Crepe

crepe (krāp), thin fabric of crinkled texture, woven originally in silk but now available in all major fibers. There are two kinds of crepe. The hard-finished, typically dyed black and used for mourning (which tends to retain the old spelling crape), is made of hand-twisted silk yarn and finished by a rather complex trade process after weaving; the soft crepes include the Canton, or Oriental, weaves (crepes de Chine) in plain or damask weaves. Their crisped or wavy appearance results from the peculiar arrangement of the weft, which is formed of yarn from two different bobbins twisted together in opposite directions or uses alternately a right-twisted and a left-twisted thread.

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crepe, crape

a. a light cotton, silk, or other fabric with a fine ridged or crinkled surface

b. (as modifier): a crepe dress

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crepe [krāp]

(textiles)

A silk, polyester, wool, rayon, or other fabric with a crinkled surface obtained by using yarns twisted alternately right and left in the filling.

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Crepe 

a group of fabrics, primarily silk, made from threads with a very large (crepe) twist, and also, in some instances, special (crepe) interweavings. The most common types are crepe de Chine, chiffon crepe, crepe Georgette, and satin crepe.

Crepe is usually made with threads twisted to both the right and left in a specific alternation; this twisting of the threads, which gives them greater elasticity, causes the fabric to shrivel quite a bit, which in combination with the different directions of the twists, creates a slightly rough, shaded effect.

Crepe is made not only from silk, but also from silk mixture, cotton, wool, and wool mixture, and also with artificial and synthetic threads. The crepe effect is achieved in these fabrics primarily by using crepe and other somewhat patterned interweavings, frequently without the crepe twist. The advantages of crepe are that it drapes well and is crease resistant. It is used for women’s dresses and suits.