Pronunciation
The consensus from various discussions on rec.crafts.textiles.needlework is that there are two ways to pronounce the word "Aida": either /ɑːˈiːdə/, as in the opera by Verdi, or /ˈeɪdə/. Since the name change occurred around the same time as Verdi's opera was first performed, there has been some speculation that the cloth was renamed after the opera to take advantage of the opera's publicity.
Read more about this topic: Aida Cloth