FIL AU CHINOIS
Image courtesy of Toulemonde
Guest Edited by Rebecca Devaney
Approaching the dazzling golden gates of the Château de Versailles, it’s easy to miss the small sign in a window for Sajou. A gentle knock at the door and through a quiet, cobbled courtyard, Frédérique Crestin-Billet welcomes clients by appointment to shop the full range of Fil au Chinois threads. Whether it’s for patchwork, quilting, sewing, embroidery, lace-making, weaving, darning, book-binding, saddlery, the perfect thread will be found among the Fil à Gant, Fil Metalisées, Fil de Lin, Laine St Pierre, Cocons Caudry or Retors du Nord. 
Image courtesy of Toulemonde
The Fil au Chinois linen thread mill was established in Lille in 1827 by Francois-Philibert Vrau. Lille was an important textile town in Northern France that specialised in thread manufacture or filature, using linen and hemp fibres. In the 1850s, François’ son Philibert joined the company and his genius for marketing catapulted the company to enormous success. At that time items from the Orient were considered the height of luxury and quality and with the Oriental character on their packaging sales soared. At the peak of their success in the late 19th century sales reached 93 million spools per year, and Fil au Chinois linen thread was a household item in France.
Image courtesy of Toulemonde
In the 20th century sales drastically declined due to the slub in linen thread catching in sewing machines. The legendary brand had almost disappeared until 2007, when two brothers from a thread spinning dynasty, Bruno and Olivier Toulemonde, collaborated with Frederique Crestin Billet of Sajou fame. They relaunched thread production, repairing the machines, sourcing the original packaging and going to great lengths to achieve the quality of cotton and linen thread that Fil au Chinois was once famous for. Their passion paid off when Fil au Chinois was awarded the prestigious Entreprise de Patrimoine Vivant for their contribution to French heritage and culture.
Image courtesy of Toulemonde
At the Toulemonde factory in Lille, the stockroom is filled with large, colourful spools of threads. On the factory floor, the constant sound of machinery and the unexpected scent of beeswax! Fil à Gant is a cotton thread that was originally used for glove-making, it was slightly waxed to ease the thread through fine leather. It became the thread of choice for Haute Couture embroiderers who use the Lunéville Hook technique to add thousands of beads and sequins to extravagant gowns from the Belle Époque, to the Roaring Twenties, the elegant 1950s to the decadent 1980s. Today these little spools are still the thread of choice in the Haute Couture embroidery ateliers of Paris.
Rebecca Devaney is running a tour in partnership with Selvedge on 1 - 9 June 2023 (subject to change). You can find more details on our website Selvedge Textile Tour, Paris