Grass-Cloth. A heavy, buff-colored cotton muslin, used at present for children's underwear. China grass-cloth, a beautiful, fine fabric made from the fiber of an India nettle, is imported to this country in the form of handkerchiefs. The Chinese name for grass-cloth is hia pu, summer cloth. It was originally called grass cloth by foreigners at Canton, China, because it was assumed to be made of some sort of grass.