Collar canvas
Ok, I thought I had pooched it hard when I machine washed the new linen collar canvas fabric. It came out a soggy mass, and even tho I had serged the cut edges, I didn't look to see that the piece only had one selvedge edge, so the other side became tangled with the ends of the serger threads. Thankfully, that was only one minor issue and only 1 or 2 warp threads lost. Then I pondered if maybe I should just use the heavy linen canvas I have large scraps of, as this soggy mass could not really support the body, could it?
Well, I untangled the threads, unfolded the lump into fabric again, and laid it across my sewing chair to partly dry while I ate dinner and did the bath thing with the kids.
Now the kids are tucked into bed, so I went in to check on the condition of the fabric. It was dry! Ok, not super bone dry, as their was moisture on the chair, but it felt dry & cool to the touch (as wonderful linen does), and it was stiff again!!! No, not as super stiff & crisp as it was before I washed it, but better than any cotton canvas I've ever washed. So I just ironed it as best I could, spraying extra water mists to help out the deeper wrinkles, and man, it looks nice, and feels stiff again, and pretty firm. No wonder they use this stuff on collars.
I'm still debating if I want to use the heavy linen canvas, but I do remember that this early time frame of the 16th century, the soft look is in. I may as well give this collar canvas a shot at supporting my chest by itself. After all, the cotton drill did ok, and it never felt this firm as the linen.
Just need to finish washing and double rinsing the red silk, and see how that irons up. I'm not fond of dupioni for a reason, but didn't want to spend $$ on nicer looking fabric when most folks will never see this garment. And while I wait for that to finish, I will go hunting for my pattern pieces.
Edit: Not happy with the dupioni, as I can see waves of off-coloring in the damp fabric. It's hanging up to dry right now. Well, good thing most folks won't see this portion of the outfit, and hopefully that wave of off-color will fade when dry. And the damask sample I machine washed? It came out mostly lint. I will have to try a larger sample tomorrow, for now I head to bed.
Well, I untangled the threads, unfolded the lump into fabric again, and laid it across my sewing chair to partly dry while I ate dinner and did the bath thing with the kids.
Now the kids are tucked into bed, so I went in to check on the condition of the fabric. It was dry! Ok, not super bone dry, as their was moisture on the chair, but it felt dry & cool to the touch (as wonderful linen does), and it was stiff again!!! No, not as super stiff & crisp as it was before I washed it, but better than any cotton canvas I've ever washed. So I just ironed it as best I could, spraying extra water mists to help out the deeper wrinkles, and man, it looks nice, and feels stiff again, and pretty firm. No wonder they use this stuff on collars.
I'm still debating if I want to use the heavy linen canvas, but I do remember that this early time frame of the 16th century, the soft look is in. I may as well give this collar canvas a shot at supporting my chest by itself. After all, the cotton drill did ok, and it never felt this firm as the linen.
Just need to finish washing and double rinsing the red silk, and see how that irons up. I'm not fond of dupioni for a reason, but didn't want to spend $$ on nicer looking fabric when most folks will never see this garment. And while I wait for that to finish, I will go hunting for my pattern pieces.
Edit: Not happy with the dupioni, as I can see waves of off-coloring in the damp fabric. It's hanging up to dry right now. Well, good thing most folks won't see this portion of the outfit, and hopefully that wave of off-color will fade when dry. And the damask sample I machine washed? It came out mostly lint. I will have to try a larger sample tomorrow, for now I head to bed.