CANVAS, a stout cloth which probably derives its name from cannabis, the Latin word for hemp. This would appear to indicate that canvas was originally made from yarns of the hemp fibre, and there is some ground for the assumption. This fibre and that of flax have certainly been used for ages for the produc tion of cloth for furnishing sails, and for certain classes of cloth used for this purpose the terms "sailcloth" and "canvas" are synonymous. Warden, in his Linen Trade, states that the manu facture of sailcloth was established in England in 1590, as appears by the preamble of James I., cap. 23. But this, or a like cloth of the same name had been used for centuries before this time by the Egyptians and Phoenicians. Since the introduction of the power loom the cloth has undergone several modifications, and it is now made both from flax, hemp, tow, jute and cotton, or a mixture of these, but the quality of sailcloth for the British government is kept up to the original standard. All flax canvas is essentially of double warp, for it is invariably intended to with stand some pressure or rough usage.
In structure it is similar to jute tarpaulin; "bagging," "tar paulin" and "canvas" form an ascending series of cloths so far as fineness is concerned, although the finest tarpaulins are finer than some of the lower canvases. The cloth may be natural colour, bleached or dyed, a very common colour being tan.
Amongst other articles made from it are: receptacles for photographic and other apparatus; bags for fishing, shooting, golf and other sporting implements; shoes for cricket and other games, and for yachting ; travelling cases and holdalls, letter-bags, school-bags, and nose-bags for horses. Large quantities of the various makes of flax and cotton canvases are tarred, and then used for covering goods on railways, wharves, docks, etc.
Sail canvas is, naturally, of a strong build, and is quite different from the canvas cloth used for embroidery purposes, often called "art canvas." The latter is similar in structure to cheese-cloths and strainers, the chief difference being that the yarns for art canvas are, in general, of a superior nature. All kinds of vegetable fibres are used in their production, chief among which are cotton, flax and jute. The yarns are almost invariably two or more ply, an arrangement which tends to obtain a uniform thickness—a very desirable element in these open-built fabrics. The plain weave A in the figure is extensively used for these fabrics, but in many cases special weaves are used which leave the open spaces well defined. Thus weave B is of ten employed, while the "imitation gauze" weaves, C and D, are also largely utilized in the produc tion of these embroidery cloths. Weave B is known as the hopsack, and probably owes its name to being originally used for the making of bags for hops. The cloth for this purpose is now called "hop pocket ing," and is of a structure between bagging and tarpaulin. Another class of canvas, single warp termed "artists' canvas," is used, as its name implies, for painting in oils. It is also much lighter than sail canvas, but must, of necessity, be made of level yarns. The best qualities are made of cream or bleached flax line, although it is not unusual to find an admixture of tow, and even of cotton in the commoner kinds. When the cloth comes from the loom, it undergoes a special treatment to prepare the surface for the paint.