Or, the fabric could very well be both linen and wool as in "linsey woolsey" which has a linen warp and a wool weft often in different colors.
>>> Chris Laning <clan...@igc.org> 11/28/10 10:42 AM >>> On Nov 28, 2010, at 10:30 AM, albert...@aol.com wrote: > Of course, what is this fabric we call "denim"? A heavy-ish cotton > twill dyed indigo. It seems quite logical that an old and common > weave used with a old and common dye would come up sooner than later. True. I think the other major distinguishing characteristic of what we call "denim" is that it has colored threads in one direction and white threads in the other. Offhand I don't know which is warp and which is weft, though. Anyone? And of course paintings can't tell us what fibers were used for this very jeans-like material. The fabric in the paintings could well have been either linen (which takes indigo dye pretty well) or wool (which you'd expect for outer garments). Although cotton certainly existed and was used (especially in Italy) I'd want to find out more about _how_ cotton was used before I'd conclude that this is identical to modern denim. Cotton thread strong enough to use for weaving is a different thing than cotton batting used for stuffing (for which I think we have better pre-1800s documentation). ____________________________________________________________ O Chris Laning <clan...@igc.org> - Davis, California + http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication with its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Unauthorized interception, review, use or disclosure is prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the communication. _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
