Percale
Percale or Percalcos[1] is a closely woven plain-weave fabric often used for bed covers.
The term describes the weave of the fabric, not its content, so percale could be a blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, 100% cotton, or a blend of other fabrics in any ratio.[2] A percale weave has a thread count of about 200 or higher, and is noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bed-sheets. It has medium weight, is firm and smooth with no gloss, and warps and washes very well. It is made from both carded and combed yarns. Percale fabrics are made in both solid colors and printed patterns. The finish of the fabric is independent of its weave, so it can be either printed or unprinted.
Percale was originally imported from India in the 17th and 18th centuries,[3] then manufactured in France.[4] The word may originate from the Persian, pargālah meaning rag,[5][6] although the Oxford English Dictionary (as of December 2005) has traced it only as far as 18th-century French. In the 14th century in Dalmatia, which had trade connections also as the Republic of Venice, Peter de genere Percal was mentioned.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ How India clothed the world: the world of South Asian textiles, 1500-1850, Volume 4 of Global economic history series, p.440, Giorgio Riello, Tirthankar Roy, Om Prakash, published by BRILL 2009, ISBN 9789004176539
- ^ Dotmaison.com. Fabric Glossary in the Dotmaison magazine.
- ^ "percale noun" The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English. Ed. Jennifer Speake. Berkley Books, 1999. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Cambridgeshire Libraries. 18 December 2007
- ^ "percale, n. and adj.", Draft Revision Dec. 2005, Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ "percale", The American Heritage Dictionaries, at answers.com
- ^ A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary: including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature, being, Johnson and Richardson's Persian, Arabic, and English dictionary, revised, enlarged, and entirely reconstructed, The World's Most Detailed and Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, Francis Joseph Steingass, Asian Educational Services, 1992. ISBN 9788120606708
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