Print this page

Huckaback Cloth

Schematic drawing of Huckaback cloth. Schematic drawing of Huckaback cloth.

Huckaback cloth is an absorbent cotton or linen material made from a self-patterning weave (patterns in the cloth are made by changing the weave in specific places; compare a damask weave) with a tabby ground and small, all-over motifs in offset rows.

The floating threads are in the warp on the front of the cloth and in the weft on its reverse. The term huckaback specifically referring to a linen cloth with floating weft threads dates back to at least AD 1690, while the related term huck, short for huckaback, dates from about 1851.

See also the TRC Needles entry on darned huckaback.

Sources:

  • BURNHAM, Dorothy (1980). Warp and Weft: A Textile Terminology, Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, p. 72.
  • Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Huck' and 'Huckaback'

GVE

Last modified on Monday, 24 April 2017 14:26