# Moquette

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{{Short description|Woven pile fabric with cut or uncut pile}}
{{See also|Frits Moquette}}
[[File:Barman_moquette.jpg|thumb|250px|A [Transport for London](/source/Transport_for_London) moquette seat covering in the 2011 ''Barman'' design, named after [Christian Barman](/source/Christian_Barman), who commissioned the first moquettes for the [London Underground](/source/London_Underground) in 1936.]]

'''Moquette''' is a type of woven [pile](/source/pile_(fabric)) fabric in which cut or uncut threads form a short dense cut or loop pile. The pile's upright fibres form a flexible, durable, non-rigid surface<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vogAAAAMAAJ|title=Ship-furnishing and Decoration|author=W. A. Gibson-Martin|year=1932|page=71}}</ref> with a distinctive velvet-like feel. Traditional moquette weave fabrics are made today from a wool nylon face with an interwoven cotton backing, and are ideally suited to applications such as public transport.

==Origin==
Moquette originated in France, where it was [woven](/source/weaving) by hand.  Named after the French word for [carpet](/source/carpet), its standard width was a [Flemish](/source/Flanders) [ell](/source/ell) of 27 inches. There were two finishes: moquette ''velouté'', which had a cut pile like English [Wilton](/source/Wilton%2C_Wiltshire) carpet, and moquette ''bouclé'', which had an uncut pile like [Brussels](/source/Brussels) carpet.<ref name=RaCB>{{cite book |last1=O'Brien |first1=Mildred Jackson |year=1946 |chapter=From European Looms |title=The Rug and Carpet Book |publisher=M. Barrows and Company, Inc. | pages=54–55 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/rugcarpetbook00obri/page/54/mode/2up | language=en}}</ref> It is still woven in [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire) using traditional techniques.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.camirafabrics.com/us/transport |title=Transport Fabrics |work=Camira Fabrics |location=Mirfield, West Yorkshire, UK |access-date=11 December 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://warnertextilearchive.co.uk/moquette-and-marianne-straub/ |title=Moquette and Marianne Straub |work=Warner Textile Archive |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=11 December 2025 |quote= Moquette is a tough, woven, woollen pile fabric … Today it is still produced in the traditional English technique in Yorkshire.  }}</ref>

==Uses==
===In clothing===
Moquette is occasionally used in clothing. In 1932–33, the [United States Army Air Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Corps) contracted for cold-weather leather flight suits lined with moquette, apparently as an economy substitute for [sheepskin](/source/sheepskin).{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===In public transportation===
[[File:Victoria Line carriage passenger bench seats.jpg|thumb|Moquette seat coverings on the [Victoria Line](/source/Victoria_Line) of the London Underground]]

Due to its durability, moquette is used as public transit seat coverings in many countries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Sullivan |first=Feargus |date=February 25, 2019 |title=The Good, Bad, and Ugly Public Transit Seat Covers of the World |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-25/a-global-review-of-public-transit-seat-cover-designs |access-date=October 29, 2024 |website=Bloomberg CityLab}}</ref> Because it was relatively cheap to produce and readily available,<ref>During the decades of the many railway companies, there were some ten moquette manufacturers in the UK; by mid-1960s this was reduced to [Courtaulds](/source/Courtaulds) and Holdsworth Fabrics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}</ref> the fabric began to be used in London in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/history-moquette |title=A history of moquette |last= |first= |date= |website=London Transport Museum |language=en |access-date=2023-02-13}}</ref>  It is still used a century later, 
particularly to [upholster](/source/upholstery) the seats of [London Underground](/source/London_Underground)'s Tube trains. Such seat covers may be designed with intricate bright colored patterns to conceal wear. These may reflect local culture and history, such as "Barman" or "Landmark" designed in 2010 for London public transportation seat coverings that depict local landmarks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-25/a-global-review-of-public-transit-seat-cover-designs |title=The Good, Bad, and Ugly Public Transit Seat Covers of the World |last=O'Sullivan |first=Feargus |date=2019-02-25 |website=Bloomberg |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |language=en |access-date=2023-02-13}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Mockado](/source/Mockado)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2019/mar/12/london-transport-distinctive-fabrics-moquette-history-in-pictures Gallery of moquettes used by London transport]

{{fabric}}

Category:Woven fabrics

{{textile-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moquette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moquette) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moquette?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.