Duck (textile)

MFA Acc. #: 1979.245a

Description

A durable, plain weave, firm fabric made of cotton or linen. Duck fabric is woven with with plied yarns (plied yarn duck) or with double threads in the warp (flat duck). It was given the 'duck' name because of its ability to shed water. Duck is used for sails, awnings, book covers, white trousers, tents, and bags.

Several varieties of duck are marketed such as:

- Russian duck: a fine, white linen cloth.

- awning duck: woven with brightly colored stripes.

- hose duck: lightweight duck used for rubber hose.

- elevator duck: a heavy, stiff duck used for conveyor belts.

- canvas: a heavy, more-open weave duck.

Cotton duck

Synonyms and Related Terms

sailcloth; canvas; Russian duck; awning duck; hose duck; elevator duck; loneta (Esp.); ongekeperd linnen (zeildoek,tentdoek) (Ned)

Additional Images

• 

  Greige cotton duck

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 282

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Duck." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 30 July 2004 .

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

• Edward Reich, Carlton J. Siegler, Consumer Goods: How to Know and Use Them, American Book Company, New York City, 1937

• Website address 1 Comment: www.fabrics.net