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Post by artificer on Mar 3, 2020 14:47:08 GMT -7
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ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
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Post by ewoaf on Mar 3, 2020 15:10:37 GMT -7
Burnleyandtrowbridge.com
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Post by hawkeyes on Mar 3, 2020 16:59:25 GMT -7
I buy my 100% linen from the local fabric shop. I can't afford nor see the point of spending $$$ on expensive textiles when shirts and breeches will be reduced to linen patch material ultimately. I also have a family to provide for and just can't justify spending a weeks worth of grocery money on fabrics. I personally believe properly made period clothing is vastly important and my box store linens have served me well in that area in terms of durability and look for years and years. In short certainly take some time to vist the local craft store, you can absolutely find good fabrics.
I always look for natural, unbleached 100% linen with a tight weave. When I find it I usually stock up and with a coupon I'm set.
Good wool isn't cheap and that is an area that does require some extra funding if you buy it per yard. However you can usually find old 100% wool blankets large enough for a few garments at second hand shops and what not, this is always a valuable option for saving money and applying it on other purchases.
Also, look on Colonial Williamsburg, you may be surprised. Very rarely they have some sales on fabrics. I did score a good deal on a print I liked.
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Post by hawkeyes on Mar 3, 2020 17:22:11 GMT -7
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Post by artificer on Mar 4, 2020 6:48:30 GMT -7
ewoaf, Thanks for the suggestion. Hawkeyes, Thanks for the advice and tips. To let you all know where I'm coming from, it's not the heat that bothers me as I did a tour in Somalia, but rather the humidity here in Virginia and especially as I've gotten older. In the early 2,000's when I first did the event "Under the Red Coat" at Colonial Williamsburg; on the first day I had to wear lightweight military overalls, a shirt, wool Regimental Coat and a lightweight wool waist coat. Though of course we didn't wear the Regimental for most of the day when setting up camp, I did experience the beginning stages of Heat Exhaustion due to the humidity, but fortunately I recognized it and "self treated" before it got bad. I had three period shirts in those days two from lightweight cotton and one a slightly heavier osnaburg and made the mistake of wearing the slightly heavier shirt along with the wool waist coat on Friday, as I thought it would require less exertion than the next two days. The wool waist coat was the only one I had then. Fortunately on Saturday and Sunday, I wore the lighter weight shirts and was able to borrow a linen waist coat. Along with that, my Philabeag (Short Kilt) was delivered, so I wore that and my diced hose. It made a world of difference with the lighter weight shirts and linen waist coat and I got better circulation from the Philabeag. The Diced Hose were made from a heavy period correct wool, but that didn't bother me. I was much more active on Saturday and Sunday and though the temperature and humidity remained the same or increased, I did not get even a touch of Heat Exhaustion. Note: I learned in Somalia the "Israeli Example" of constantly drinking all the water one can take in hot weather during the day, so that was not my problem. Since then I've also learned that linen is cooler than cotton for shirts, etc. What I don't know is what weights of linen will make the lightest/coolest articles for hot weather, but still be serviceable. Burnleyandtrowbridge.com doesn't seem to list weights of their linen. William Booth Draper does list weights and suggests uses for his cloth on this and the following page. wmboothdraper.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_15_16&sort=20a&page=1&zenid=4a5e06d4c93638ff5662dbc4ec9b3f6cSo I'm wondering...…? Maybe 4.5 oz Fine Oznabrig Linen, WLG 106 for shirts? 7 Oz. Unbleached Drilling Linen for Waist Coat and Trousers? Gus |
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Post by artificer on Mar 4, 2020 6:55:09 GMT -7
P.S. Oh, I do realize good wool is not cheap. About 20 years ago, I paid $ 45.00 a yard for diced wool hosing material when most wools were going for around $ 35.00 a yard. Though perhaps the cost may be less at a local Fabric/Sewing store then as now.
Gus
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ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
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Post by ewoaf on Mar 4, 2020 9:39:17 GMT -7
ewoaf, What I don't know is what weights of linen will make the lightest/coolest articles for hot weather, but still be serviceable. Burnleyandtrowbridge.com doesn't seem to list weights of their linen. So I'm wondering...…? Maybe 4.5 oz Fine Oznabrig Linen, WLG 106 for shirts? 7 Oz. Unbleached Drilling Linen for Waist Coat and Trousers? Gus B&T describes whether it's light medium or heavy weight. Their medium linens are sufficient for trousers but light enough to stay cool. Drilling is heavier but not bad. The light is what I'd call handkerchief weight, good enough for a shirt or liner. You'll never go wrong with the bleached medium for anything. I've made coats, weskits and breeches from it. |
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Post by artificer on Mar 4, 2020 13:06:56 GMT -7
ewoaf, What I don't know is what weights of linen will make the lightest/coolest articles for hot weather, but still be serviceable. Burnleyandtrowbridge.com doesn't seem to list weights of their linen. So I'm wondering...…? Maybe 4.5 oz Fine Oznabrig Linen, WLG 106 for shirts? 7 Oz. Unbleached Drilling Linen for Waist Coat and Trousers? Gus B&T describes whether it's light medium or heavy weight. Their medium linens are sufficient for trousers but light enough to stay cool. Drilling is heavier but not bad. The light is what I'd call handkerchief weight, good enough for a shirt or liner. You'll never go wrong with the bleached medium for anything. I've made coats, weskits and breeches from it. Thank you for the further information. I appreciate it. Would Handkerchief weight be too Light for a shirt? I'm thinking maybe it would, but don't know. Gus |
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ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
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Post by ewoaf on Mar 4, 2020 15:54:12 GMT -7
B&T describes whether it's light medium or heavy weight. Their medium linens are sufficient for trousers but light enough to stay cool. Drilling is heavier but not bad. The light is what I'd call handkerchief weight, good enough for a shirt or liner. You'll never go wrong with the bleached medium for anything. I've made coats, weskits and breeches from it. Thank you for the further information. I appreciate it. Would Handkerchief weight be too Light for a shirt? I'm thinking maybe it would, but don't know. Gus Not at all. It'll make a really light shirt. Might go with something slightly heavier on the cuff and collar, but that's up to you. |
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Post by artificer on Mar 4, 2020 21:17:12 GMT -7
Ewoaf,
Great info! Thank you.
OK, now I feel more informed and will stop in at a fabric store or two in my area next week to see what they have and get a better "feel" of the information you and Hawkeyes provided.
I do appreciate it.
Gus
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ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
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Post by ewoaf on Mar 5, 2020 10:05:47 GMT -7
Another option I've been into that takes more work is nankin/nankeen wich is a color grown cotton originating from its Chinese namesake (Nanking). It was an imported cloth in a narrow plain weave, unbleached yellow brown. Like most imported textiles, facsimiles were developed in Europe by dyeing rather than natural colour grown.
While naturally coloured cotton are still grown (I grow nankin), all of the textile samples I've acquired just don't seem to possess what I'm seeing in the originals. So far I've been searching out cotton close to the right weight and weave and simply dyeing it to suit. I've done 2 runs of moderate success.
Besides being lighter weight and something of colour that could be washed, it seems to be somewhat prolific. Of all the extant breeches in the Williamsburg collection, most of them are nankin. So far I've made a ditto suit and one extra weskit of a later style. Love the stuff.
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