Calico (textile)

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A calico bag
A calico bag

Calico is a plain-woven textile. In the UK, "calico" refers to fabric made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may contain unseparated husk parts, for example. The fabric is less coarse and thick than canvas or denim, but owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance, it is still very cheap. This fabric is called muslin in the US. As it is an inexpensive and readily available fabric, Calico is often used by tailors in the construction of toile -- mockups of a garment for the purpose of testing a pattern.

In the US, "calico" refers to a printed cotton fabric with a small, all-over pattern, often floral.[1]

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The name Calico is derived from the name of the city of Calicut, Kerala, India. It is used a lot in soft furnishing. It has been made by the traditional weavers of calicut called 'chaliyans.'

In 1700, England banned importation (and the use and wear of) of cotton cloth from India, in an effort to prop up the English textile industry. Printed calicos were especially popular among women who were termed the 'Calico Madams'. The ban failed, and was strengthened in 1720 (known as the 'Calico Act', it was repealed in 1774). It almost destroyed the Indian textile industry, and India was forced to buy British textiles. Rishton was the first place that the cloth calico was woven on an industrial scale in the UK. Rishton is a small town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England. It is situated about 4 miles west of Accrington and 4 miles east of Blackburn.

  1. ^ Kadolph, Sara J., ed.: Textiles, 10th edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007, ISBN 0-13-118769-4, p. 463


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