On May 16, 2012, at 3:07 PM, Martha Kelly wrote:
The narrow linen of original shifts has an amazingly tiny and
perfect selvage - less than 1/8". When the seams are run by hand
just inside that selvage, it's a thing of beauty and a joy
forever. It's impossible to reproduce exactly unless someone these
days is weaving such linen. If they exist, I want to know about them!
Martha
Yes, we're so used to thick selvedges these days. Modern power looms
cut each thread as it is woven, sometimes tucked in for a smooth (but
thick) selvedge and sometimes a fuzzy/fringey selvedge. Hand-woven
fabrics just have the thread going back and forth, so there is no
thick, unusable part of the fabric. And it won't shrink more than the
rest of the fabric, either!
I agree that the shift is much better off with felled seams. Cut off
the bad selvedge and then it won't matter that the fabric was woven
at 60" and split to 30". And definitely use linen instead of cotton.
Linen bedsheets are great in any temperature, too.
-Carol
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