Oilcloth

Related Category: Textiles and Weaving

originally, cloth treated with oil or other substances so as to be waterproof and used for fishermen's and sailors' wear, for coach robes and covers, and later as a floor covering, called floorcloth. Subsequently it was made of heavy canvas, jute, or burlap, sized with glue, and coated with a thick oil paint, several coats being used and successively rubbed down with pumice stone. It was machine printed, dried in a drying room, varnished, and rolled. Linoleum and various kinds of vinyl products have superseded oilcloth as a floor covering. A variety of oilcloth fabrics is now produced for wall, table, and shelf coverings, for raincoats, and for many small wares.