Description:
Double-sided handkerchief or neckcloth (also known as a barcelona or choppa) made from a dark blue and white resist-printed cotton. Each side has a different design, but each has the same general pattern of small, all-over abstracted floral sprays with a 3/4" scrolling foliate border design all around. The indigo-resist pattern (known in the 18th century as paste work) was made by applying wax, starch, or (later) a chemical paste in the desired pattern to white fabric. When the fabric was dipped into the indigo bath, the paste "resisted" the dye, leaving the "waxed" fabric white. Then the wax was reapplied within each design to make multiple shades of blue; when the cloth dipped again, those areas not covered by the wax became an even deeper blue. Colorfast and easeily laundered, these prints were widely popular. There are two selvages plus two hemmed edges, with white/off-white linen thread.

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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2000.21.7

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