haircloth

[Eng. hair, and cloth. ] Stuff or cloth made wholly or in part of hair, and used for the covering of chairs, couches, cushions, . In the form of a shirt it was formerly much used in penance. Horsehair for the manufacture of hair cloth is principally derived from South America. It is first sorted according to color, and then hackled. A number of tufts are then placed between the teeth of two cards, and the longer hairs removed by hand, so as to leave only those of uniform length. Hair is curled by forming it into a rope, which is afterward boiled, and then baked so as to set the kink in the hairs. Haircloth is made from the longer and better varieties. The hair is first dyed, usually of a black color, and is merely employed as the weft of the cloth, the warp being composed of cotton or linen thread, according to quality and purpose.