Broadcloth is a dense,plain wovencloth, historically made ofwool. The defining characteristic of broadcloth is not its finished width but the fact that it was woven much wider (typically 50 to 75% wider than its finished width) and then heavilymilled (traditionally the cloth was worked by heavy woodentrip hammers in hot soapy water) in order to shrink it to the required width. The milling process draws the yarns much closer together than could be achieved in the loom and allows the individual fibres of the wool to bind together in a felting process, which results in a dense, blind-face[i] cloth with a stiffdrape: highly weather-resistant, hard-wearing and capable of taking a cut edge without the need for being hemmed.
The manufacturing process originated fromFlanders; the type of cloth was also made inLeiden and in several parts ofEngland at the end of themedieval period.[1] The raw material was shortstaple wool,carded andspun intoyarn and then woven on a broadloom to produce cloth 1.75 yards wide. Afterfulling, usually in afulling mill, the fibres of the resultant cloth wouldfelt together, resulting in a smooth surface.[2]
The word "broadcloth" was originally used just as anantonym to "narrow cloth", but later came to mean a particular type of cloth.[3] The1909 Webster's dictionary (as reprinted in 1913) defines broadcloth as "A fine smooth-faced woolen cloth for men's garments, usually of double width (i.e., a yard and a half [140 cm]);—so called in distinction from woolens three quarters of a yard wide. [69 cm]",[4] thus giving both the old breadth-based distinction and the newer definition based on the type of cloth.
Since the early 1920s, the American market has used the term "broadcloth" to describe a plain-woven, usuallymercerised fabric woven with a rib and a slightly heavier filling yarn, used for shirt-making, made from cotton or a polyester-and-cotton blend.[5] This fabric was introduced in the early 1920s as an import from the United Kingdom, where it was calledpoplin, but it was arbitrarily renamed "broadcloth" as it was thought that "poplin" had connotations of heaviness.[5] Another version of this fabric, woven in rayon or polyester-and-rayon, is called fuji.[5]
TheHarmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States uses the unambiguous terms "broadwoven" and "narrow woven", with a breadth cutoff of 30 centimeters (about 12 inches). By this definition, the US government estimates that 70–75% of all cloth production globally, by weight, is broadwoven.[6]
Broadcloth (FlemishLaken) was produced in theDuchy of Brabant (nowFlanders) from the 11th century and throughout the medieval period.[7]
After 1400Leiden inHolland (nowThe Netherlands) became the most important place for broadcloth industry in Europe. There for the first time the production became industrialised. This means that the production process didn't take place entirely in one single factory anymore but according to a precise task allocation, where in several stagesintermediate goods were produced. The entire process was strictly supervised, resulting in a constantly high quality, making Leiden broadcloth very popular. In 1417 theHanseatic League decided that only approved broadcloth from Leiden was to be sold. From 1,500 competition from other parts of Europe, especially England, grew and Leiden lost its leading role. In ItalyFlorence became an important center of broadcloth industry.
Around 1500, broadcloth was made in a number of districts of England, includingEssex andSuffolk in southernEast Anglia, theWest Country Clothing District (Gloucestershire,Wiltshire, eastSomerset—sometimes with adjacent areas), atWorcester,Coventry,Cranbrook in Kent and some other places.
This was the best English cloth, and large quantities were exported by the merchants of theCompany of Merchant Adventurers of London, principally toAntwerp as white (i.e. undyed) cloth. It was finished anddyed inFlanders, and then marketed throughout northernEurope. The cloths might be short (24 yards long) or long (30 yards long).
The raw material for broadcloth from Worcester was wool from theWelsh border counties ofHerefordshire andShropshire, known as Lemster (i.e.Leominster) wool. That for theWest Country came from theCotswolds. In both cases, the high quality was the result of the comparatively poor pasture, which (probably aided byselective breeding) led the sheep to grow wool with the desired qualities.
English exports of broadcloth reached their highest level in the mid 16th century, after which some regions began producing other kinds of cloth. Difficulties were encountered in export markets in the mid-1610s, partly due to currency difficulties in eastern Europe, and partly to the ill-conceivedCockayne Project. Broadcloth production, thus declined in the 17th century.
Worcester remained a centre for the production of white broadcloth. Other areas, such asLudlow and parts of the Cotswolds started to produce similar cloth, known as 'Worcesters'. The market suffered major setback in the 18th century, when the trade of theLevant Company withTurkey was obstructed byFrench competition. From this time, the production of broadcloth lost its importance.[8][9]
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Wool broadcloth with its felted, velvet-like feel, has been used to upholster furniture and car interiors.[27]
