Need help choosing a cotton

Kona is a nice weight of cotton, but I would think it is too light. All the lab coats I have ever worn or been familiar with are of much heavier weight..........say twill or thereabouts in weight. If the cotton is too "flimsy" the coats won't hang right or hold their shape when worn over clothing...........

Here's a link explaining Kona Cotton, it's a trade name for a cotton fabric from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

may get terribly criticized for this but....... After tallying up the cost of patterns, fabric, YOUR TIME, notions, etc you may just want to google 'cotton lab coats' and compare cost. Most of the companies making these give a price break on the purchase of six or more. IMHO as lovely to the hand Kona Cotton is I'm wondering if it will be all that satisfactory for lab coats. They are usually of a heavier material. One other thing to keep in mind, 100% cotton clothing generally needs to be ironed after washing unless the 'unmade bed' look is what you are going for. I'm not sure how badly Kona wrinkles, having never personally used it for clothing, or what the process of tie-dying will do to change, if at all, the "rumple quotient". My son works in the computer industry and as casual as they generally are (When my son got his corner office with windows promotion I bought him a briefcase to match the sandals he wears year 'round with his cargo pants and "will think for food" T-shirts.) no ironing seems to be the standard apparel factor for most.

I think the idea of tie-died lab coats is really a pretty cool idea but there may be some hands on home maintenance required, other than wash and wear, if they want to be seen by the public or their clients and still put forth an air of professional credibility. Just a thought.

Val

I agree with Val. Buy the lab coats, but also, make sure that they are sewn with cotton thread, as polyester thread won't dye. Poplin would be a better weight for lab coats than Kona cotton (just a trade name for printed cotton) if you really think you need to make them.

Teri

As someone who wears a lab coat every day to work, I'm afraid you will have a hard time finding 100% cotton in ready made. Almost all have some % of polyester in them - helps with the non-wrinkle aspect and stain resistance. The weight of my lab coats is like a heavier weight poplin. I'm not sure if that is readily available in

100% cotton. I think the Kona cotton used for quilting would be too lightweight. Good luck with your project! Nancy

You could try a medical supply outlet, a major university property disposition warehouse (I have seen them in Ann Arbor), or thrifts.

HTH

--Karen D.

Typically twill or poplin. RTW cotton lab coats are available, fwiw, $30-$45.

but I'd send for a swatch first. They are a quarter each, orswatches of all thirty-seven prepared-for-dying cottons for $9.99. Twill doesn't muss quite so bad as plain-woven fabric. Some twillsstill get soft and wrinkle-shed with washing, but fewer and fewer astime goes by and the old spinning machines wear out or the factoriessave up enough money to buy the latest whirligigs. (I gather thatwhat few remain are in India.) If this twill happens to beobsolete-spun cotton, the tie-dying process should go a long waytoward making the lab coats soft. When sewing cotton, I use 100/6 DMC Cordonnette, which is the same diameter as 50/3 sewing cottons, but much stronger. I think I got my last batch from butany lace-makers' supplier would have it. Joy Beeson

Why not just buy Dharma's cotton lab coats?

While I'm on the site, I think I'll drool over that hemp-blend jersey some more. And remind myself that on washday, I have to arrange my underwear very carefully to be able to close the dresser drawer. Hand-made lingerie lasts too long! I don't think store-bought briefs ever held out more than a year. (But I did see an encouraging sign of wear on one pair of briefs the week before last.)

Disappointment: walking home from church one day, with my interlock long-johns catching on my ankle-length interlock slip, I determined to make myself a pair of pajama pants out of Dharma's black silk twill. But, alas, twill isn't yet one of the fabrics offered in black, and I don't feel up to wrestling charmeuse just for underwear. Almost settled on cheap, warm, easy-to-sew raw silk before I remembered *why* I wanted silk underslacks.

Ah, well, it would have been spring before I got around to it, and by next fall, they might have black.

Joy Beeson

Try

. I've purchased things from these people for years have only good things to say, NAYY. For underneath garments I've bought the 'irregulars' at discount price when available and I've yet to find anything irregular about them. I love this stuff!Val

Yup, I did some online lab coat surfing and Dharma beats or equals about a dozen other suppliers in cost for 100% cotton coats and the only one that tells you they use all cotton thread. Plus they make a solid point in the description they are suitable for tie-dying.

Val