Linsey-woolsey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linsey-Woolsey is a fabric that has been in use since medieval times. It is a "whole cloth" made by weaving a linen (from the flax plant) warp with a wool weft.
Many sources say it was used in colonial times for quilts, and when parts of the quilt would go bad the remains would be cut up and pieced into other quilts. Some sources dispute this and say that the material was too rough and would have been used instead for clothing and occasionally for light blankets. It was also used for needlepoint. It was often used as the material for the clothing of slaves in the American South. It, or something similar, was also known in Biblical times; the Bible twice explicitly bans wearing it (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11).
In the novel Incidents in the life of a slave girl Harriet Jacobs writes, "I have a vivid recollection of the linsey-woolsey dress given to me every winter by Mrs. Flint. How I hated it! It was one of the badges of slavery."
