Online Encyclopedia
Make a correction
Your email address will not appear on the site. Note, comments may take some time to be approved.
Back to article:
FUSTIAN
Your email:
Article name:
Article content:
FUSTIAN, a term which includes a variety of heavy woven cotton fabrics, chiefly prepared for men's wear. It embraces plain twilled cloth called jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, corduroy, &c. The term was once applied to a coarse cloth made of cotton and flax; now, fustians are usually of cotton and dyed various colours. In the reign of Edward III. the name was given to a woollen fabric. The name is said to be derived from El-Fustat, a suburb of Cairo, where it was first made; and certainly a kind of cloth has long been known under that name. In a petition to parliament, temp. Philip and Mary, " fustian of Naples " is mentioned. In the 13th and 14th centuries priests' robes and women's dresses were made of fustian, but though dresses are still made from some kinds the chief use is for labourers' clothes.