Talk:Chintz

Quality of the fabric
Chintz was relatively inexpensive and therefore very popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which I believe is where the term "chintzy" came from: cheap, poor-quality, "common" in a snobby, derogatory sense. Wspencer11 13:48, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

I'd challenge the idea that it is seen as showy or vulgar, unless this is a US perception- in the UK it's more associated with being old-fashioned and tacky. DJ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.135.20.147 (talk) 21:51, 15 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Merriam-Webster says "gaudy, cheap". That's pretty standard US usage. - PKM (talk) 02:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Chintz, calico, cotton, cretonne, hemp, linen, flax
This sentence seems self contradictory if the links to the articles on calico and cretonne are correct, 'Chintz is glazed calico cloth printed with flowers and other patterns in different colours. Unglazed calico is called "cretonne".' In those links it says that calico is made from cotton and that cretonne (unglazed calico) is hempen warp and linen weft. Linen is made from flax (says the article on linen). There's something wrong somewhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.187.233.172 (talk) 22:59, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Singular/plural
I think some editing is needed in this article -- Chintz just means chints so most of the singular references to Chintz could/should just say chint? quota (talk) 15:14, 26 April 2012 (UTC)


 * No. See: 1 (recent book on chintz by curator at V&A), 234 Metropolitan Museum textiles pages (note that ref. 4 has "chintzes" as a plural). This dictionary site gives the correct definition that "chint(s)" was the original term and is now archaic - "1719, pl. of chint (1614), from Hindi chint, from Skt. chitra-s "clear, bright." The plural (the more common form of the word in commercial use) became regarded as singular by late 18c., and for unknown reason shifted -s to -z; perhaps after quartz.". It is pretty obvious that "chintz" is, and has been since the 1700s at least, the default/standalone term in widespread/common usage, so I would leave them intact. Definitely include a citation for the original form of the word. Actually, that gives me a thought, I will redirect chint to chintz, as that is more appropriate than it linking to a non-notable Chinese co. Mabalu (talk) 15:38, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

glaze
I know nothing about fabric. I do know that glaze is a powder which when heated forms a glass surface on a hard substrate such as a metal, or ceramic. I cannot find in Wikipedia any reference to "glazed cloth" except here. What does it mean? Nick Beeson (talk) 16:07, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
 * It means the fabric is coated with a clear varnish or coating to give it a crisp texture. Mabalu (talk) 18:34, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

How were these items cleaned?
How were these items cleaned those many years ago? They didn't have access to modern plastics based screen printing, so it seems like the printed florals may have been fragile and would have been damaged with rubbing on a washboard, etc.

Or were these meant as "formal wear" over other underclothing, and simply aired out or perfumed after use?

-- DMahalko (talk) 05:56, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

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Perhaps include Original Manufacture steps?
https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fabrics-fibers/chintz says  "The cloth was flattened and burnished with buffalo milk and myrobolan (a dried fruit containing tannin) to give it a smooth surface. The protein in the milk probably provided bonding sites for the dyes. The pattern was drawn on paper. Holes were pierced through the paper along design lines. Powered charcoal was rubbed on the paper to transfer the pattern to the fabric. The design outlines were painted in. Then, the entire fabric surface was coated with wax except for those areas designed to be blue or green in the finished fabric. The fabric was immersed in an indigo vat, a requirement for fast blues and greens. After immersion in indigo, the dye was oxidized in the air and the fabric was dried. The fabric was scraped and washed to remove the wax. Most of the rest of the design was achieved by painting on a combination of mordants with thickening agents followed by dipping the fabric in a madder bath. Colors achieved in this manner include orange, brown, pink, crimson, lilac, purple, and black. Washing the fabric removed most of the madder in the non-mordanted areas. The fabric was aged in the sun to remove any residual color in the nonmordanted areas and to set the color in the mordanted areas. Finally, any areas requiring yellow (including any area dyed blue that was designed to be green in the finished fabric) were painted with saffron or another yellow dye. Unfortunately, since the yellow dye had poor light fastness, most historic chintz prints have lost that component of the design."  Sadly, it does not include the original glaze, but it does explain a lot.  ThomasHarrisGrantsPass (talk) 05:09, 28 December 2018 (UTC)

Chintz Origination dates
Listening to https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bbth?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile I think Chintzin India might be older than you suggest here. 79.68.45.116 (talk) 10:38, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Earlier than 1500? I don't remember that. Anyway it is only really called chintz when outside India. Johnbod (talk) 16:45, 25 August 2022 (UTC)