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Bias (textile)

 
Bias (textile)

 
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Bias (textile)
 
 
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The bias (US) or cross-grain (UK) direction of a piece of woven
Weave

Weave may refer to:*Hair weave*Mozilla Weave*Weaving...
 fabric
Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
, usually referred to simply as "the bias" or "the cross-grain", is at 45 degrees to its warp
Warp (weaving)

In weaving, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns through which the weft is woven. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end....
 and weft
Weft

In weaving, weft or woof is the yarn which is drawn under and over parallel Warp yarns to create a textile. In North America, it is sometimes referred to as the "fill" or the "filling yarn", and in India, it is referred to as "baana"....
 threads. Every piece of woven fabric has two biases, perpendicular
Perpendicular

In geometry, two line or plane , are considered perpendicular to each other if they form congruence adjacent angles angles . The term may be used as a noun or adjective....
 to each other. Non-woven fabrics such as felt or interfacing
Interfacing

Interfacing is a textile used on the unseen or "wrong" side of fabrics to make an area of a garment more rigid.Interfacings can be used to:...
 do not have a bias.

Woven fabric is more elastic as well as more fluid in the bias direction, compared to the on-grain
GRAIN

GRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated....
 direction.






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Bias
The bias (US) or cross-grain (UK) direction of a piece of woven
Weave

Weave may refer to:*Hair weave*Mozilla Weave*Weaving...
 fabric
Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
, usually referred to simply as "the bias" or "the cross-grain", is at 45 degrees to its warp
Warp (weaving)

In weaving, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns through which the weft is woven. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end....
 and weft
Weft

In weaving, weft or woof is the yarn which is drawn under and over parallel Warp yarns to create a textile. In North America, it is sometimes referred to as the "fill" or the "filling yarn", and in India, it is referred to as "baana"....
 threads. Every piece of woven fabric has two biases, perpendicular
Perpendicular

In geometry, two line or plane , are considered perpendicular to each other if they form congruence adjacent angles angles . The term may be used as a noun or adjective....
 to each other. Non-woven fabrics such as felt or interfacing
Interfacing

Interfacing is a textile used on the unseen or "wrong" side of fabrics to make an area of a garment more rigid.Interfacings can be used to:...
 do not have a bias.

Woven fabric is more elastic as well as more fluid in the bias direction, compared to the on-grain
GRAIN

GRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated....
 direction. This property facilitates garments
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
 and garment details that require extra elasticity, drapability or flexibility, such as bias-cut skirts and dresses, necktie
Necktie

The necktie is a long piece of cloth worn around the neck, resting nowadays under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. The modern necktie, ascot tie, and bow tie are descended from the cravat....
s, piping trims
Trim (sewing)

Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as Gimp , tassel#passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament....
 and decorations, bound seams, etc.

The "bias-cut" is a technique used by designers for cutting clothing to utilize the greater stretch in the bias or diagonal direction of the fabric, thereby causing it to accentuate body lines and curves and drape softly. For example, a full-skirted dress cut on the bias will hang more gracefully or a narrow dress will cling to the figure. Bias-cut garments were an important feature of the designs of Madeleine Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet

The Dressmaker Madeleine VionnetMadeleine Vionnet was a French fashion designer. Called the "Queen of the bias cut" and "the architect among dressmakers", Vionnet is best-known today for her elegant Greece-style dresses and for introducing the bias to the fashion world....
 in 1920s and 1930s and bias-cut styles are revived periodically. In the Middle Ages, before the development of knitting, hose were cut on the bias in order to make them fit better. The old spelling was byesse.

A garment made of woven fabric is said to be "cut on the bias" when the fabric's warp and weft threads are at 45 degrees to its major seam
Seam

Seam may refer to:* Seam , an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois* Can seamer, a machine used to seal a lid to a can body, such as in paint or food cans...
 lines.

Note: The term "Cross-grain" in the US refers to the direction perpendicular to the length-of-grain (selvage edges), not the diagonal.

See also

  • Bias tape
    Bias tape

    Bias tape or bias binding is a narrow strip of fabric, cut on the bias . The strip's fibers, being at 45 degrees to the length of the strip, makes it stretchier as well as more fluid and more drapeable compared to a strip that is cut on Grain ....