The English poet, John Skelton (c. 1463 –1529), refers to linsey-woolsey ('lylse wulse') in his poem, Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?, which was written in c. 1523:
To weue all in one lome
A webbe of lylse wulse (lines 127- 128)
This type of cloth was used in many British colonies from the seventeenth century onwards, especially for clothing and light blankets. Scraps of linsey-woolsey were often used for quilts.
Sources:
- CAULFEILD, Sophia Frances Anne and Blanche C. SAWARD (1882). The Dictionary of Needlework, London: Upcott Gill, p. 327.
- Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Linsey-woolsey'.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 7th July 2016).
GVE