Where does Poplin come from?

Poplin comes from Avignon, France, first documented in the 1400s.

Plate No. 029fabric

First documented: 1400s
Origin: Avignon, Provence, France
Fiber: cotton
Weave: plain weave, fine crosswise rib
Family: plain

Plate No. 029 · fabric

Poplin

Poplin is a tightly woven plain-weave cloth with many more warp ends than weft picks, so the fine warp bends around a heavier weft and raises a barely visible crosswise rib. Originally a silk-and-wool cloth associated with papal Avignon, it settled into all-cotton form as the crisp, smooth standard for dress shirts. The high thread density is what gives poplin its clean face, its slight sheen, and its tendency to show wrinkles more honestly than oxford.

Illustration: the papal city of Avignon in the 14th century, cloth merchants with bolts in a courtyard below the great palace walls — The papal city of Avignon in the 14th century, cloth merchants with bolts in a courtyard below the great palace walls.

Named for

From the French papeline, by tradition a cloth of papal Avignon, seat of the popes in the fourteenth century.

Also known as

papeline

Common questions

What is Poplin made of?: Poplin is a tightly woven plain-weave cloth with many more warp ends than weft picks, so the fine warp bends around a heavier weft and raises a barely visible crosswise rib. It is traditionally made of cotton.
Where does Poplin come from?: Poplin comes from Avignon, France, first documented in the 1400s.
What is Poplin named after?: From the French papeline, by tradition a cloth of papal Avignon, seat of the popes in the fourteenth century.