Brunette Girl With Pink Ribbon Bands

Ribbon-weaving is known to have been established near St. Etienne (dep. Loire) as early as the 11th century, and that town has remained the headquarters of the industry. During the Huguenot troubles, ribbon-weavers from St. Etienne settled at Basel and there established an industry which in modern times has rivalled that of the original seat of the trade. Krefeld is the centre of the German ribbon industry, the manufacture of black velvet ribbon being there a specialty. In England Coventry is the most important seat of ribbon-making, which is also prosecuted at Norwich and Leicester.
While satin and other sorts of ribbon have always been used in lingerie, the usage of ribbon in the garment industry, while subject to fashion trends, saw an upsurge in the mid to late 90's. This upsurge led to increased ribbon manufacturing as well as new and improved manufacturing techniques. Due to more competitive production rates, as well as past experience in this field, companies in the Far East - especially those in China - gradually secured themselves to be the major ribbon suppliers in the world and improved both the quality and the variety of their merchandise to match those of their established European and North American competitors.
Presently, the North American continent remains the largest importer of ribbon and ribbon derivative products (such as bows, rosettes, and other garment accessories made from ribbon). However, due to outsourcing of production of garments by North American garment manufacturers, countries in Asia and South America have started to contribute to the change of the statistical figures of ribbon imports.
Inspired by European silk ribbons obtained through trade, Great Lakes and Prairie Native American tribes created art form of appliqué ribbon work.