kerseymere
{{Short description|Smooth-faced twill fabric with a worsted warp and woolen weft}}
{{one source|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox textile|type=Fabric|material=Wool|method=Weaving|process=Craft Production|location=Kersey, Suffolk}}
Kerseymere is a fine woolen cloth with a fancy twill weave.
History
Originating in Kersey, Suffolk, kerseymere derives its name from the village and the factory it was first manufactured in, which was located along a mere.{{Cite journal |date=1850 |title=Origin of the Words Blanket, Worstcd, Kerseymere and Linsey Woolsey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24932991 |journal=Scientific American |volume=5 |issue=49 |pages=387–387 |issn=0036-8733}}{{Cite book |last=Cole |first=George S. |url=http://archive.org/details/completedictiona00coleiala |title=A complete dictionary of dry goods and history of silk, cotton, linen, wool and other fibrous substances, including a full explanation of the modern processes of spinning, dyeing and weaving, with an appendix containing a treatise on window trimming, German words and phrases, with their English pronunciation and signification, together with various useful tables |date=1892 |publisher=Chicago : W.B. Conkey company] |others=University of California Libraries}}
Uses
In printing fine work during the mid-19th century, the blankets that lay between the tympans were either fine kerseymere or superfine woolen cloth.{{citation |author=William Savage |title=A Dictionary of The Art of Printing |year=1841 |location=New York |author2=Burt Franklin}}{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Victoria and Albert |year=1795 |title=Sample Book {{!}} Unknown {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O294331/sample-book-unknown/ |access-date=2021-09-08 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections |language=en}}
As a finer, stronger weave of kersey, it was popular during the early to mid-19th century for day wear. Women wore pelisse and spencers made of kerseymere, with colors ranging from subtle neutral tones to vivid hues.The Mirror of Fashion for February, 1813. (1813). Lady’s Monthly Museum, or Polite Repository of Amusement & Instruction, 14, 106. Cabinet of Fashion. WITH ELEGANT COLOURED PLATES. (1808). Lady’s Monthly Museum, or Polite Repository of Amusement & Instruction, 21, 264. DRESSES. (1804). Lady’s Monthly Museum, or Polite Repository of Amusement & Instruction, 12, 132. While kerseymere was a popular fabric choice for women's outer wear, it was used more liberally in men's attire. Waistcoasts and trousers made of kerseymere were typically plain with neutral tones. However, pastel colors such as pale lavender were also used for bottom wear.{{Citation |title=Unsigned review, Gentleman’s Magazine |date=2002-06-01 |work=Samuel Taylor Coleridge |pages=611–614 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203198759-116 |access-date=2025-07-06 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-19875-9}}