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Flannel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a fabric; for other uses see Flannel (disambiguation).
Flannel is a warm fabric of various degrees of weight and fineness, usually made from loosely spun yarn.
Flannel is a light-to-medium weight woven cloth, which originated in the Midwest, commonly used to make clothing and bedsheets. It was originally made from carded wool, but is now often made from either wool and cotton, or wool and synthetic fibre.
The term "flannel" is also often used to refer directly to the clothing created from flannelette. These are, in some countries called flannelettes. In fact, in some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom), it is illegal to sell flannelettes under the name 'flannel'.
In the United States, the terminology is slightly different. The term 'flannelette' is not used, and 'flannel' frequently refers to 100% cotton fabrics. It is also unusual to use the term to refer directly to a garment.
Flannel and flannelette can be woven in either a tight twill weave or a plain weave, although this is often obscured by napping one or both sides. After weaving, it is napped once, then bleached, dyed, or otherwise treated, and then napped a second time.
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Fabric similar to flannel can be traced back to Wales. It has been made since the 17th century, having gradually replaced, as the local textile product, the older Welsh plains, some of which were finished as 'cottons' or friezes. In the 19th century, it was made, particularly Montgomeryshire in towns such as Newtown, Montgomeryshire[1], Hay on Wye,[2] and Llanidloes[3] The expansion of its production is closely associated with the spread of carding mills, which prepared the wool for spinning, this being the first aspect of the production of woollen cloth to be mechanised (apart from fulling). The marketting of these Welsh woollen clothes was largely controlled by the Drapers Company of Shrewsbury.[4]
The origin of the word is uncertain, but a Welsh origin has been suggested. The French form fianelle was used late in the 17th century, and the German Flanell early in the 18th century.
Baize, a kind of coarse flannel with a long nap, is said to have been first introduced to England about the middle of the 16th century by refugees from France and the Netherlands.
- Flannels (q.v.) are cricket attire, originally made of flannel, though now often of other cloth.
- In the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, a flannel refers to a facecloth or washcloth, presumably having originally been made of flannel cloth.
- In colloquial British English, to flannel is to not answer a question. It is also used in the publishing industry to denote copy of low interest such as the flannel panel, which outlines who does what on a magazine.
In North America, flannelette, commonly referred to as flannel, was commonly thought to be the fabric of woodsmen, lumberjacks, tough men and farmers. Today it is commonly used for children's winter pajamas as well as pajama pants for adults. It is incredibly good at keeping warmth in, therefore it is favored among many blue collar workers in cold environments.
In the US, due to the fact that many people in the Pacific Northwest (especially in Seattle, Washington) and Vancouver, British Columbia have had a tendency to wear it, flannel there has become associated with grungers and music. This idea was even further popularized by the fact that many rock, metal and, most notably, grunge musicians from the early 1990s often wore clothing made from it. In addition, flannel also became associated with West Coast gangsta rap for much of the 1990s. Flannel has been thought by some to be a fashion statement (or in some cases an anti-fashion statement), and has been more broadly associated with slackers. Recently, it has been associated with the hardcore music scene, mostly because it is frequently worn by members of the popular hardcore band Norma Jean.
In Australia and New Zealand, Flannelet is associated, in a derogatory manner, with Bogans[5], and, more specifically Westies[6].
- Filmmaker George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars saga.
- Neil Young, guitar player, singer and songwriter
- Lead singer and guitarist from Nirvana, Kurt Cobain
- Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam
- Grunge/Metal band Alice in Chains
- Mick Foley in the persona of Cactus Jack, a WWF/WWE hardcore wrestler who wears red flannel (and occasionally other colors) as part of his ring attire
- Rory Gallagher, the Irish-born blues guitarist.
- Duane Allman, guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band.
- Mike Watt, bassist for The Minutemen, Firehose, The Stooges, and various other bands.
- Phil Anselmo, in a handful of early-to-mid 90's promo photos with Pantera, Anselmo was photographed wearing flannel shirts.
- John Linnell, lead singer of They Might Be Giants
- Larry The Cable Guy, American stand up comedian and actor
- Matt Corby, contestant of 2007 Australian Idol
- Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and Black Label Society's and Pride and Glory's headman
- Jason Lee's character Earl J. Hickey from the hit US comedy My Name Is Earl
- The character Al Borland, from the TV series Home Improvement
- The character Alex Mack, from the TV series The Secret World Of Alex Mack
- Comic strip character Jeremy Duncan of Zits by Jerry Scott (writer) and Jim Borgman (artist)
- George Costanza, frequently seen wearing flannel in the television show Seinfeld
- The character Luke Danes of Gilmore Girls
- Red Green
- ^ http://www.newtown.org.uk/history.htm Newtown History
- ^ http://www.cpat.org.uk/projects/longer/histland/midwye/mwindust.htm
- ^ Llanidloes History
- ^ A. H. Dodd, Industrial Revolution in North Wales (1931), 229-81; J. Geraint Jenkins, The Welsh Woollen Industry (Cardiff 1969); J. Geraint Jenkins, 'The woollen industry in Montgomeryshire' Montgomeryshrie Collections 58 (1963), 50-69.
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/15/1026185158244.html
- ^ http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Westies_people_-_Characteristics/id/5581470
