What is a panama weave?

The white panama hat, who doesn’t know it. The weaving of these hats is pure handicraft and is considered a true art of weaving. The weave used in weaving these hats is called the panama weave. 

The panama weave, also called “mat weave”, “natté” or “basket weave”a variation of the plain weave, in which onethread alternates between the top and bottom of a weft thread. In a panama weave, however, two or more warp threads move across the same number of weft threads. With a panama, the number of threads in each group is indicated by numbers. For example, a 2/2-panama or a 4/4-panama.

Features

A panama fabric is like a flat weave even on two sides. The double weft/chain yarns mean that the fabric wrinkles less than a plain weave and is slightly more supple. By comparison to the plain weave, the warp density of a panama is much higher. This is because there are fewer tie points.

For a 2/2 panama the chain density is one and a half times that of the flat weave. For the 4/4 panama, you need twice as many threads per inch. With more threads, you get a clearer, more textured weave. Of course, this also depends on the properties of the yarn and the application of the fabric. 

At Sustainablefabrics.shop we have different fabrics with panama bonds in our range. Please have a look in the webshop.