Clothing and style in the Old World incorporates a broad group of textiles. Even though canvas and wool are widespread, most people wear linen clothing, which is woven from flax. Cotton and silk are recent innovations imported from distant Cathay and are both so expensive that only the wealthiest nobles can afford to wear them. Examples of Old World materials follow.[1a]
- Canvas: This coarse cloth is woven of flax and hemp and is often used by peasants and the middle class.[1a]
- Flannel: A popular material woven from wool, it serves many purposes from smallclothes to bandages.[1a]
- Homespun: This is a reddish-brown or grey coloured, coarse woollen cloth. It is the favoured material of the lower classes.[1a]
- Linen: Cloth made from flax, most clothing is linen.[1a]
- Serge: Another woollen fabric, serge is used for clothing, but also for a variety of other purposes, including bedcovers, shrouds, and banners.[1a]
- Silk: As an import from Cathay, silk is perhaps the most expensive fabric in the Old World. When silk fabric is woven with elaborate patterns and designs, it’s called damask.[1a]