Haircloth

Description

A thick, coarse fabric that usually contains a Cotton warp woven with Horsehair filling fibers. The horsehair is obtained from the manes and tails of horses and may be up to 30 inches in length. Haircloth is stiff, but resilient, and was used as interlining material for clothing and upholstery. It use has been superseded by synthetic fabrics in recent years.

Synonyms and Related Terms

cilice; haardoek (Ned); haarweefsel (Ned);

Resources and Citations

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 387

• Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, Phyllis G.Tortora, Robert S. Merkel (eds.), Fairchild Publications, New York City, 7th edition, 1996

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "horsehair." Accessed 17 Nov. 2004 . (horsehair).."The fabric, at one time made into shirts worn by religious penitents, became a popular upholstery material in the 19th century."

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998