What Is Georgette?

How is georgette made?

Georgette is made by weaving hard-twisted yarns into a sheer cloth, with yarns twisted in opposite directions, known as S and Z twist, used alternately. Merriam-Webster defines it as a sheer crêpe woven from hard-twisted yarns. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s CAMEO materials database adds the alternating S- and Z-twisted yarn.

Why the twist matters

The twist is what makes georgette a crêpe. In the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, Susan W. Greene explains that once a crêpe is released from the tension of the loom, its springy yarns try to unwind inside the cloth. That movement gives georgette its grainy surface, the feature that separates it from smooth chiffon.

Which fibres are used

CAMEO describes georgette as a silk or rayon fabric. The word georgette names the cloth, though, not the fibre, so the fibre-content label, not the name, is the record of what a particular piece is made of.

Where the name comes from

CAMEO states that georgette crêpe originated in France, but none of the sources consulted gives a date for the first georgette cloth. Merriam-Webster dates the word’s first known use to 1915 and derives it from Georgette, a trademark.

A popular story names the cloth after a French dressmaker, Georgette de la Plante. None of the dictionary, museum or encyclopaedia sources consulted for this entry mentions her, so treat the story as unverified.

The V&A holds an evening dress by Madeleine Vionnet, made in Paris around 1934 in silk velvet and silk georgette, with a pair of asymmetric georgette streamers at the back of the shoulder. The museum describes Vionnet’s approach to structure as founded on an innovative use of fabric cut on the bias.

What are the properties of georgette?

Georgette is sheer, crisp and matte, with a dull, grainy surface; how it behaves beyond that depends on the fibre it is woven from.

• Sheer: seam allowances and underwear can show through.
• Matte surface: CAMEO describes a nonshiny crêpe surface; Merriam-Webster calls it dull and pebbly.
• Crisp and flat: Greene classes georgette as a sheer, crisp, flat crêpe.
• Silk georgette and moisture: silk has a moisture regain of 11 per cent, a measure of the water the fibre absorbs from the air.
• Silk georgette when wet: silk fibre has an elongation of 20–25 per cent, rising to 30 per cent when wet.
• Silk georgette’s enemies: sunlight degrades silk, and weak alkaline solutions such as soap damage it.

What is the difference between georgette, chiffon and crêpe?

Crêpe is the family of cloths with a grainy, crinkled surface, georgette is a sheer member of that family, and chiffon is a sheer cloth without the crêpe texture. Greene puts it in one line: georgette is a sheer, crisp, flat crêpe, while chiffon is also sheer and crisp but has a smooth surface.

The names blur in practice: Greene notes that a fine, flat crêpe seems to have acquired the name chiffon as well. Georgette also differs from cloth crinkled by a finish, such as some crinkled fabric: its texture comes from the yarn itself.

How is georgette graded or measured?

Georgette has no grading scale in the US or EU labelling rules cited here, which regulate fibre names and fibre percentages, not cloth names.

Two things can be checked instead: fibre content by weight, which the label must give, and construction, which you judge by eye and hand from the dull, grainy surface and the hard-twisted yarns. A “grade” in a product description is the seller’s wording, not a measurement defined in either rulebook.

How does georgette appear on a clothing label?

Georgette appears on a clothing label through its fibres, not its name: US rules require generic fibre names with percentages by weight, and EU rules allow only the fibre names listed in Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011.

In the US

Most clothing and household textiles must carry a label showing fibre content, the country of origin and either the company name or its registered identification number (RN). Fibres are listed by generic name and percentage by weight, in descending order. Fibres under 5 per cent are generally grouped as “other fiber”, with exceptions: wool must always be named, and a fibre with a definite functional significance at that amount, such as spandex for stretch, may be named. The label must stay securely attached until the garment reaches the buyer, but it need not be permanent.

In the EU

A label must give the name and percentage by weight of every constituent fibre, using the names in Annex I of the regulation. Only a product made exclusively of one fibre may be marked “100 %”, “pure” or “all”. Annex I defines silk as “fibre obtained exclusively from silk-secreting insects”, so a silk-look georgette woven from another fibre cannot be labelled silk.

How do you tell good georgette from poor georgette?

Good georgette is the fibre the seller claims, has a grain built into its yarns, and is sewn neatly enough to stand being seen through, because a sheer cloth shows its construction.

1. Read the fibre line before the product name. “Silk georgette” in a listing means nothing if the label lists polyester.
2. Look and touch. Tilt the cloth to the light and run a fingertip across it. Georgette should look dull and feel grainy. A sheer that is smooth to the touch is closer to chiffon.
3. Untwist a loose yarn. Roll a swatch thread, or one already hanging loose in a seam allowance, between your fingers; never pull at a seam. Georgette yarns are hard-twisted and springy, so the thread should feel tight and want to curl.
4. Hold a seam up to the light. On a sheer cloth the seam allowance shows from the right side. Look for narrow, even allowances with no loose threads; an enclosed seam such as a French seam hides the raw edges inside a second seam. On a dress or blouse, check whether there is a lining if you do not want what is underneath to show.
5. Confirm silk on a swatch. On fabric bought by the metre, a burn test on a snipped thread can confirm silk: it burns readily with an unsteady flame, smells like burnt hair and leaves an ash that crumbles easily. Never test a garment; work over a non-flammable surface.

Red flags

• “Silk” in the product name but another fibre on the label.
• No fibre percentages on a garment sold in the US.
• A shiny, smooth surface sold as georgette.

How do you care for georgette?

Care for georgette according to its care label and its fibre; for silk georgette, that means protecting it from sunlight and from ordinary soap, which both damage silk.

• Store it in the dark, in a wardrobe or drawer rather than on a rail in a sunny room.
• Check the cleaning product. Soap is a weak alkali, and weak alkaline solutions damage silk. If the label allows hand washing, choose a product its maker says is suitable for silk.
• Support it when damp. Wet silk stretches further than dry silk, so lay a damp piece flat or support its weight instead of hanging it from one point.

Is georgette sustainable?

Georgette has no environmental profile of its own: its footprint is that of its fibre, whether silk, rayon or polyester, which the label names. The US and EU labelling rules govern how fibres are named and declared, not their environmental impact, so a sustainability claim for a georgette garment needs separate evidence.