Introduction

Aida cloth is a coarse open-weave fabric traditionally used for cross-stitch. It comes in various even sizes, indicating the number of squares per inch. The fabric is relatively stiff and usually comes in a brown or tan colour, and is made from linen or linen blends. A sample cross-stitch of a Welsh dresser Cross-stitch is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. ... Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. ...

History

The history of this name is somewhat obscure, and has been discussed several times on the newsgroup rec.crafts.textiles.needlework. The general consensus there is that the cloth was originally named "Java Cloth", and the name was changed to "Aida Cloth" (possibly for marketing purposes) some time around the turn of the 20th century. One post to that newsgroup cites this early definition: (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

"AIDA CANVAS--This material, introduced under the French name Toile Colbert, is a description of linen cloth. It is also called “Aida Cloth” and Java Canvas as well as “Fancy Oatmeal” ... A cotton cloth of the same make is known by different names, those most employed being Basket Cloth and Connaught.”

(from the “Dictionary of Needlework”, London 1887)

Pronunciation

The consensus from various discussions on rec.crafts.textiles.needlework is that there are two ways to pronounce the word "Aida": either "ah-EE-duh", as in the opera by Verdi, or "AY-duh". There seems to be no official guide to which pronunciation to choose. Since the name change occurred around the same time as Verdi's opera was first performed, there has been some speculation that the cloth was renamed after the opera to take advantage of its publicity.
Note: The above pronunciations should be rendered in IPA format as per the Wikipedia:Pronunciation guide. VERDI is an acronym for the Italian unification movement, named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi (ardent supporter of the movement) VERDI stands for Vittorio Emmanuelle, Re D Italia (Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy) Categories: Historical stubs ... The three-letter acronym IPA can stand for any of the following (listed in alphabetical order): Independent Pilots Association India Pale Ale Institute of Public Affairs Institute for Propaganda Analysis International Phonetic Alphabet. ...