TAFTA VE VÂLÂ

Tafta (taffeta) was first woven in China. However, the first inventor of shiny tafta was a weaver (17th century) from Lyon named Octavio May. Tafta fabric was used by Turks and Arabs in the production of clothes such as abayas, sheets, summer dresses. Because of the developed weaving in the East, it is said that “Europe could only reach the quality level of silk fabric, which the Iranians call tafta, at the end of the 16th century”. Bursa came into prominence as one of the most important trade and industrial centers of the Middle East in the 15th and 16th centuries. Bursa is also an important industrial center that exports heavy and light silk fabrics (kemha, velvet, tafta, and atlas) for domestic and foreign markets. Towards 1502, there were more than a thousand silk looms in Bursa. There were only 300 looms in İstanbul in the middle of the 16th century. Tafta and vâlâ are mentioned together in the sources, and since it is not known exactly today, it is surmised that they are similar fabrics. In the bright era of the Ottoman Empire, the warp and weft wires of tafta, which was also used as sail-cloth in the navy, were bent with several layers to provide the intended thickness. Hard-touch taftas were also used in women’s dresses, curtains, and tents. Vâlâ has the same properties as tafta fabric. Its difference from tafta is thought to be that it is boiled after being woven, that is, subjected to heat. Vâlâs, similar to taftas in their width and number of warp threads, are thought to be similar to today’s birman or crepe de chine. In the Codes, taftas are mentioned together with vâlâs. Tafta’s warp and weft densities are equal, therefore it is a hard and durable fabric. After woven, glue was applied to its surface by hand and its roughness was removed. There are types such as double tafta, single tafta, dü-hezari tafta. While mostly red and green taftas were produced for the flags used in the army, black tafta was also used in clothing. These weaves are used in clothing and home textiles. Silk is used as the material in tafta and vâlâ and they are woven with plain weave in Bursa and İstanbul. The colors used in the weavings are red, green, blue, yellow, white, beige, black, and cream.