Crepe Fabric Directory

What Crepe Is

Crepe is defined by its surface: a finely crinkled, pebbly texture that comes not from a pattern woven on top but from the yarns themselves. The classic method twists the weft yarns hard - far beyond normal twist levels - in alternating directions, so that when the cloth comes off the loom and is finished, the yarns' stored energy relaxes into the characteristic grainy ripple. The Crepe Fabric Definition sets out the construction family formally; other routes to the same family look include crepe weaves with ordinary yarns, chemical embossing, and plisse-style treatments, but the high-twist original is what the name means in the quality trade. Crepe drapes in a fluid, slightly heavy fall, resists showing wrinkles precisely because its whole surface is a controlled wrinkle, and takes dye to a deep matte richness.

The family names describe weights and weaves rather than different fabrics. Crepe de chine is the light, smooth classic of dresses and blouses, traditionally silk, now largely polyester. Georgette is its sheerer, springier cousin - chiffon's relative with more body and a drier hand. Marocain is a heavier ribbed crepe for tailored dresses; crepe-backed satin puts a crepe face against a satin back; wool crepe brings the texture to suiting and coats. Fiber follows the same pattern as chiffon's: silk is the historical original, and the mills below produce the volume modern versions in polyester, viscose and blends, which reproduce the ripple and drape at prices silk cannot approach.

Buying, Sewing and Care

Crepe's virtues in wear are real: it packs without creasing visibly, skims rather than clings, and moves with a weight that reads as quality even in synthetic versions. Its cautions live in the cutting room. High-twist crepes can keep relaxing - a garment cut before the fabric has rested may grow or torque - and the crinkled surface punishes a hot, flat iron, which can glaze or permanently flatten the texture; pressing is done cool, through a cloth, or replaced by steaming. Silk and viscose crepes spot-mark with water more readily than polyester versions, and care splits the family the usual way: polyester crepe is the wash-and-wear member, silk and wool crepes belong with the dry cleaner or the careful hand wash.

For buyers, the specification is fiber, weight, and which crepe - a crepe de chine and a marocain share nothing but ancestry - plus the finish, since the ripple is partly a finishing effect and its permanence should be confirmed for washable end uses. The mills in this list are woven and knit crepe producers at volume: several, like Shenghong and Wujiang Hengyu, also appear under chiffon in this directory, because high-twist filament weaving is one specialism serving both fabrics. Around this page, the Fabric Directory hub covers the section, and the trade runs through the Machinery directory, Clothing Industry Factories, Yarn Factories, Fabric Retail and Fabric Wholesalers.

Using This Directory

The listings below are the complete set for this category as Apparel Search carries it: seven mills - Alok Textile Industries of India, Best Textiles International of China, Beximco Group of Bangladesh, Lu Her Knitting Factory of Taiwan, Shenghong Group of China, the West Coast Weaving Establishment and Wujiang Hengyu of China - each linked to its own profile in the Fabric Mills by Name section. No listing has been added or removed. The mix of weaving and knitting producers fits modern crepe, which is knitted in jersey form as readily as it is woven. Industry readers also use the Fibers Directory, Fabric Definitions, Fashion Industry News, Clothing Industry Employment and Conversion Charts. Thank you for using the Apparel Search Fabric Mill Directory.

Crepe Fabric Mills Listed in This Directory

Crepe and chiffon are the two classic dress fabrics, and they could hardly feel more different: see crepe vs chiffon for texture, transparency, drape and care compared.