I am also intrugued by the tread. When I handspin cotton for thread, it is finished as a skein because I am guessing cotton as many threads were sold by unit weight. 840 yards in a hank of cotton. So could be 1/4 hank lengths. I have seen antique thread skein bobbin winding stations. As far as why linen like? Cotton is often 'sized' in finishing process to add body. If it is not then the tiny cotton fibers wiggle from the twist and rub against each other. Gassing would also burn off the frizzies for smooth thread. I just size the cotton. Could also be when raw cotton is spun direct from boll, the cotton has a natural wax on the fibers. In the finishing it used to be that one must boil the cotton to remove wax, felt the fibers making it stronger, slightly bleach the cotton.
I would be interested if people have documentation about the processing of antique cotton thread. If I had an example, I can do forensic spinning to figure how it was spun and finished in the first place. Sue M - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
