Katie Pye sack dress 1980

Sack dress
1980
Sydney, Australia
By ‘Katie Pye’
This sack dress is made from cotton corduroy and embroidered with cotton and rayon yarn

Other information
Katie Pye, the altruistic originator of indigenous Australian style. Her label represents body architecture: a freedom of movement and expression.
Source: ‘The Great Aussie Fashion’, by Elina MacKay, A Kevin Weldon Production, 1984, page 82-83, 264

Cotton lint is spun then woven or knitted into fabrics such as velvet, corduroy, chambray, velour, jersey and flannel

Corduroy is made by weaving extra sets of fiber into the base fabric to form vertical ridges called wales. The wales are built so that clear lines can be seen when they are cut into pile. The primary types of corduroy are:
• Standard wale: 11 wales/inch, and available in many colours
• Pincord/pinwale/needlecord: Pincord is the finest cord around with a count at the upper end of the spectrum (above 16)
Pigment dyed/printed corduroy: The process of colouring or printing corduroy with pigment dyes. The dye is applied to the surface of the fabric, then the garment is cut and sewn. When washed during the final phase of the manufacturing process, the pigment dye washes out in an irregular way, creating a vintage look. The colour of each garment becomes softer with each washing, and there is a subtle color variation from one to the next. No two are alike.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corduroy

Corduroy is a truly vintage textile of cotton or cotton-mix fabric with a raised, ribbed, sheared surface nap and underlying weave. It is made from woven, twisted fibres which lie in parallel rows or ‘cords’ to form the cloth’s texture. The cords usually have a channel between them.
Corduroy has a velvety feel making it durable yet soft to touch. It has been used mainly for men’s working and sporting clothing throughout the centuries. Modern uses include trousers, shirts, skirts, suits, caps, dresses, jackets, toys and soft furnishing. The character of corduroy has not changed greatly since the late 18th Century.
Sourced from: http://visforvintage.net/2012/05/03/history-of-corduroy/