Circa 1910 French mattress ticking fabric. Red and white striped ticking duvet cover. Linen and cotton blend.
 
The word 'ticking' is derived from the Latin word for case, 'Tica.' The fabric came to be known as 'denim,' as Nimes, France was one of the great producers of this ticking fabric. Ticking fabric was used for creating mattresses, as the European bedding system of old consisted of many layers of textiles - the ones at the bottom were stuffed with straw and fodder and topped with a dense denim (ticking) that was stuffed with feathers for the top layers.