Fabric with a raised, quilted-looking surface created by its construction rather than by a separate layer of padding.
Woven matelassé produces a quilted or puckered appearance through the structure of the cloth. Two fabric layers are woven together, with figuring threads joining them to create the surface pattern. Hidden yarns between the layers can accentuate the relief. This makes construction important when identifying a sample: a quilted appearance alone does not establish that separate padding has been stitched into it. The French word also occurs in descriptions of padded, stitched garments and linings. The woven textile has uses in both clothing and furnishings, as the V&A’s Givenchy silk matelassé brocade and woven furnishing fabric demonstrate.
In job listings
Fabric developers and designers use this word more than recruiters do. It helps in conversations with a mill or a client to separate this fabric’s built-in raised surface from quilting, which adds a separate layer of padding. Search local jobs for “fabric”.
