Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Hykes

HYKES, a species of blankets, commonly used by the inhabitants of Barbary. They consist of a light woollen cloth, woven by women, who conduct every thread with their fingers, and without the aid of a shuttle. This manufacture appears to be a coarse kind of shawl, and is the more remarkable, as each of such hykes is from five to six yards in length, and breadth: it forms the whole apparel of the wretched natives, and serves them as a covering for their beds during the night.