[Northkeep] Fabric Weight question

[Jennifer Carlson]

Her Excellency wrote:


>Zenobia sent me some links to fabric places online where they sell
>"handkerchief linen"  Now, somehow, I was expecting this to be very light
>but a couple of the sites refer to it as 4.5 oz.  I know that's not
>horrible
>heavy but I was thinking that handkerchief linen was more like 2.5 or 3 oz
>-
>very thin and fairly transparent, like a man's handkerchief........ Am I
>mistaken?????
>
>Mercedes

"Handkerchief" does cover a range of weights, just as "shirt weight" and
"suit weight" are not one specific weight.

For linen, I've seen light "shirt" weights on through the gossamery stuff
labelled as "handkerchief."  4.5 does sound like it's on the heavy end of
that scale.

If a catalong lists thread counts, that is helpful.  Low weight + low thread
count = more transparent.

If you've ever seen Dairmaid's gardecorps (that voluminous, wine-colored
coat of his), you might have noticed the sleeves were lined with white
linen.  The weight of that linen is technically in the
handkerchief-to-shirt-weight range, but the stuff was hell to sew.  It has
an exctremely high thread count, and blunted my needles and actually gave my
hands cramps while sewing it.  I've never run across another piece of such
tough, high-quality linen.  It was an old medical bedsheet that I lucked
upon in a thrift store.  I'd pay big bucks per yard for that stuff, but I
don't know if anyone makes fabric like that anymore.  Anyway, it has a
lightish weight, but a high thread count, and DEFINITELY isn't transparent.

Keep searching.  If a supplier's website has a place to send e-mail, do so.
Tell them what you are looking for, what purpose you plan to put it to, and
see if they can send you samples.  You may have to pay for them, but it's
usually worth the money.

Since the spring sewing season is now upon us, the fabric stores should have
all their spring and summer fabrics in.  Not that the chain stores carry
much fabric anymore (grumble).  Still, now would probably be a good time to
do some recon and go to J. Boyers.

I've been asked about drapery sheers material for veils and such.  Most
drapery sheers are synthetics, which I recommend you avoid like the plague.
Sometimes you can find good cotton sheers.  I've never seen linen drapery
sheers, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Talana

Home from Clothiers' - exhausted but I know more stuff now than when I left
on Friday.

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