{{Short description|Fabric}} '''Calamanco''' (also '''calimanco''', '''callimanco''', or '''kalamink''') is fabric with a glazed surface that was popular in Europe and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name=Crayne/> It was typically made of worsted-spun wool yarn, and the glazing was achieved by calendaring (pressing the cloth between hot rollers),<ref name=term/> by surface-rubbing with a stone, or by applying wax to the surface.<ref name=Crayne/> The name comes from a Spanish term for worsted wool.<ref name=Crayne/>

Calamanco goes back to the late 16th century but was most popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name=term/> It was made in a number of different weaves, including plain and satin weaves, damasks and brocades.<ref name=term/> Early in the period, it was used in clothing,<ref name=term/> but later on it was more commonly used for bed coverings, and surviving fragments are often found in quilts of the era, especially whole-cloth quilts.<ref name=Crayne/> The surface sheen of the calamanco sets off intricate quilting patterns.<ref name=Crayne/>

==In popular culture== Calimanco has also been used as an alternative name for calico cats. It appears to have originated as a regional term in the English county of Norfolk.<ref name=Weir/> Norwich in Norfolk was a center of calamanco manufacture.<ref name=andrews/>

Calamanco is the name of a mare in Great Britain born around 1990; several of her offspring won races in the early 2000s.<ref name=racehorse/><ref name=TFL/>

==References== <references>

<ref name=TFL>[https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Calamanco+catching+up+her+sister%3b+BLOODSTOCK+CONNECTIONS+BLOODSTOCK...-a0186924882 “Calamanco Catching Up Her Sister“]. ''The Free Library'', 2008.</ref>

<ref name=andrews>[https://www.meg-andrews.com/item-details/Norwich-Calamanco/7123 “Norwich Calamanco c. 1760”]. Meg Andrews: Antique Costumes and Textiles.</ref>

<ref name=racehorse>[http://www.the-racehorse.com/stats/dam/calamanco/53126/?xl=6x&p=1 “Calamanco (GB) Dam Report”]. The-recehorse.com.</ref>

<ref name=Weir>Weir, Harrison William. ''Our Cats and All About Them''. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1889, p. 53.</ref>

<ref name=term>[http://thedreamstress.com/2012/02/terminology-what-is-calamanco/ “Terminology: What Is Calamanco?”]. ''The Dreamstress'', February 9, 2012.</ref>

<ref name=Crayne>Crayne, Dian. [http://www.historyofquilts.com/calamanco.html "Glazed and Glorious: The Calamanco Quilt"]. ''Patches from the Past'', 2003.</ref>

</references>

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Category:Textiles Category:Technical fabrics