canvas, strong, coarse cloth of cotton, flax, hemp, or other fibers, early used as sailcloth. Left in its natural color, bleached, or dyed, it has a wide variety of uses, as for game, duffel, sport, mail, and nose bags, tennis shoes, covers, tents, and awnings. Waterproofed with tar, paint, or the like, it is called tarpaulin and used to protect boats, hatches, and machinery. Duck is a fine light quality used for summer clothing, awnings, and sails. Artists' canvas is a light, smooth, single-warp texture, specially treated to receive paint. Art or embroidery canvas is an open-mesh type, usually linen, for working in crewels and for needlepoint.

Type of embroidery in which the stitches are counted and worked with a needle over the threads, or mesh, of a canvas foundation. It was known as canvas work until the early 19th century. If the canvas has 16 or more mesh holes per linear inch, the embroidery is called petit point; most needlepoint was petit point in the 16th–18th century. Needlepoint as it is known today originated in the 17th century, when the fashion for furniture upholstered with embroidered fabrics prompted the development of a more durable material to serve as the embroidery's foundation. Wool is generally used for needlepoint, silk yarn less often. Needlepoint kits, containing canvas stamped with a design and all the materials needed for the project, were sold as early as the mid-18th century. Seealso bargello.

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Stout cloth. Canvas (probably named for cannabis, or hemp), has been made from hemp and flax fibres since ancient times to produce cloth for sails. More recently it has also been made from tow, jute, cotton, and mixtures of such fibres. Flax canvas is essentially of double warp (see weaving), being invariably intended to withstand pressure or rough usage. Articles made from canvas include camera and golf bags, running shoes, tents, and mailbags. Tarred canvas is used for tarpaulins to cover goods. Artists' canvas for painting is much lighter than sail canvas; those of the best quality are made of cream or bleached flax fibre.

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