Question:
I have some vintage fabric, I need to determine what it is. Cotton? Cotton blend etc., I know there are burn tests, I could only find a site that had a few different tests.
Does anyone know of a site where I can get more info? A general "how to tell what it is" type of info site?
Thanks!
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duh!!!
Elaine has links
I was looking in the graphic area above for a link, didn't see the thread until after I posted.
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Glad to help Denise!
Good luck with your burn test. I am terrible at interpreting the results but am usually pretty confident when the fabric is 100% cotton...that seems to be the easiest.
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haven't done the burn test yet, will get to it soon.
While you are around- one more question, how do you tell the era? The design? Is there a chart with the widths? 33, 36 is pre 1970? 44 can be anywhere after that right?
I have a really nice juvenille circus print fabric, listed it once , it had 15 watchers but not one bid, so I cancelled it with 12 hours left. I would rather hang on to it than give it away, I had thought it would have gotten a lot of action. I just bought app. 4 yds of an eames era boomerang print.
Mind you, I don't sew, I just have a "thing" for buying fabric sometimes. I am usually good about walking away from it.
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Is there a chart with the widths? Not that I know of...I wish there was. Usually (but not always) fabric from the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's is somewhere around 32" to 38" wide. Earlier than that tends to be narrower in width. I have some 28" wide fabric that I figured had to be about turn-of-the-century, but someone waaaay more knowledgable than me (HCQuilts) dated it to 1920.
If you haven't checked it out yet, do read Joan Kiplinger's Vintage Fabric column archive at Fabrics.net: http://www.fabrics.net/joan.asp
The October 20 and September 20 columns delve into fabric widths a little bit.
I think 42" to 45" widths started right around the end of the 1960's. I don't believe I've had any 1970's fabric that was 36" in width.
I am mostly interested in lightweight wovens (like quilt or craft fabrics) so that's where most of my experience lies. So I am far from an expert when it comes to dating fabric.
Of course the design is also usually a big hint as well.
Generally, kids prints do well. But I have noticed that circus prints do not do as well as some other prints. It seems the like cutesy prints in lots of pastels do better. Though I have seen barkcloth with a circus print that does very well.
I've said this before, but when it comes to selling vintage fabric I have my absolute best luck if I list at least 10 or 20 auctions at one time. Last night I listed 12 different prints and all but one sold. Plus I sold one piece out of my store. The biggest reason for this is because right now Japanese bidders are buying a lot of the vintage fabric listed on ebay - especially juvenile prints - and they like to get the best deal on shipping they can. They spend less if they buy 3 or 4 fabrics from one seller rather than from 3 or 4 different sellers.
I read ebay's textile board once in awhile. A seller who posts there lucked into a great collection of juvenile print fabrics. But she listed them one print at a time and did not do all that well with them. If she would have listed all the auctions at one time it's my opinion she would have done much better.
I just bought app. 4 yds of an eames era boomerang print. Ooh, sounds very nice. I would love to see photos!
Hope my rambling is somewhat helpful. Always feel free to post photos of fabric you are trying to date and someone will hopefully be able to help you!
Tanya
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Thanks for all that info Tanya!
I tried that link, and got lost clicking different links.
Still haven't found that articles on widths, but I will. I like the idea of waiting until I have a larger number of fabric listings to put up. I did some photos yesterday, then got caught up in trying to figure out a piece that I thought was a scrap.
I remember HCQ, her posts were always intelligent and informative and her quilts were gorgeous.
I'll post some pics of the prints I did yesterday.
1- Boomerang one, 36" wide, dark colors instead of the turquoise. lightweight quilting type fabric
2-Heart print which is 35" wide-lightweight quilting type fabric
3-Floral print-35" wide-lightweight
4-Has me stumped-I have 2 pieces that are almost identical in size, 17 1/2" wide 18" wide by 54 long. They both seem to have been sewn closed at one point. This fabric is a coarser woven fabric with printed design of Vino bottle, cherries, roses drinks etc. perhaps a piece that started out 36" wide and was cut in half? Would make great placemats or tea towels.
5-Considered fabric? It's a long...long continuos Eyelet trim, measures 5" wide. the unfinished edge has a "scalloped" finish, which when you first look at it looks as if it were "torn" off of something, but the irregular shaped scallops are identicl all the way through. It looks like the hem area of vintage slips or childrens christening gowns. Very lightweight.
Still haven't had time to do teh burn tests yet.
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The juvenille circus one is 36 wide if I remember correctly, can't find it right now. Lightweight quilt type material
The flower one looks like Crepe paper, the pschedelic one is a very lightweight cotton / cotton blend, those 2 are 44-45 wide.
I think I will put a lot of the fabric I have accumulated up in a lot. Do you list it by the pound? lol Individual pics or just a lot photo? Should I group it by width? I know I have a lot more packed away somewhere.
The Eames one above has it's original price ticket on it, 33 cents per yard. One of those little square cardboard tags they stapled on the edge.
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Originally Posted by Denise 5-Considered fabric? It's a long...long continuos Eyelet trim, measures 5" wide. the unfinished edge has a "scalloped" finish, which when you first look at it looks as if it were "torn" off of something, but the irregular shaped scallops are identicl all the way through. It looks like the hem area of vintage slips or childrens christening gowns. Very lightweight. I think the scalloped top edge is where another row of the eyelet edging was cut apart. Think of the embroidery being done in multiple lengthwise strips on a long piece of fabric and then cut apart at the bottom of the satin stitching between each strip...
Not sure of this and haven't researched it, but that's what it LOOKS like in the photo...
Elaine
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Originally Posted by goodworks1 I think the scalloped top edge is where another row of the eyelet edging was cut apart. Think of the embroidery being done in multiple lengthwise strips on a long piece of fabric and then cut apart at the bottom of the satin stitching between each strip...
Not sure of this and haven't researched it, but that's what it LOOKS like in the photo...
Elaine Absolutely right! I put the bottom embroidered edge against the top scalloped edge and it matches!
Found this auction for a 4" x 46" piece, the call it whitework.
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Whitework? Hmm. I guess it could be described that way.
I think the most important info in your description will be whether or not it is pure cotton or if it's a blend of polyester and cotton. It's worth the time to test it, in my opinion. You could also try just wrinkling up a small end in your warm hand for a quick and dirty test...
Elaine