Millinery ribbon

claireshaeffer

claireshaeffer

VFG Member
I know petersham is used for head bands in hats. It is a narrow ribbed fabric and easy to shape. It used to be all cotton, then some was cotton/rayon, and now most of the new is all rayon.
Was it always called millinery ribbon? If not, what was it called ?
When used in hats, how much can you adjust the head size with the petersham?

In the sixties, I took a millinery class and made a few hats. I used the ribbon, but don't remember what it was called.
Do you know anything about petersham and/or it's history.
Many thanks, claire
 
Claire,

This is always an interesting topic for me. We did have a few discussions on this over the year on the Forums, but I could not find them for reference. The terms are not always defined the same, but this is the general rule:

As you know, as a general rule, in England they call grosgrain ribbon "Petersham", here we just call it grosgrain. As you say it is a faille weave, with tiny ribs. It was originally made of silk, and you can still find the old vintage or antique silk grosgrain today if you hunt for it. Silk is far superior for millinery uses, but rayon works just fine too. Rayon took over from silk around the early 20th century. I seldom have seen professional millinery ribbon made of cotton but it is out there. Today most of what I find in shops is made of polyester or a rayon acetate blend, neither of which works well for hat making purposes, and the poly is useless in my opinion. Rayon is still available, but not as readily in regular stores but I have not shopped in years in any fabric store. A millinery supply company will have what you need to make a proper hat.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: All Petersham/grosgrain ribbon is NOT and I repeat not millinery ribbon! This very important distinction is in the way the edges are bound. While both may look the same to the untrained eye, millinery grosgrain/Petersham (or as we milliners call it...simply millinery ribbon) true millinery ribbon has what we refer to as sawtooth edges on both sides. These look like tiny rounded bumps along the edges, and the edge binding is not straight. This allows the ribbon to take the needed circular shape (when properly pressed and swirled) so it lays perfectly flat against the rounded crown or brim of a hat. If you use the plain type of grosgrain, it will not lay flat and will create gaps that look very unprofessional. Millinery ribbon also allows you to adjust your inside sweatband to the proper hat's size as desired.

Be aware of sellers who call their plain grosgrain ribbon "millinery ribbon". Check the close up photos and if the description does not mention the bumpy edges on both sides, ask the seller before making the purchase.

Claire, I am not sure if I understand your last question. But the true millinery ribbon can be made longer when it is swirled, and I have used it to about any normal size range from small to extra large.
 
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Thanks, Barbara,
The petersham and old grosgrain I bought had the rounded bumps on both edges. You could unravel it and the the bumps were the weft thread.
On the new poly grosgrain, the ridges are heat set and the edges are straight. When you unravel it, the warp yarns look like they have a permanent. Offray began making it in 1972.
In SF, you can buy petersham at Britex.
 
Britex has a great variety of colors and reasonable prices. But did you see the silk Petersham ribbon price? $50 to $60 per YARD. Yikes!!!!! I sold mine too cheap and will be rasing my prices on any I sell in the future! Ha ha ha. However, that is really grossly over-priced for one yard of ribbon.:wacko:
 
I'm still playing with petersham. I found a number sizing which I don't understand. The first reference did not have the inch measurements--just the numbers.

#40-3”, #9 is 1 ½”, #3 is 5/8” , #16 is 2”

If you have some petersham ribbon, I would appreciate your checking the weave on it. When I unraveled several different pieces, each had a leno weave. Generally, this would add body, but some of the new ribbons are very soft.
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