What Is Tulle?

How is tulle made?

Tulle is made by machine as a fine net with an open, six-sided (hexagonal) mesh and no pattern of its own; such net has been made both by twisting threads around one another and by knitting. The raw material can be silk, nylon, rayon, acetate or cotton, according to the CAMEO materials database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The twist-net machine

Machine-made hexagonal net imitates the net of handmade lace. Nottingham Trent University (NTU) records that some knitting machines of the late 1700s were adapted to make it, and that the inventor John Heathcoat learned from his sister-in-law, a bobbin lacemaker, how the hexagonal net was made by crossing and twisting threads, then built a machine to do it. Sources differ on the date of his patent for the twist-net, or bobbin-net, machine: NTU gives 1808, while the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) gives 1809.

The twist mattered. NTU notes that the knitted net, embroidered by hand to look like lace, was not very stable and could unravel if snagged; Heathcoat’s twisted net did not. The V&A credits his machine with making wide, fine net practical as a ground for embroidery.

Later machines

NTU describes how warp-knitting machines, which knit the threads rather than twist them, later began to replace the twisting machines of the Nottingham lace trade, and says they are more capable with modern threads such as synthetics and stretch yarns. As of 2026, NTU names Heathcoat’s, in Tiverton, Devon, as a company that still makes plain net. A finished garment’s label does not say which kind of machine made its tulle.

Where does tulle come from?

Tulle as a named fashion fabric came from England and France in the early 19th century, building on machine-knitted hexagonal net, which NTU’s lace archive holds from the late 1700s. A V&A gallery label describes machine-made net, or tulle, as a new product of both countries at the time of Napoleon’s court, and calls it an ideal ground for hand embroidery.

The museum’s example is an evening dress of about 1810, probably English: red silk machine-made net with a high waist, low neck and short sleeves, embroidered in chenille with garlands of rosebuds at the neck, sleeves and front, and roses at the hem. The chenille embroidery sits directly on the net. The V&A notes that net dresses were worn with underdresses of plain silk, and that fashion leaders such as the Empress Josephine helped to popularise dresses of tulle.

Where the name comes from

The name points to France, but sources disagree on the town. Merriam-Webster derives the word from Tulle, France, and dates its first known use in English to about 1818. CAMEO instead says the name comes from the city of Toul.

What are the properties of tulle?

Tulle is sheer, light and open: Merriam-Webster defines it as a sheer, often stiffened net, and CAMEO as a thin, fine netting. Its behaviour under heat and washing depends on its fibre.

• Sheerness. The open mesh is see-through; net dresses of about 1810 were worn with underdresses of plain silk (V&A).
• Body. Tulle is often stiffened (Merriam-Webster). Merriam-Webster names veils and ballet costumes as its chief uses, and CAMEO adds dresses, tutus and screens.
• Stability. Twisted net resists unravelling when snagged, the problem that dogged earlier knitted net (NTU).
• Heat. Nylon melts and fuses if it gets too hot, while silk does not melt but can yellow under too hot an iron, according to the University of Georgia Extension.

How is tulle graded or measured?

Tulle has no recognised numerical grade in the sources cited here. What separates one tulle from another is its fibre, whether it has been stiffened, and the structure of the net: twisted on a bobbin-net machine or produced by knitting.

Of these, only the fibre is legally required on a label. Stiffness and structure have to be judged by hand and eye (see the checks below).

How does tulle appear on a clothing label?

“Tulle” never appears as a fibre name: the label names the fibre the net is made of, and the word tulle, if used at all, describes the cloth.

• United States. Under 16 CFR 303.16, the label must give the generic names and percentages by weight of the fibres, the name or registered identification number (RN) of the company responsible, and the country where the product was processed or made. Fibres under 5 per cent are normally listed as “other” fibre unless they have a clearly established functional significance (16 CFR 303.3). Generic names in 16 CFR 303.7 include nylon, rayon and acetate.
• European Union. Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 allows only the fibre names in its Annex I (Article 5) and requires the name and percentage by weight of all constituent fibres (Article 9). Nylon may appear as “polyamide or nylon”, and “silk” is reserved for fibre obtained exclusively from silk-secreting insects. A “100%” label may still contain up to 2 per cent of technically unavoidable extraneous fibres (Article 7).

So “silk tulle” on a swing tag is a description; the fibre-content label attached to the garment is where the fibre has to be stated.

How is tulle different from lace?

Tulle is plain net: the mesh is the whole fabric, with no motif, whereas lace has a pattern worked into it. NTU describes how plain machine net was hand-embroidered to make lace that looked handmade. The two meet in embroidered net. Patterned laces such as Chantilly lace have their own entries.

How do you tell good tulle from poor tulle?

Read the label, look at the mesh against the light, and check the seams for heat damage; together these tell you most of what a hang tag leaves out.

• Read the fibre-content label. If a piece is sold as silk tulle, the fibre line should say silk. “Polyamide” or “nylon” means a synthetic net, whatever the swing tag implies.
• Hold it up to the light. The mesh should be the six-sided net CAMEO describes. If the holes are not six-sided, the fabric is not tulle in CAMEO’s sense.
• Squeeze a fold between your fingers. Merriam-Webster notes that tulle is often stiffened, so feel how much body this one has before judging whether it suits a full skirt or a soft overlay. Stiffness is not a mark of quality in itself.
• Look at any snag. NTU notes that early knitted net was liable to unravel if snagged, while Heathcoat’s twisted net did not. If a snag has started to run along the mesh, the net is already unravelling there.
• Check seams and hems for heat damage. On nylon tulle, melted or fused spots show the net met too much heat. On silk, yellowed patches can come from too hot an iron (University of Georgia Extension).

How do you care for tulle?

Care for tulle according to its fibre, and follow the care label: the safe heat and washing method differ between nylon, silk and rayon.

• Nylon tulle. Keep heat low, since nylon melts and fuses if too hot; wash white or pastel nylon apart from coloured or badly soiled clothes; keep it out of strong sunlight.
• Silk tulle. Do not use chlorine bleach or dry heat; press with a press cloth, because silk can yellow if the iron is too hot. Sunlight and perspiration weaken it.
• Rayon tulle. Handle it gently when wet, as rayon loses strength when wet; press with a medium-hot iron, since it does not melt but may scorch.

These points come from the University of Georgia Extension’s fibre care guide.

Is tulle sustainable?

None of the sources cited here assesses the environmental impact of tulle as a fabric, so this entry makes no sustainability claim. The label names the fibre, and the entries on silk, nylon, rayon, acetate and cotton cover what is known about each.