The name Holland cloth, or simply Holland can refer to one of two types of fabric:
- a plainwoven or dull-finish linen used as furniture covering
- a cotton or linen fabric made more or less opaque by a glazed or unglazed finish (the Holland finish)
First documented in English in 1427, the name originally applied to any fine, plainwoven linens imported from Europe, and particularly from the Netherlands.
Holland cloth is used for window shades, insulation, labels and tags, sign cloth, etc.
References
- "Holland cloth". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) - "A hard-wearing, plain-woven linen fabric originally made in the Netherlands, used esp. for making clothing, bedding, and towels and for covering furniture; (in later use also) a smooth cotton or linen fabric treated with a mixture of oil and sizing or starch to give it an opaque finish, used esp. for making window blinds."
- "Holland cloth". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- "Holland (cloth)". Britannica. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
Originally the name was applied to any fine, plainwoven linens imported from the continent of Europe, and especially to the product obtained from the Netherlands.
- Peck, Amelia (2013). Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-58839-496-5.
The earliest records of textiles shipped to North America, specifically to New England, European-woven linens like 'holland cloth ' .
- "Holland (cloth)". Britannica. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
Holland is used for window shades, insulation, labels and tags, sign cloth, and the like.