common questions

What is Flannelette made of?: Flannelette is cotton brushed to imitate wool flannel: a plain or lightly twilled cotton with a soft napped surface raised on one or both faces, warm and cheap.
Where does Flannelette come from?: Flannelette comes from the United Kingdom, England, first documented in the 1800s.
What is Flannelette named after?: A diminutive of flannel: the cotton imitation of the wool cloth.