Fabrics Afire! A Sobering Learning Experience

It's June and that means that my sewing thoughts turn to The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. "Ahhh! I only have four months to stitch a new stock of 18th century clothing, make that new Caraco jacket for myself, pour 100 or so beeswax ornaments, replenish the stock of maple cakes..." and so on.

Seriously, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking these things! 

Stress thoughts aside, I am actually in good shape. I just finished four new chemises and had time to attend a Feast Sewing Circle, a gathering of folks who share ideas and learn how 18th century clothing was constructed so that we can implement those techniques into our own Feast sewing.

Such as the use of sleeve buttons (the precursor to cufflinks)  

and how they were used in both men and women's clothing. (Source of sleeve button photos unknown and found on social media.)

Or the technique of hand sewing a gusset (the triangular piece) between the collar and the sleeve to give a shirt more give and movement.

Natural fabrics were used during the Feast time period - linens, cottons, wools, and silks. Polyesters and nylons were not invented in the 18th century and we want to avoid using those in our garments. I brought some fabrics from my mom's stash with me to the Feast Sewing Circle and asked for opinions. Just what were these fabrics?

The group consensus immediately was that the green was linen so we set it aside to look at the others. The group thought the other three fabrics were silks but no one was sure.

Brooke Sauter, leader of the Feast Sewing Circle (and the new director of the Feast itself) said she'd show us how to identify the content in those fabrics, asking if I minded if she snipped a corner off the edge of each one.

We trooped outside and Brooke pulled out a tin containing tweezers and a lighter.

Showing us that she was holding the snippet of fabric with the tweezers for safety,

Brooke lit the first sample of fabric on fire and we watched it melt, curling in on itself as it did so. Not silk at all - it was polyester!

She burned the other two pieces plus a wool sample and pointed out the different reactions. The wool smelled like sheep and was very burn-resistant. The silk burned slowly and also had an animal smell. 

The natural fiber samples had charring that would easily break into ashes if touched. Not the man-made - it just melted.

I put them into my sewing notebook and labeled them to help me remember.

But does the fabric content that we use in sewing our 18th century garments really matter? Usually the natural weave fabrics are far more expensive than the blends or the 100% man-made fabrics. Why not go for the cheaper fabrics, especially when those blends may look like the real deal? (We were all fooled by that turquoise "silk" that turned out to be polyester.)

Absolutely yes. Fabric content really does matter. 

Think about working near a campfire and catching some of your clothing on fire. Would you rather be wearing the burn-resistant wool or the melt-on-contact polyester? Cotten and linens will burn, that's true, but they will not melt onto your skin like the man-made fabrics do. (That melting makes for a horrific and painful recovery.)

Photo retrieved from Google Images. Credited to Rurification | Robert Edmundson.

Re-enactors are around fires all the time, many of us 24/7, when we are at an event. Of course we are aware of the dangers of the camp or cooking fires and we are careful. But it just takes a trip, a turned ankle, a quick turn that causes your petticoat to brush the flames, and you are in trouble. 

I was going to make something to sell at the Feast out of that turquoise "silk" that I'd brought. Not any more. After watching it melt as it did, I may just throw it away.

And while burning those fabric samples was fun, it was sobering to realize that our fabric choices as sewists could endanger someone or help protect them.

Needless to say, my fabric choices will now be better informed with safety the priority.

My Mare Makes Me Melt

Abby trotted without limping today as she came up to see me this evening. Her trot is so beautiful, and she even broke into a canter briefly. Lovely, lovely gaits.

Of course, the entire herd came along with her, all expecting some sort of nibble from me. Abby got hers, and then Mason, Trouble, and Hokey. Diablo, who is the alpha of the herd, made the boys leave so she could get her treat. To my surprise, Abby walked right up alongside her, and the two mares stood companionably together as I petted them.

Then, Abby pinned her ears at Diablo. Diablo did not get the message, so Abby actually nipped her to chase her off! This is the first time I have ever seen Abby be the dominant horse, except for her very first day when she put Trouble in his place when he got too nosy. Apparently Abby did not want any other horses hanging out with me tonight.

I have no idea how long the herd had been away from water, but they were not close to the trough when I arrived. So, I was surprised to receive a gusher when Abby opened her mouth to get her first carrot. And as I watched her throughout my visit, she continued to dribble water periodically, to the extent that I started watching her a little more closely. It is not normal horse behavior to carry that much water. I began to wonder if she had a sore tooth or something that was causing her to drool and which I was mistaking for water.

But her mouth did not seem sore - she chowed her carrots down with gusto. I also offered her some peppermints I'd gotten from various restaurants and had been saving for her. I'd never given her those before, but it was obvious someone had! She snarfed them right down and then proceeded to lick both my hands clean (er, as clean as they can be after being licked by a drooling horse.)

And then my little mare did something that melted my heart. Instead of going back to grazing with the rest of the herd when the treats were finished, she stayed and hung out with me. I began rubbing her neck, and then her jaw, her ears, and her crest. She would move her body so I could reach different places to scritch. She even turned her hips to me and was ecstatic when I rubbed her backside and the top of her tail.

My arm would get tired, and I'd stop for a moment. Abby would take a few steps, circle around, and present another part of herself for rubbing. I worked on her neck, her chest, her flanks, and her belly. More tail and backside rubbing. More circling around and coming back for some gentle rubbing.

It's times like that that your cares melt away while your heart melts with love for your mare.