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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