Waxed cotton

Waxed cotton is, as the name suggests, cotton impregnated with a paraffin or natural beeswax based wax, woven into or applied to cloth. Widely used from the mid-19th century to the mid-1950s, the product, which originated in the sailing industry in England and Scotland, became widely used by many for waterproofing. It is now replaced by more modern materials but is still used by the country sports community. The main drawback is that the waxed fabric is not very breathable.

Early mariners noticed that wet sails were more efficient than dry sails, but due to their weight slowed the vessel down. From the 15th century, mariners applied fish oils and grease to their heavy sailcloth, out of the worn remnants of which they cut waterproof capes to keep themselves dry, the forerunner of the fisherman's slicker. The result was efficient sails in dry weather, lighter sails in wet weather, and drier sailors throughout.

From 1795, Arbroath-based sail maker Francis Webster Ltd had perfected the art of adding Linseed oil to flax sails, creating an oiled flax. Lighter than wet sailcloth, these started to be used by the Royal Navy and the early tea clippers. As the tea races increased in competition, the clipper designers and captains looked for weight reductions. As the clippers were often used to ship cotton from Egypt, experiments were started with this lighter material.

The first waxed cotton products of Egyptian cotton with linseed oil applied, started to appear from the mid-1850s. Tea clipper sails were made from strong two-ply yarns in both warp and weft, which provided lighter cloth with extra strength for the larger sails. The recipe for waxing each cloth remained unique to that cloth, but all cloths suffered the same problems: stiffness in the cold; and a tendency to turn a shade of yellow towards that of pure linseed oil, creating the early yellow of fisherman's clothing.

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