CAMBRIC  , a word derived from Kameryk or Kamerijk, the Flemish name of

Cambrai, a town in the department of Nord, France, where the cloth of this name is said to have been first made . It was originally made of fine linen . There is a record of a privy purse expenditure in 1530 for cambric for Henry VIII.'s shirts . Cambric has been used for many years in the manufacture ' of handkerchiefs, collars, cuffs, and for fine underclothing; also for the best shrouds, and for fine baby linen . The yarns for this cloth are of very fine quality, and the number of threads and picks often reaches and sometimes exceeds 120 per inch . Embroidery cambric is a fine linen used for embroidery . Batiste, said to be called after Baptiste, a linen-weaver of Cambrai, is a kind of cambric frequently dyed or printed . All these fabrics are largely copied in cheaper materials, mixtures of tow and cotton, and in many cases cotton alone, taking the place of the original flax line yarns .