I put thin fishing line in the outside edge of the ruffle of my new chemise.
Went through the wash just fine, just needed a little finger tweaking,
dripped dry. 

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Melanie Schuessler
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2007 1:41 PM
To: Historical Costume
Subject: [h-cost] linen vs. cotton; was: Just a test

Ooh.  I'm not much of a camper, but I've already got plans for next time to
make things a bit better.  I'll add that to the list.

On a costume note, I would like to once again put in a vote for linen  
over cotton as being the coolest thing around when it's ghastly hot.   
I could definitely tell the difference between my old cotton chemises and my
new linen ones!  And my new kirtles are all linen as well, thank goodness.

Also, though I haven't put it through the wash a bunch of times yet, I have
hopes for my new linen shirt, which has a ruffle at the top of the collar.
My old cotton one turns into a bunch of tiny crinkles every time I wash it,
and I have to iron it out and spray-starch it to get it to behave nicely.
Note that these are not starched ruffs in the formal figure eights, just
small ruffles.  The new linen one is cut with the long edge of the ruffle on
the long grain of the fabric (parallel to the selvedge), which is what
Arnold noted in her study of existing 17th-century ruffs.  Even in the
horrifying heat and humidity--I think I got wet in the rain, too--that
ruffle stayed nice and sproingy (that's a technical term).  Even though it
will soften with repeated washings, I think the relative stiffness of the
linen and the strength of the grain will help hold it out better than the
cotton one.

Melanie Schuessler


On Aug 13, 2007, at 12:54 PM, otsisto wrote:

> Small note for the future. Coleman makes battery operated tent ceiling 
> fans.
> :)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Definitely too much rain.  When not raining, too much heat and 
> humidity!  But I had a great time all the same.
>
> Melanie Schuessler
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> h-costume mailing list
> h-costume@mail.indra.com
> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume

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