Flannel

Flannel

Flannel a warm fabric of various degrees of weight and fineness, usually made from loosely spun yarn.

Flannel is a light-to-medium weight woven cloth commonly used to make clothing and bedsheets. It was originally made from carded wool, but is now often made from either wool and cotton, or wool and synthetic fibre.

The term "flannel" is also often used to refer directly to the clothing created from flannelette. Today, many so-called flannels are made with a large mixture of cotton or synthetic fibres. These are, in some countries called flannelettes. In fact, in some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom), it is illegal to sell flannelettes under the name 'flannel'.

In the United States, the terminology is slightly different. The term 'flannelette' is not used, and 'flannel' frequently refers to 100% cotton fabrics. It is also unusual to use the term to refer directly to a garment.

Flannel and flannelette can be woven in either a tight twill weave or a plain weave, although this is often obscured by napping one or both sides. After weaving, it is napped once, then bleached, dyed, or otherwise treated, and then napped a second time.