The history of textiles is fascinating! In some ancient African, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Island cultures people made textiles by beating the fibrous bark of trees into cloth–hence the term barkcloth. This is what people do in places where they can’t grow a crop–like flax, hemp, or cotton–that produces a fiber. Aren’t people clever?
You can still buy barkcloth (or bark cloth, if you'd rather) today, but it is expensive and hard to find in yardage. That’s because it is still made the old-fashioned way: hand-crafted with muscle power. When people refer to barkcloth today, they almost certainly mean cotton barkcloth fabric. This fabric is woven on modern looms but has a soft, rough, barkcloth texture.
Cotton barkcloth fabric became popular between 1940 and 1960 in tropical, abstract, atomic, and boomerang prints. These barkcloth fabric vintage prints are associated with mid-century modern design. Some manufacturers of this era called their barkcloth “rhino fabric” because of the rough, nubby texture of their fabric.
Barkcloth is back! You can find barkcloth fabric by the yard in retro prints as well as fresh, new designs. As before, barkcloth is a wonderful option for curtains, slipcovers, upholstery, handbags, totes, backpacks, fabric boxes and bins, and all sorts of home decor. Sewists are selecting barkcloth for garment applications. Barkcloth quilt fabric is a popular choice–especially for quilts intended for outdoor use.
If you are looking for barkcloth by the yard, Missouri Star has modern, fun, coordinated designs in several colorways from which to choose. We hope you enjoy exploring this new version of a very old fabric!
