> http://www.alfalfapress.com/dress/quickie_textile_guide.html > > This is my first draft, so any input would be appreciated!! Thanks!! > Althea Turner
Nice start! Velvet as you say, is a weave, but not just in silk. There is cotton, usually called unwaled corduroy, tho it's relatively rare these days as is silk velvet. Wool velvet is called plush. No, I dont know why. Silks can be sorted by whole thread and partial thread fibers. Worms generate a thread, sometimes several, which varies thruout the coccoon in quality & length. Noil is the short bits of the silk thread formerly considered too poor for pure silk weaves. Other silks are "whole thread". Silks can also be sorted by wild vs cultivated moths. Most cultivated silk comes from a single species whose name I have forgotten. Habotai tabby and highest-quality satins are made with the smooth, fine end of this thread. Next, there are the silk categories those of raw silks, processed silks and blends. Shantung is made with processed, whole thread wild tussah worm output. IIRC, Pongee is made with coarse end, raw tussah silk. Dupioni is naturally double stranded silk from domesticated worms. Thai silk is usually shot shantung. Finally there are the various finishing techniques used to crisp or add uniform shine to a fabric. Wash a shantung and you see the difference the finishing technique makes. I know almost nothing about factory finishes & glazes for fabric. Perhaps someone else does. That's just a little about the unspun, unwoven, undyed, finished silk. There's more, of course. You'll probably enjoy the research process. I did. All that said, the names of fabrics change over the years and even the experts will argue over what exact fiber+weave+treatment+finish combo is cambric, damask, brocade and all those other materials we think we know. Damned marketeers. Back to your doc: Way up at the top, you mention scrunching fabric in your hand. Yes, do this, but breathe on the scrunched handful. Keep scrunching maybe 1 min. Drop the fabric & notice how wrinkly it is. Walk away for 5 mins. When you come back, notice whether the scrunched bit is less wrinkley. This will give you some indication of it's pressing characteristics. Down at the bottom you mention "in period". I dont know who you are writing for, but "in period" means different things to different groups. For example, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers would consider rayon "in period". Victorian re-enactors might look up the "artificial silk" patent filed in 1855. --cin Cynthia Barnes [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
