“Cotton duck” originated from a heavy-duty fabric that was used on sails and tents in “days of yore”. The word comes from the Dutch word “doek.” As the heavy-duty cloth found its way around the world and into things like bags and clothes, the word “doek” was turned into duck. Wax was applied to create a water-resistant coating for different uses. This fabric has also been utilized to make heavy duty, durable quality work clothes. Can you say Carhartt?
What makes the canvas duck material so durable is a combination of how the canvas is made and the material that it is made from. Duck is a plain, tightly woven fabric with two thick yarns together in the warp and a single yarn in the weft, resulting in a thick cotton weave that is resistant to the penetration of wind and water.
Because of its tight weave, duck is highly resistant to tearing and incredibly durable. So tough, that it was often used as sailcloth prior to the development of synthetic fibers. The tightly woven fabric is durable, being less prone to cuts, tears, and snags as other lightweight cotton fabrics.
Cotton duck strips were the origin of duck tape due to the fabric’s strength and durability. I’ve read varying accounts of the first product created for mass use, but the consensus is that Johnson & Johnson invented a wound dressing tape called Zonas Adhesive Plaster in the late 1800s. This appears to be the first mass marketed adhesive fabric. No more wrapping wounds and tying the ends together!
A numbered duck classification system was put into effect in the 1920s by the Cotton Duck Association (did you know such a thing existed?) and the United States Department of Commerce when discrepancies came about with various specifications and qualities of material. In a technical paper entitled "Development of the Standard Numbered Cotton Duck Specification", the Department's National Bureau of Standards established a set of specifications acceptable to manufacturer and consumer.
According to the Department of Commerce, "The number of the duck is based on the following computation: Number of Duck = 19 − (Weight per linear yard 22 inches wide in ounces)." This numbering system is used to describe the various weights of duck cloth, based on the weight of a 36-by-22-inch (91 cm × 56 cm) piece. Weights below 19 ounces are called numbered duck. Those above 19 ounces are called naught duck. The grade of numbered duck refers to the number of ounces subtracted from 19 for a 36-by-22-inch piece of fabric. For example, a piece of No. 8 numbered duck with dimensions of 36 by 22 inches weighs 11 ounces (310 g) (19 − 8 = 11).
At Heart in Hand Mercantile, we utilize a heavy "numbered" duck for our Inked Canvas wall tarps due to its strength, texture and durability. And with the history of cotton duck, it seemed the perfect pairing for our historical images!
There! Now you have some “fascinating” cocktail conversation.
Photo Credit: Prokudin-Gorskiĭ, Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich, photographer. Cotton textile mill interior, probably in Tashkent. [Between 1905 and 1915] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2018681312/>.