[Northkeep] Fabric Weight question

[Jennifer Carlson]

Her Excellency asked where one can purchase gossamer-weight linen.

In Tulsa, you find it by sheer luck.  Sometimes J. Boyers will have it.  If
you make a habit of dropping in a few times a year, you should catch if
they've got it.  Otherwise, Hancock's and JoAnn's will only have it because
of an ordering mistake or a mislabelled bolt (that purple linen undergown I
wear all the time was from a bolt mistakenly labelled "cotton" and priced
accordingly.  Heh, heh.)

Livia and I used to make an annual trip to the garment district in Dallas,
and would muck about in the warehouses for end rolls of stuff.  We once
found a 54" wide bolt of handkerchief linen for $4 a yard, but Lady Joycea
got to it first.

Other than luck or going where the action is, online is going to be your
best bet.  You'll usually have to make a minimum order, or even order a
whole bolt, which can call for a large financial layout up front, but a
whole bolt split up among a few friends buying together will take the sting
out of it.  Lots of online merchants will also sell sample packets, so you
can get an idea of what the fabric is really like before you order.  The
sample packet for Thai silks, for instance, is seriously cool (I don't have
one, but have gotten to play with one.  They used to run about $20, and they
carry more than just silk)

If you're inclined to pack-rattish behavior, prowling the thrift stores can
occasionally yield a treasure.  The lavender, handkerchief linen veils I'm
usually wearing were once a Calvin Klein skirt, found at the Salvation Army
store for a whopping 99 cents.

If you're making later period garments, like lined doublets or stays
(corsets) and want a period fabric, try fustian.  Fustian is a linen weft
and a cotton warp.  It's sold as an upholstery fabric, and can be found at
Hancocks, Interior Fabrics, and Calico Corners.  It's the canvas-looking
fabric that is off-white on the back-and-forth threads and brownish on the
up-and-down ones.  It runs about $11 a yard at 60" wide.  It wears extremely
well and sews well.  Elizabeth I of England had undergarments made of
fustian.  After her death, her official effigy in Westminster Cathedral was
dressed in clothes from her wardrobe.  Some years ago it was undressed for
refurbishment, and the garments examined.  She had fustian undies and a
fustian-covered set of stays.  It's a little heavy for shirts or chemises,
and is limited as to color (the linen is unbleached, and linen is tricky to
dye), and I don't know if it would be acceptable for rapier armor.

Off to Clothiers in Calontir,

Talana


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