Silesia (Sleazy, Slesia) was a thin

twill Twill is a type of textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and d ...

ed woven cloth made of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. The term denoted a wide range of fabric grades from

greige goods Greige goods (Gray goods, Grey goods, Corah or ) are loom state woven fabrics, or unprocessed knitted fabrics. Greige goods undergo many subsequent processes, for instance, dyeing, printing, bleaching, and finishing, prior to further convertin ...

dyed Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ch ...

and finished cloth. Silesia was used for various

linens Linens, also referred to uncountably as linen, are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church. History The earlies ...

, for lining clothes, and in window blinds. Cotton Silesia was calendered to obtain a gloss finish.

History

The fabric was originally manufactured in Silesia, a province of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. Poor-grade Silesia was used to make cheap clothing in 18th-Century Britain and America, where the name was corrupted into “sleazy”. George Washington described the uniform of the Continental Army as “a suit made of thin, sleazy cloth without lining.”

References

Woven fabrics {{Textile-stub