I'm not sure about the material. It doesn't feel synthetic and it doesn't look synthetic (it doesn't look as shiny as in the pictures). I'm no expert by any means but my guess would've been some sort of cotton damask. Or something. But it didn't do very well on the burn test (recently explained by Fuchsia here) so I don't know.
I'm thinking I'm not too bothered. I'm no purist anyway, and if it looks good, it's good enough for me.
What's bothering me more is the pattern. Not that it's not an 18th century pattern - who'd be so lucky that they found a Period Correct patterned fabric at a price they could afford? Certainly not me! - no, I'm more worried about the size of the pattern. Methinks it's too large. Here I've placed a medium-sized cat on the fabric for comparison:
If I'm going to use this fabric for an 18th century project (and in that case I see a jacket, and I see a black petticoat to go with it!) I'll have to do a bit of research on jackets made of damask-type fabrics first, if any should exist, and see what the fabrics look like. Any input would be appreciated of course!
I found some fabric probably identical to yours some years ago in a thrift store as well, curtains also! Hmmmm... At any rate, they were bought for a Halloween tableau and afterwards, I thought, gee, this is SO historical looking. I was redecorating my bedroom and decided that the curtains would make a fabulous dust ruffle for my 4 poster bed. It came out fabulous and until a couple of years ago had this on my bed. So what if the fabric is not exactly period correct, if I were you I'd go for it and I think it'll look fantastic! You just never know what you'll find in a thrift store!
ReplyDeleteOh, imagine if it's exactly the same fabric! That would be so cool! I only have one curtain - maybe it was separated from yours, and somehow ended up in Sweden?
ReplyDeleteOh, I just love to go treasure hunting in thrift stores and flea market, and my husband too, which is great! It almost becomes like a sport - who finds the biggest treasure this time?
You can brun some fibers...If it smells like burnt paper, it's cotton and if it smells like "burnt pig"(as we say in France or other organic "material), it's silk.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it melts, it's synthetic!
I don't think the pattern is too big to be time typical if that's your worry, I've seen a lot of examples with patterns that look as big. If it's about your vision of esthetics it's another story, hehe...
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with fuchia here- they used some giant patterns in the 18th century. I think about halfway through were the biggest ones, and then the patterns got smaller towards the 80's and 90's. So, the fabric would probably suit a 1750-1770 style dress :)
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