Different weights of linen

Crinoline? Or hem it into nice towels and things... No terrytowelling in those days!

a crinoline is a peticoat with hoops in it? that might work. But I like the towel idea. that would make a good hair towel maybe. or hand towels. or placemats. Great ideas!! thanks, Kitty

I would think the coarser linen would be perfect for overskirts, especially if you're trying to be sort of authentic. Not everybody would have had the money for the really fine linen, so the coarser weave would be more "everyday". Plus, then the coarser and possibly scratchier stuff wouldn't be right next to your skin.

Or an overvest? I'm a little fuzzy on authentic details but it seems to me I've seen a corset-like vest worn over blouses? Maybe with a little extension on the sleeve opening?

Jen Lownie

Oops, now I remember you said "undergarments". Are you determined to use the coarser linen for these?

Jen Lownie

I take it they are all white? Then that lets out my suggestion that you make a pair of summer slacks out of the coarsest linen.

I had a pair of slacks made from Jas. Townsend & Sons' grey haversack linen, and found them very comfortable -- but as ugly as sin until I hit upon the idea of not ironing them. When the wrinkles reach saturation, they cancel each other. Line-dried linen isn't as lovely as freshly-pressed linen, but it's adequate for very-informal wear -- and it reacts well when you are poking the water out of a fair-booth tent and mis-judge where to stand, or for some other reason you end up saturated from the knees down. Soaking-wet linen isn't nearly as uncomfortable as soaking-wet cotton, and it dries very quickly.

Above all, in hot, muggy weather, ankle-length linen slacks are cooler than short-shorts, and keep you from sticking to chairs.

Hand towels were traditionally made of linen, but before making dish towels, check whether the linen was "cottonized" before being spun. Cottonized linen sheds lint like crazy, and would be somewhat frustrating to dry dishes with. Rather ironic, when you consider that before cottonization, linen was the preferred fiber for making lint-free "lens cloth" for cleaning scientific opticals. I still have a piece of lens cloth that I use to clean my glasses -- and I keep track of it carefully when it's washed, lest I mistake it for a rag!

Really-old table napkins are also good for cleaning glasses.

Another possibility for your coarse linen is 21st-Century underwear. I used to have a needlepoint-linen half-slip to wear with my long dress. When the dress wore out, I gave the slip away to be re-made into a child's dress because the elastic casing was so lumpy. Were I to make another coarse-linen half slip, I'd put on a yoke of finer linen for the elastic, or make a fore-and-aft tie closing like

18th-Century petticoats.

("Petticoat" meant what we call skirts, and "skirts" were sewn to men's coats. Some 18th-Century petticoats were like two aprons sewn together as high as the pocket slits -- you tie the back apron on first, then wrap the ties of the front apron around your waist so that you can tie that in front too. Tying the back apron first makes any overlap point to the back so you can get your hand in to access your pockets. (18th-Century "pockets" were belt purses worn under a petticoat.) This is a very adjustable style; the women on the 18th-Century Woman list say that fat women can lend their fore-and-aft petticoats to skinny women, and your pre-pregnancy petticoats will do as maternity wear. My modified-broadfall pants -- which I perfected before learning of the fore-and-aft tie -- work on the same principle, but with pockets sewn to the back apron instead of overlap, and hooks and eyes instead of ties. It doesn't matter whether I'm fed or hungry, whether my shirt is hanging out or tucked in, or how many pairs of longjohns I'm wearing -- the pants still fit. )

Linen that's too coarse for a shift might be fine enough for a blouse.

Coarse linen makes a nice stiff interfacing for various purposes.

Joy Beeson

Not really, because linen will dye beautifully and easily using Procion MX (NOT Rit).

I second the Procion MX recommendation. Rit dye is some awful stuff.

Dyes of all sorts, and instructions for using them can be found at Dharma Trading Company's website:

Kathleen

Hi ladies, I've been reading all the ideas on email and just got to Google to create an answer to all. I love all the ideas. thanks, the 7 pieces of linen are all white. they are of 6 different weights and gauges of coarseness. the coarsest seems to be about like Burlap or something, but after I washed it it wasn't so loosely woven.

the largest piece is only 2 1/4 yards, so I think I won't get any petticoats out of any of this unless the two finest will make one, since they are of the same weight. I have to go buy an undergarment pattern to find out if that will work for my big butt. LOL Now i find I have five different weights, three pieces are of the finest weight, a sort of shirt weight, I believe for a total of 5 and 3/4 yard of this weight. It is next heavier than Handkerchief linen.

No, I am not determined that the coarsest should be an undergarment necessarily, but want to get as many as I can out of it, then order my favorite if I need more. However, I love the look of the linen so much I would decorate my house in it if I could afford it.

Now if any of this made any sense then I appreciate all comments and ideas, if not, I will try again with a list of what pages each piece may be viewed at. LOL

thanks, kitty

"Kitty In Somerset, PA" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

oooooh! where did you find this? i *need* some burlap-like washable fabric. linen would be even better than the cotton burlap i found, oh, 10 years ago... and can no longer find.

if it's as coarse as burlap, i don't know that you'd want to make a corset out of it. i'd think that the stays would poke through the weave, although, lined with canvas it should be pretty stable. maybe an apron instead? i agree with decorating the house with linen. i love it too :)

BTW, how did your gown for the wedding turn out? i think i missed that. lee

as for the wedding, I've had nearly total care of my two young grandsons, ages 1 and 2 and my granddaughter age 5 for quite a while now, and I overestimated my available time by a mile. LOL I ended up wearing the same dress I created five years ago for her first wedding, but this time I wore a cotton shift under it and a cotton corset, and was so much cooler I was amazed. I am so thankful for going with that even though I couldn't get a cotton dress made in time. the poly isn't nearly so nasty to wear on a muggy day if your underpinnings are cotton. I understand that linen is even better. thanks for asking. LOL

As for the linen, I believe the burlap piece is headed for an apron or two, I don't think either that it will work for a corset unless the corset is constructed out of cotton twill and covered with the burlap.

I got the linen at fabric-store.com, I think all they do is linen. I think from all I've seen and heard it is the cheapest place on the web for linen. I ordered all the white linen on their mistakes page so I could see, handle and have some experience how the fabrics turn out after washing and drying.

The first pass through wasn't quite successful, since the fabrics seem to be real wrinkly but I expect they will do better after washing and drying a few more times. there was SCADS of lint in the dryer so I expect these were cottonized as Joy beeson was describing above.

I am so tempted to learn to spin and weave so I can make my own fabrics. I hate not being able to get quality stuff anymore. I'm fifty one and am able to remember some of the things that used to be made to last. I feel cheated to be living in a time when everything is made to disintegrate quickly.

"Kitty In Somerset, PA" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

heh. i have one 5 year old... but he wants siblings :0 (i'm

51 too). we are sort of looking into adopting, since i'm just NOT having another of my own. but they do take up a lot of time & attention. i'm happy that my son is really getting into knitting & hand sewing. if i can get my old Elna Grasshopper with the knee switch working properly again i'll try him on that (it needs cleaning, i think. it smokes)

i'll go take a look. thanks. i bought some awful pink linen at JoAnn's a couple years ago & overdyed it with green. it came out a really nice brown, but it was definately cottonized. what a mess of lint! here's a picture of my little Noble:

cousin inherited it the next year. unfortunately this is the gown i discovered the kid won't wear anything not completely French seamed.> > I am so tempted to learn to spin and weave so I can make my> own fabrics. I hate not being able to get quality stuff> anymore. I'm fifty one and am able to remember some of the> things that used to be made to last. I feel cheated to be> living in a time when everything is made to disintegrate> quickly.

oh, i so agree with you on that! i have a spinning wheel, i just need more time....i'd need a flax spindle to make linen though lee

Oh that turned out so well. I remember you telling about overdying it. good job!! I bet you all had fun with that.

I wish I had more time to start my 5yoGD on knitting and sewing. Her sister Kristin was 3 when she began sewing, but she doesn't do much of anything but try to look "cool" now that she is 10 and living with teenagers. I miss her. "this" kid might look like her, but she doesn't act at all like the girl I knew when she practically lived with me. she sure was fun back when I had her and she was an only. LOL have fun with him while you can, they just don't last long enough.

Kitty

One name for coarse linen is "crash", and a quick Google suggests that the word is still in use, though it didn't turn up any for sale. Re-enactor's supply houses should have coarse linen under the name of "tow". (But James Townsend & Sons doesn't, only shirt linen and haversack linen. The only tow they offer is lint for starting fires.)

Onsnaburg cotton isn't as coarse as burlap, but might do.

I keep an eye on Phoenix Textiles/fabric.com when I want linen -- sometimes drapery linen is fairly coarse. Pants weight is the heaviest they have at the moment, alas, and their burlap is of undetermined fiber.

What are you going to do with it? Bath towels are the only use that comes to mind.

Joy Beeson