The woven cloth that either supports more complex over weaves, or provides the base for printing colour and pattern. The quality of the ground cloth determines the quality of the result.
1. As the base cloth for printing it is the grey cloth. In printing, a same print method of applying colour will take and wear differently depending on whether it is on a coarse linen or cotton ground. Equally, if the dyes aren’t adjusted to the cloth, even a slightly off colour ground cloth will impart a different appearance and tone, and markedly affect the intended result.
2. The ground cloth may be printed once in a subtle design to support a more complex, larger and often brighter over printing.
3. In weaving, the ground cloth provides stability for all sorts of complex weavings; often a background weft binds the cloth, providing support, while one or more extra wefts create the surface design. As in jamdani – lisere and brocade among others.