Dress fabric

Worsted is a fabric woven from long staple wool, which is prepared for weaving by combing rather than carding, and can have a smooth finish suitable for glazing. In the second half of the 18th century, there was a considerable export trade in worsteds from Britain. A contemporary writer commented that 'these were woven in various patterns which ... were composed of the richest and most brilliant dyes and variegated by an endless diversity of colours'. The export market was of major importance to Norwich textile manufacture. Norwich Stuffs, as they were known, were exported via London (and later Great Yarmouth), through Rotterdam, Hamburg and Danzig. There were substantial imports into Russia and China, and to the Iberian peninsula, from where they were also re-exported to Central and South America.

The designs for worsted fabrics often followed those popular in more expensive silks. In the 1760s there was a particular taste for designs with trailing patterns of lace and ribbons, as in this example.