What I'd heard/read, was that the strains of flax that produced those ultra-fine threads went extinct about the time of WWI. Maybe it's demand, I don't know. Technology may also be a factor, although I'd think that if it were just a matter of hand-spun vs machine-spun, someone would have tried it by hand by now. I'm learning to spin linen, but I'm lightyears away from being that skilled! --Sue in Montana
----- Original Message ----- From: "Caryn Sobel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Historical Costume" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 4:11 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] white embroidery > <It's the *fineness* of > the linen threads used then, that can't be duplicated now. In linen.> > > Please pardon my ignorance, but why can't we have the same fineness now? Is > it a difference in the spinning techniques, or the variety of the plant > itself? Or a lack of demand for finer thread? > > Thanks! > > Caryn > > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
