Tulle

Woven fabric with continuous warp threads and just as many weft threads running diagonally to them, which wrap around the warp threads. The weft threads are wound on small metal bobbins (bobbin), which, as in braiding, perform a full wrap (whole twist) around each warp thread as they travel from left to right and back again. In addition to these binding weft threads, at least a second weft thread system must be present for patterning; complicated patterns require further pattern thread systems; these are controlled by Jacquard machines.
Bobbinet tulle consists of fine cotton twist yarn or synthetic fibre materials. Its quality is determined by the material and the number of cells per English square inch. These are counted from top left to bottom left and then diagonally to top right, with the bottom-left cell counted twice.
The word tulle is derived from the French town of Tulle. A distinction is made between fine and coarse tulle, and plain and patterned tulle. Of the numerous types of tulle, the following may be mentioned here:
- Architect's tulle, with particularly large grid-like cells
- Double-tie (double binding), tulle with a full pattern on both sides
- Double-action, with relief-like appearing pattern
- Pea tulle, plain tulle with honeycomb-(diamond-)shaped cells
- Florentine tulle, fine pea tulle, embroidered with patterns
- Filet tulle, made of weft threads running at right angles to the warp threads and a further pattern-thread (filet-thread) system
- Grid tulle, with square cells
- Relief tulle, with weft threads running back and forth over several warp threads
- Single-tie (simple binding), flat patterned tulle
- Swiss tulle, with various fine weft threads
- Lace tulle (tulle lace), imitation of bobbin-made Valenciennes lace
- Raschel tulle, warp-knitted tulle produced on the Raschel machine with thick lengthwise and fine crosswise threads