cretonne n : an unglazed heavy fabric; brightly printed; used for slipcovers and draperies

English

Etymology

From Creton, a village in Normandy.

Noun

1. A strong, heavy fabric of cotton, linen or rayon, used to make curtains and upholstery.

Cretonne, originally a strong, white fabric with a hempen warp and linen weft.

The word is sometimes said to be derived from Creton, a village in Normandy where the manufacture of linen was carried on.

Some other serious sources mention that the cretonne was invented by Paul Creton, an inhabitant of Vimoutiers in the Pays d'Auge, Lower Normandy, France, a village very active in the textile industry in the past centuries.

The word is now applied to a strong, printed cotton cloth, stouter than chintz but used for very much the same purposes. It is usually unglazed and may be printed on both sides and even with different patterns. Frequently the cretonne has a woven fancy pattern of some kind which is modified by the printed design. It is sometimes made with a weft of cotton waste.

References

External links

• The cretonne at its origin