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[personal profile] frualeydis
Yesterday I had decided to treat myself to some "shopping with my eyes" in fabric stores in Boras, I wasn't to buy anything, just look.
I guess you all know how this turned out. 20 meters of fabric. For the equivalent of 53 dollars or ca £ 30 (I checked the exchange rate). First I found more of the yellowish linen I'm going to use for my loose kirtle. I thought I bought all there was last time, but I was so much in a hurry that I apparently didn't notice that there were more rolls of it. about a hundred rolls of linen in all different colours and qualities are packed in a rather small room, so it was an easy mistake. I bought two more meters. When I read the description of the kirtle more thoroughly I noticed that it had a silk lining reaching 38 cm up on the inside, apart from the extra pink interlining and the coarse linen foundation, so I need more.
That was actually the second thing I did, because first I went to my favourite wool store, "just to look". It's a factory outlet for one of the few wool weaving factories left in Sweden. I didn't find anything I really lusted for, but then the woman who's working there directed me to three huge carts with rolls of mostly black and dark blue fabric that was only $ 1,3 or 80p per meter. For 100% wool! At that price you have to buy something. Since the fabrics were very thin (about the thiness that would be called handkerchief weight if it was linen), I didn't really know what to do with it. I wouldn't use those dark colours for 12th century clothing, which it otherwise would eb fine for. Still I couldn't resist it and bought 4,5 m (what was on the roll)of a light beige that will be useful for lining and 3,5 meter of a black tabby. Maybe I can use it for a swallowtail cap (15th century) and I might also make a modern skirt from it.
Then I went to Furulund's which is less of a remnants store and found a mild greyish light blue wool tabby (might contain some other fibers), slightly fulled, for $2,5 (1£60p) per meter. I bought ten meters, thinking that I could make dresses both for myself and for my girls. It is a fairly loose weave so I'm thinking about fulling it in the washing machine, but I have to test on a swatch first. I like it's current soft drape and I don't want something too stiff and thick.

After that I met the lecturer, who's the chief conservator at the national bord of antiquities, and listened to a 3 hour lecture about swedish church textiles, mostly vestments, from the middle ages until today.
All in all a very good day, even though I wasn't home until after 11 pm and felt very sick and exhausted by then. After my husband gave me some food I felt better.

Date: 2003-12-10 04:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] frualeydis.livejournal.com
I tried a 10x10 swatch on 40 degrees C. One of the sides is 9,5 cm and the others are 10 cm, probably a mistake in cutting rather than shrinkage. The only difference is that it is more fuzzy now. I don't know if I like that. To make it more flat and shiny it would need to be "dampat" as the swedish word is, that is treated with heat, damp and pressure. You usually treat woolen fabric you've woven yourself that way, but I won't do that with ten meters with just an iron. I think I'll probably just leave it as it is and wash it by hand if I need to.

Eva

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