NK - Linen for Light Weapons Armor
Jennifer Carlson
JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org
Mon Aug 2 11:08:59 PDT 1999
I am not familiar with the new armor specs for linen for light weapons, but
I can tell you this from my experience of working with linen:
If you can find old linen bedsheets, they have about as tight a weave as
you are going to find anywhere. Be warned: not only will linen turn a
broken blade, but it will also blunt your needle. Dairmuit's gardecorps
(that voluminous burgundy colored wool coat of his) has linen bedsheet
lining in the sleeves - the material was so tough to handsew that it dulled
several needles, broke a couple, and brought my carpal tunnel problem back
with a vengeance. It is amazing stuff. I remember reading (I THINK it was
in the Time/Life Old West series) a comment that the US Cavalry issued
quilted linen jackets for horse soldiers to wear on campaign against the
Northern Plains tribes, as it would stop arrows. After sewing those sleeve
linings, I believe it.
Unbleached linen in a variety of weights can often be found at decorator
fabric stores, like Interior Fabrics (on Memorial just South of the
Albertson's at 51st) and Calico Corners (6149 South Peoria). Some of them
are pretty tight weaves. It will be pricey - on the order of $11 a yard
and up, although they often put things on sale. Just be sure you are
getting 100% linen - linen-cotton blends are common, and while it is a
period weave (it was called "fustian"), it won't have the same resistance
to puncturing that pure linen does.
If you want to spend the bucks (big 'uns) some mills are again producing
linen bedsheets - seems to be a trendy thing. Cut carefully, 1 full-size
sheet, at about $40-60 in the catalogs, should produce a fencing jacket.
If you have never worked with linen before, be warned: it will shrink the
first time you machine wash it. Wash it once in as hot a water as you can
manage, then run it through the dryer once. It will go all soft and
slinky, and will be difficult to press and cut, but all the slack will have
shrunk out of it. Wet it down again, and throw it over the shower rod or
fence to dry. It will come out stiff as a board. Now you can work with
it. Press it good, with your iron on the hottest setting - linen has to be
abused a bit - and use lots of steam.
Linen frays like a son-of-a-gun, and any cuts along the bias or on a curve
will want to distort almost immediately. And linen likes to creep and
shimmy while you're cutting it out. Heavily starching it while you press
it will bring it under control, making it easier to cut out and sew. Be
sure to overcast or French seam everything, or use an overlock machine if
you have one. I have an overlock, if anyone would like to come over and
use it.
Use a slightly heavier machine needle that you would normally choose - for
a medium-weight linen, use an 11 or 12 size machine needle. For a heavier
weight, use a size 16 (blue jean) needle. If hand sewing, use whatever
size needle you are comfortable with, but have a supply of them on hand.
Linen produces a massive quantity of lint (tow). You can clean the tow out
of your dryer lint screen and use it as tinder in your firestarting kit; or
you can mix it with parafin and use it to fill cardboard eggshell cartons
to make charcoal starters. Or you can use it to make paper. Linen fabric
will also shed a lot of tow in your sewing machine, so remember to stop
periodically and brush it out, or it will interfere with the machinery.
Oops, sorry, the mind is wandering (just got back from the Laurel retreat,
and the brain cells are still stampeding in all directions). If someone
can get me the specs on what weight and weave of linen the marshallate
wants used, I can tell you what to look for in the fabric stores and thrift
stores.
Talana
jcarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org
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