Crepe de chine

Crêpe de Chine is a fine plain-weave crepe, usually of silk and also made from artificial fibres. Its warp is ordinary; its weft is crepe yarn, overtwisted, laid in alternating pairs of opposite twist, two to the right and two to the left. That weft gives the cloth a fine crepe effect. It is used for dresses and blouses.

A newcomer often treats crepe as a single fabric. The Getty vocabulary lists four ways to give cloth its crinkle: hard-twisted yarn, printing with caustic soda, weaving at varied tensions or embossing; CottonWorks adds the crepe weave, which interlaces warp and weft in a random order. Crêpe de Chine takes its texture from twisted yarn in the weft alone. Georgette twists both warp and weft and is semi-transparent, and charmeuse is a satin weave with a lustrous face.

In job listings

Designers and fabric developers use this name more than recruiters do. Sales staff may also meet it on a label, where it should not be assumed to be silk, since it may be made from polyester. Search local jobs for “fabric”.