You should never neglect the home décor section when shopping for costume fabric. You’ll find patterns and colors there appropriate for a surprising swathe of history and some drawn characters too. For instance, when you need emergency princess gear, pintuck taffeta can be a lifesaver. Sheer gauze curtains can provide material for fairy wings. I’ve lost count of… Read More »
I’ve encountered samite in I don’t know how many bits of historical fiction, but it’s only now that I wonder what it actually is! According to good ol’ Wikipedia, samite is a heavyweight silk fabric with a twill weave, although as time passed, the term came to be applied to any heavyweight fabric with a… Read More »
Part of the ‘Antique Fabrics‘ series, this fabric isn’t necessarily extinct, but it was more popular in the past than the present. Kersey is a coarse woolen cloth, originally made in Kersey, in England, hence the name. Made from lower-quality wool with a twill weave it was thick and sturdy, and very warm. Very suitable for peasant… Read More »
Silk dupioni is plain-weave silk fabric with a distinctive “slubby” surface. Those slubs are from the silkworms’ cocoons, and they add a bumpy, almost rough texture to the fabric. In any other silk, these slubs would be a defect but, in this case, they’re a feature. I sometimes wonder if it was created as a marketing… Read More »
I’m including this one for the history fans out there. Fustian is a term who’s meaning has wandered all over the place. At different points in history, it was used to describe heavyweight cotton cloth, wool, silk/linen weaves and even velvet. Shakespeare used it to describe pompous speech because, by his time, fustian referred to… Read More »
Damask is a two-colored woven fabric – usually featuring satin or sateen weave – which is notable for being reversible. I say “two-colored” but it’s woven with a single-color yarn, but the contrast between the satin and the sateen weaves makes it appear as if it’s two colors and if that isn’t an example of how weave can affect… Read More »
Boiled wool yardage Boiled wool is a woolen fabric that has been woven or knitted, and then subjected to heat and agitation to make it shrink. This is very similar to how felt can be made and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably – albeit not by your local historian. Unlike felt, boiled wool doesn’t… Read More »
Fabric For Cosplayers