| Moleskin | |
|---|---|
 German moleskin under magnification | |
| Material type | Heavy cotton fabric |
Moleskin is a heavycottonfabric, woven and thenshorn to create a short, softpile on one side. The feel and appearance of its nap issuede-like,[1] lessplush thanvelour and more like felt orchamois. The word is also used for clothing made from this fabric.[2] Clothing made from moleskin is noted for its softness and durability. Some variants of the cloth are so densely woven as to be windproof.[3]
Its name is due to the soft brushed hand of the fabric, similar tomole fur.[4] Though mole pelts have been used to make fur clothing, they are not referred to as "moleskin".
Moleskin is also a term for soft, dense adhesive pads stuck to the skin to preventblisters.[2]
Moleskin is woven ofcardedcotton yarn in a denseweft-facedsatin weave. The surface isnapped or shorn to "produce a suede-like finish".[1]
Moleskin fabric is commonly used to maketrousers, also referred to as "moleskins", that are similar tojeans in terms of cut and construction. They similarly started as working menswear,[5] but are now also much more widely worn.
Moleskin-like fabric with an adhesive backing is used to prevent or treatblisters, cut with a hole in the centre to provide relief to the affected skin.[2] The thickness of the surrounding moleskin further protects the blister from additional friction.[6][7][8][9]
Medical moleskin-like fabric with adhesive backing is also commonly used in video and/or audio productions when using alavalier microphone. When further concealment of a lavaliermicrophone is needed in these types of productions, it can be worn underneath a layer or layers of the singer's clothing. This would normally cause the microphone to pick up the unwanted noises of the singer's clothing rubbing up against the body and top of the lavalier. Attaching a small strip of moleskin around the microphone body will dramatically reduce the amount of noise created by the singer's clothing and, consequently, reduces the amount of unwanted noise picked up by the lavalier microphone.[10][11][12]
West German army uniforms from the 1960s until the early 1990s were made of "moleskin" fabric in a greyisholive-drab colour, but the German moleskin was not shorn and thus had a flat, smooth outer side. Nonetheless, it was a tough, densely woven material, strongly resistant to wind and abrasion.
Militarysnipers occasionally wrap the stocks of their rifles in moleskin to absorb sweat and prevent slippage.
Trousers made from moleskin were popular with British workers during the end of the nineteenth century due to the insulating and windproof qualities of the fabric.[3]
Cottonsateen is a variant of moleskin. It utilises cheaper short-staple cotton to create a softer feeling fabric that is relatively fragile and wears quickly.
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The dictionary definition ofmoleskin at Wiktionary