Red baai shirt for a man, from Drenthe, in the east of the Netherlands, before 1974.
Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, acc. no. HM.6074.
Baai is the Dutch name for a type of cloth produced, among others, from the late sixteenth century in the city of Leiden. It was made of carded wool but unlike laken (broadcloth) made mostly of locally produced wool, rather than imported, high quality wool from England and Spain.
The production process of baai was comparable to that of laken, but the fulling process (volling in Dutch) was less intense while the roughing, on the other hand, was more so. The textile was also, unlike laken, not shaven, which created a cloth with a rough surface. From the late 18th century, baai was also made from cotton .
Lit.: Els de Baan, Goed Garen, 1994, pp. 9-10.
WV, 12 March 2022
