Voile
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A light, almost transparent cotton fabric used for making curtains and dresses
Voile is a light weight woven fabric, generally made of 100% cotton or cotton blends including linen or polyester. Its name originates from the French language and means veil. Because of its light weight the fabric is mostly used in soft furnishing. Full length curtains in hot countries are made with voile and used as window treatments, mosquito nets etc.
In the United Kingdom, as the more old fashioned net curtains lost popularity, voiles came to replace them in the 1990s. More sophisticated weaves became available on the market and intricately detailed voiles became fashionable. Because of their semi-transparent quality voile curtains are made using specially manufacturer heading tape which is less easily noticeable through the fabric. Voile fabric is also used in dress-making either in multiple layers or laid over a second material.
Material types
Light penetrating sheer fabrics include muslin, voile, and lace. These can be broadly divided into two groups based on method of production. The first are the natural fibers such as cotton and silk. The second group is prepared from a man-made fiber. This kind of synthetic sheer is extracted from raw material such as wood pulp or petroleum. They are robust and sturdy yet still delicate looking and tend to take dye well. They are often used as window dressing as they fall into soft folds that make attractive scarf swags.
