Where does Russet come from?

Russet comes from England, where it dates to the Middle Ages.

Plate No. 173fabric

First documented: Middle Ages
Origin: England, England
Fiber: wool
Weave: coarse plain-woven wool, undyed or cheaply dyed
Family: plain

Plate No. 173 · fabric

Russet

Russet is a coarse, undyed or cheaply dyed woolen cloth, historically the everyday dress of the medieval and early modern poor. Its name described both the cloth and its color, the reddish grey-brown of undyed or madder-dyed wool, and custom tied it so closely to laborers and pilgrims that to wear russet was to signal humility. It appears throughout English writing as the opposite of courtly silk, plain cloth for plain people. The cloth faded from use, but the color name outlived it.

Named for

From the Old French rosset, reddish, a diminutive of ros, red; the word named the color and the coarse cloth dyed in it alike.

Also known as

roset

Modern equivalent

The closest cloth in this catalogue you can source today.

Tweed →

Common questions

What is Russet made of?: Russet is a coarse, undyed or cheaply dyed woolen cloth, historically the everyday dress of the medieval and early modern poor.
Where does Russet come from?: Russet comes from England, where it dates to the Middle Ages.
What is Russet named after?: From the Old French rosset, reddish, a diminutive of ros, red; the word named the color and the coarse cloth dyed in it alike.