Oilcloth, also known as enameled cloth or American cloth, is close-woven

cotton duck Cotton duck (from nl, doek, "linen canvas"), also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Duck canvas is more tightly woven than plain canvas. There is also linen duck, which is less often use ...

or linen cloth with a coating of

boiled linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

to make it waterproof.

Manufacture

Boiled linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

was prepared by a long boiling of linseed oil with metal salts, originally lead dross. The modern oil is less toxic, but also less suitable for making oilcloth. Re-enactors may boil their own oil in the search for a correctly coloured oilcloth. Oilcloth used for weatherproofing may have used a mixture of lead and manganese salts, the sienna and umber pigments, to give a more humidity-resistant cure. The fabric was first stretched on a

tenter frame Tenterhooks or tenter hooks are hooked nails in a device called a ''tenter''. Tenters were wooden frames which were used as far back as the 14th century in the process of making woollen cloth. The phrase "''on tenterhooks''" has become a met ...

and sized with animal gelatine. The oil was then applied and allowed to cure between coats. As the cure relies on oxidation by the air, thin coats and long cure times between are required. Overlaps between sheets of fresh oilcloth would amalgamate naturally when pressed together. This tendency also led to the cloth sticking together when folded. The cloth was waxed or dusted with pumice to reduce sticking when folding was required. Seams in traditional oilcloth could be coated after sewing to reduce leakage through their stitching. This was generally unsatisfactory for clothing though and so overcoats of this era would incorporate one or more short capes over the shoulders. These capes were made in one piece and covered the inevitable shoulder seams in the main garment. These capes remain today in garments such as the Ulster and

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. In the 19th century, waxed cotton and Mackintosh developed and began to gradually replace oilcloth, especially for clothing.

Applications

Historically, pre-19th century, oilcloth was one of very few flexible, waterproof materials that were widely available. Leather was expensive—very expensive in large pieces and required regular maintenance if it got wet. Oilcloth was used as an outer waterproof layer for luggage, whether wooden trunks or flexible satchels, and for carriages and weatherproof clothing. The most familiar recent use was for brightly printed kitchen

tablecloth A tablecloth is a cloth used to cover a table. Some are mainly ornamental coverings, which may also help protect the table from scratches and stains. Other tablecloths are designed to be spread on a dining table before laying out tableware and ...

s. Dull-colored oilcloth was used for

bedroll The cowboy bedroll was an American Old West precursor to the modern sleeping bag, which carried a man's bed and some personal belongings in a waterproof shell. In Australia, it was called a swag. Origins It is unclear when or how the roll dev ...

sou'wester A Sou'wester is a traditional form of collapsible oilskin rain hat that is longer in the back than the front to protect the neck fully. A gutter front brim is sometimes featured. See also * Mariner's cap * Oilcloth * Waxed cotton Waxed cotto ...

s, and tents. By the late 1950s, oilcloth became a synonym for vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride) bonded to either a flanneled cloth or a printed vinyl with a synthetic

non-woven Nonwoven fabric is a fabric-like material made from staple fibre (short) and long fibres (continuous long), bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in the textile manufacturing industry to denote fabri ...

backing.

References

Woven fabrics {{Textile-stub