Plate No. 028 · fabric

Calico

Calico is a plain-weave cotton, coarser than muslin, woven from unbleached and often not fully processed cotton, so the greyish cloth is flecked with husk. In British usage calico is the plain cream cloth; in American usage the word came to mean the small floral prints stamped onto it, a meaning that wandered as far as the patched coats of calico cats. Printed calicos from India so threatened European weavers that France and England both banned them for a time in the eighteenth century.