In contrast, patterns that are stamped or printed on the surface of the fabric are prone to fading, pattern stretching or rubbing off altogether due to the abrasion and stretch of prolonged usage.
Because the pattern of jacquard is woven into the fabric, each yarn can be solution-dyed, giving it more fade resistance than topically dyed yarns. They boast great pattern diversity - from floral and damask to polka dot and plaid, you're sure to find a jacquard pattern that resonates with you. Some of these fabrics even feature a raised pattern, such as a Matelassé or a brocade. Simply put, jacquard is a specially woven fabric created using a Jacquard loom and various materials such as cotton, polyester, silk and acrylic can be woven to create them. This form of “code reading” was later adapted and used in computer technology, but not before it changed the way patterned fabrics were created forever.
Taking an example from the punch cards used in player pianos at the time, this improved device could read a long row of punched wooden cards and weave a predesigned pattern into the fabric itself from these. The result was the Jacquard loom, also called the Jacquard Mechanism, Jacquard Attachment or Jacquard system. Jacquard wanted to create a device that was more efficient, required less labor, and could create artistic designs in fabric. One of these laborers was Joseph-Marie Jacquard. Those who were tasked with creating these fabrics were often subjected to backbreaking work. These fabrics were symbols of status and wealth, but could only be woven by hand - a tedious and painstaking process. Only the richest members of society could afford such finery, usually in the form of clothing or tapestries. Hundreds of years ago, intricately patterned fabrics, called brocades, were difficult to create. In the world of fabric, there are few inventions that have had a greater impact on production than the loom, and the Jacquard loom is no exception. Looms hold the warp threads in place while the weft threads are woven through them. A loom is a device that efficiently weaves these threads together to create a fabric.
The longitudinal threads that run down the fabric are called the “warp” and the lateral threads that run across the width of the fabric are called the “weft” or “fill” in layman’s terms. If you look closely at a woven fabric, you’ll notice lines of interlaced yarns or threads. To get a better understanding of jacquard fabrics, let’s first touch on the process of how all woven fabrics are created. Discover the history behind these fabrics, how they’re made, and why you’ll want to consider them for your next sewing project. Although these intricate fabrics seem commonplace today, that was not always the case. The term "jacquard" indicates how the pattern is woven, not the specific pattern itself. In jacquard fabric, the pattern and colors are incorporated into the weave instead of being printed or dyed onto the surface of the fabric. If you’ve ever shopped for fabric, chances are you’ve probably seen a jacquard fabric without realizing it.