Organza vs. Organdy
Is your fabric organza or organdy? What is the difference? The similarity in names for these two fabrics causes a lot of confusion. Both are sheer, crisp, plain-weave fabrics. The difference comes down to the type of yarn used to create the fabric.
Organdy, or organdie, is typically made of cotton fibers. The yarn is spun, meaning it is created by spinning together short fibers (called staple fibers) to create a long, continuous thread.
Organza is made of filament yarn, which is made from very long fibers, such as silk. Filament yarn is most often made of synthetic fibers in modern times, so most modern organza is synthetic, such as polyester, however silk organza can still be purchased.
That’s it. The difference is simply the type of fibers used: filament or staple.
Wondering what the difference between any other fabrics are? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll try to answer. Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so that you get your answer as soon as I publish it.
8 Responses to “Organza vs. Organdy”
molly
5:07 am | 09/03/11
very informative knolwedge
Ruth
6:35 pm | 12/29/12
I bought a 50’s dress, stiff, shimmering, sheer, and pink! What a beauty! The perspiration has caused much of the lining to turn yellow, armpits and yellow streaks all over. some of the yellow has gone thru to the overlay material, and turned it yellow, just by one armpit. Whether its organdy or organza, can I wash it by hand, or will the perspiration get activated by the water and go through to the organza all over? Thank you!
Rachael Arnold
1:17 pm | 01/03/13
Hi Ruth. I’m not a very good person to ask about stains; I’m pretty bad about getting them out of anything. Your best bet is to talk to a drycleaner or use Google. I’m sure someone out there is an expert.
Carolyn Bryant
10:09 pm | 04/08/13
If I have a wedding dress from the 50’s and my daughter want to use the skirt part and remake the bodice (because the dress it tiny); If I purchase white cotton organdy will it be obviously different then the cotton organza that the dress is made of?
Rachael Arnold
9:43 am | 04/09/13
Carolyn, that is almost impossible to answer.
First, the manufacturing of organdy and organza has likely changed in the last 60 years, so even if you were trying to match organdy to organdy you could run into issues with slightly different quality, weave, thread count, etc.
Secondly, 60 year old white will have aged some, and there’re many varieties of “white” available in the fabric store.
Your best bet is to get a few samples from somewhere (and see if there is a section in a seam allowance that will allow you to cut out a swatch from the dress fabric), and try to match that way.
Gut reaction: it’s highly unlikely that the first white organdy or organza you come across will perfectly match the one you have. Maybe not even the first ten.
Vicki
3:50 pm | 08/18/13
ok so organdy is more likely cotton than polyester?
i inhereted a bag of cut organdy, and wondering if it can be used to make a summer weight corset,
Lucesita
12:36 pm | 10/09/13
Hello Rachel thanks for all of the information but my question is which one is better quality and which one is more durable? I will appreciate all your help thanks 🙂
Emma
9:28 pm | 08/02/15
What are the properties and performance of organza?? I have been looking for it everywhere but I cant seem to find them.