crinoline

Other forms: crinolines

Crinoline is a stiff, coarse type of fabric that can make some clothes rigid. If you want an extra puffy skirt, put a layer of crinoline under it.

You ever notice how a hat is stiffer than other clothes? The material that often makes it stiff is called crinoline. Crinoline also used to be popular as material in woman's skirts, the kind of skirts that were two or three times wider than the woman: crinoline helped achieve that effect. Crinoline was originally made with horsehair, but now material with the same purpose is still called crinoline, though it might have a different composition.

Definitions of crinoline

1. noun

   a stiff coarse fabric used to stiffen hats or clothing
   type of:

   cloth, fabric, material, textile

   artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
2. noun

   a full stiff petticoat made of crinoline fabric
   type of:

   half-slip, petticoat, underskirt

   undergarment worn under a skirt
3. noun

   a skirt stiffened with hoops
   synonyms: hoopskirt

   type of:

   skirt

   a garment hanging from the waist; worn mainly by girls and women