Calico
Calico turns up in 2 fields: textiles, production. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Calico in textiles
A plain-woven, unbleached cotton fabric that retains natural husks and a coarse texture.
A medium-weight, plain-woven textile made from half-processed and unbleached cotton fibers. It has a characteristic speckled appearance due to the presence of tiny, dark cotton seed remnants woven into the cloth. Because it is cheap, sturdy, and takes dye well, it is widely used for creating test garments in dressmaking, as well as for quilting and backing materials. In North America, the term often refers specifically to cotton printed with small, repeating floral patterns.
"Cut the bodice pieces out of calico first so we can check the fit on the dress form before cutting into the expensive silk."
Calico in production
A plain-woven unbleached cotton fabric used in industrial manufacturing for buffing wheels, backing, or prototyping.
This coarse and inexpensive textile is utilized across various manufacturing sectors as a consumable material. In metal finishing, it is layered and stitched together to create polishing mops and buffing wheels. In apparel and upholstery, it serves as a structural backing or a cheap material for testing initial patterns before cutting expensive fabrics.
"Grab a fresh calico buffing wheel so we can polish out these machining marks on the brass housings."