On Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003, at 00:28 US/Eastern, Dora Smith wrote:
Is the best linen to use linen, or cotton? One company I wrote to recommended their fine polyester thread - is that a good idea, or will it necessarily have too much of a sheen to it?
Polyester is a no-no on any old and much-used natural fiber fabric; it'll feel stiff and might slice through the anchoring surround.
People on the needlework news groups are saying that linen thread may not necessarily be very strong or suitable for sewing, and also that it may be hard to find white linen thread that is truly white.
The old linen -- such as Carole offered (and I have some also, though in short-ish bits; unwinding from a skein is a horror <g>) is a bit smoother and stronger than the new linen. But it is true that it's not likely to be as white as your cloth to be mended -- it had not been washed as many times. The new (last what? 15 yrs?) linen can be had in so-called "brilliant white" -- "painted" rather than bleached (so far as I can understand the process). But it's more uneven (thick and thin parts to the thread), so it's harder to sew with and constant passing through fabric is more likely to fray it. Also, the more modern linen thread is no longer available in really fine size; not even that comparable to 50/2 cotton (sewing machine thickness). Theo Brejaart *might* have some "stashed" still, but, even if he does, it's likely to be very expensive.
I don't have Theo's website bookmarked but you could try contacting him: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
In either case, it's likely to be fairly stiff to begin with; I don't remember the name of the "gluey component" in linen (like sericin in silk) but it's something that takes time to wash out; it has been washed out of your altar linen by now, but the patches will take a while to catch up.
I'd probably go with cotton rather than linen, but a lot depends on the kind of damage there is. If the original fabric is just "worn" or the holes are small -- say 1cm in diameter -- than cotton would be your best bet; it'll blend the best, the variety of sizes available is excellent, and, if you run out of thread mid-hole, a second, parallel, one will only make the whole resemble the natural bumps in linen. If it's large holes, where you need to reproduce the fabric rather than strengthen it, then linen might be better.
People have recommended Madeira tanne or cotona 80 - but I am having
difficulty learning just how fine this stuff is, and there is a question
about how strong it is, and also about whether darning requires a strong
thread.
I *love* Madeira for lacemaking, but I don't think you'd be very happy with it for darning -- it's too tightly twisted, too crisp, too "slick". In fabric which has been washed many times, the threads have developed a bit of a fuzz, which blends the individual threads somewhat like in felt. Madeira is reluctant to do this. The Egyptian Cotton (brand name, carried by most lacemaking suppliers) would be better, I think. And they come in a greater variety of sizes.
As for size... I'm not really familiar with the tex numbering (I've only encountered it in UK) but Madeira 80/2 (either Tanne or Cotona -- same thing, just on a different-sized spool) works up to about 70% of Madeira 50/2. With Madeira 50/2 being a sewing machine weight and *roughly* equivalent to most 50/2 cottons (a bit finer, due to the high twist) and to Mettler 60/2.
As Jean said, Brenda Paternoster's little book (second edition) will give you an excellent comparison range of (objective) sizes:
http://users.argonet.co.uk/users/paternoster/Threads/Threads.html
To see how threads of -- ostensibly -- the same thickness *behave*, you might want to get a booklet, published by The Canadian Lacemaking Gazette:
http://www.lacegazette.com/page7.html
I think only the one on cotton threads would be of any use to you, since you're dealing with very fine sizes.
I didn't even find #80 on their web site - so probably they have discontinued it.
In US, Tanne 30 and 50 are still available through the industrial sites but 80 is now available only on small (200m) spools via craft/needlework/lacemaking outlets, so it woudn't show up on the website. At any rate, I don't think it's the answer for your particular problem.
Another recommendation was d'Alace #50 DMC,
The thread has been discontinued, though you can still find it through lacemaking suppliers. Objectively, it's about the same size as Madeira 30, but it's softer, so would "fill" better.
EVeryone says d'Alsace #50 is very fine, but everyone also says Sulky #40 is very fine,
It all depends on what you want to use the thread for :) 50 is fine for most daily uses, and very fine for things like crochet and tatting; for lacemaking it's just short of "thick"... :) That's why I think you should look into the Egyptian Cottons.
As regards Sulky... Are you certain-sure you *mean* Sulky, and not Sylko? I'm not familiar with any cotton thread by Sulky -- only poly and metallics -- and none are listed in Brenda's book. OTOH, Sylko *is* listed, with 40 being equivalent to Madeira 30
---- Tamara P Duvall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
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