The Cassimere

This cloth was invented and patented in 1766 by Francis Yerbury of Bradford-on-Avon. He realised that there would be a market for a lighter weight cloth not only for women’s clothes but also for the overseas trade.

He managed to create Cassimere which felt soft like wool but weighed much less than broadcloth. This was a very important development in the production of woollen cloths which enabled them to compete with the emerging worsted and cotton industries.

How Cassimere was made

Previous methods of making superfine cloth had produced a lightweight material which was weak and spongy. This was because the weft, being lighter, was of too soft a nature. Francis Yerbury experimented with a warp and a weft which were virtually the same in both size and twist.

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