A Historical re-enactors basic guide to materials for costuming.

Part 4. Samples of suitable textiles and leathers

When you have spent a lot of time dealing with textiles and studying early fabrics you start to develop a more instinctive understanding of them. Others with a similar level of experience will know exactly what hues and tones you mean when you describe wool as showing heavy natural pigmentation or describe linen as, faded and sun bleached. They can form an impression in their mind of what constitutes a fine weave linen or a coarse weave wool. It is easy to forget that those new to these topics may not share this degree of familiarity. I hope that all I have written about in previous sections has made some sort of sense. Nevertheless the best way to start to learn what we actually mean by the various terms we use to describe cloth or leather, and hence what we should be looking for, is to start handling and looking at samples of material.

As this is a guide on the internet I cannot hand you samples to look at, feel or touch, though should you see me on site at any events around the country feel free to stop and chat where I’ll probably have a selection of textile samples with me to show you. Nevertheless I can include here pictures of various types of cloth and leather. Collectively this group of images should give you an idea of the range of mottled hues and tones covered by naturally pigmented textiles and skins. Any materials that fall within this range of colours are going to be generally better than those dyed uniform or bright colours. Furthermore if you click on any of these thumbnail images to bring up an enlarged version of each material, it will enable you to study the weave, thread count or grain, and see how fluffy or hairy the fibres of the threads are. The thickness of these spun threads may also give an indication of the thickness and weight of the cloth.

Anyway I’ll leave it to you to make of these pictures and accompanying captions what ever you will. I hope it’s useful for all those starting out in re-enactment who want to get themselves noticed for all the right reasons. Those who wish to start out making accurate authentic clothing. Whilst increasing experience and knowledge will always cause us to look back on our early efforts as being perhaps a little naive, there is no reason why a beginner making their first piece of costume cannot match the quality of their more experienced peers. After all if you’re making something for the first time you can act on all the latest research and understanding. Furthermore you won’t be burdened with old kit that new research and evidence, along with increasing skills has proved to look poor or inauthentic, but which you continue to wear because you’ve not got around to making a better replacement. For this reason alone I would recommend taking a little longer and perhaps spending a little more money than you might first wish to do so when trying to get your first costume right. We all know that those temporary measures and first attempts end up seeing far greater use than ever we envisaged at the times we started making them. When you’ve spent a lot of money on your cloth and spent a long time hand sewing your clothing you start to take on a period mentality about caring for it and getting as much use out of it as you can. You don’t like to discard it before it is worn out!

"PLEASE NOTE I DO NOT SELL TEXTILES OR LEATHERS! These illustrations are based upon various materials I have acquired for my own use over the years and are provided purely for educational purposes to help fellow re-enactors. The prices quoted are what they cost me when I bought them and are merely to give an idea of the costs you may have to pay if you are able to find something similar. I do not have samples of any of these available for sale nor will I recommend or endorse any particular retailer. So, without wishing to appear rude I simply don't have the time to respond to all the e-mails requesting help and information I seem to be inundated with. If you want to talk to me see me on site at a show somewhere as once in costume I'm there to educate and help the public and fellow re-enactors with all sorts of queries relating to period life and crafts."

01-Naturally pigmented tabby woven wool

average weave count (warp/weft)=10x9/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
It's rare these days to stumble upon anything which resembles a period cloth quite as well as this did. Differently coloured yet naturally pigmented warp and weft were ideal, and the weave pattern and thread count fell nicely within the range I was looking for. Had there been lots of it I would have bought more but nevertheless I still felt lucky to get two largish off cuts totalling just over 4m for £24.

02-Very fine white linen "lawn"

average weave count (warp/weft) 22x20/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This very fine linen would probably be at the upper end of what everyday folk would be using, the fineness of the weave and the very light colour making it better quality than a typical linen. It was bought to make a set of dress cuffs and collar for an early 17th century outfit and at £6/m was reasonably priced.

03-Veg-tanned leather split

thickness less than 1mm, size of skin 8 sq.ft.
This was sold as a split, consequently with the identifying grain surface missing the source of this veg-tanned leather could not be reliably identified, although the thickness, size and cheap price of just £8 for the skin suggests it could have been pig skin.

04-Open weave linen

weave count (warp/weft) 12x12/cm. width of cloth 80cm.
The loose open weave of this cloth proved to be a good match for several samples of early linen recovered from many pre-Norman archaeological excavations. Being woven on a narrow loom it suggests it was not a standard commercial product and could potentially have been hand woven? Nevertheless I was in the right place at the right time and found this as an oddment on a market stall and got what little they had for just £2/m.

05-Reproduction 16th century russet cloth

average weave count (warp/weft) 12x12/cm. width of cloth 60cm.
Whereas the previous cloth was a lucky find this was an expensive treat. Specially recreated using the undyed wool of rare breeds with a weave pattern and thread count matched to a known period textile sample this cloth was woven on a traditional narrow loom. I don't recall exactly how much it cost me but it was in the region of £12-15/m which compared to mass produced cloth was a lot given it's narrow width.

06-Heavyweight linen

average weave count (warp/weft) 14x14/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This pure linen cloth was supplied dyed a yellowy brown colour so I suppose I should have avoided it but it was a very drab and natural colour and was also quite cheap at just £4/m. I bought it primarily to give just a hint of variation among a mass of grey/beige undyed linens.

07-Thick veg tanned cattle skin

thickness 3-4mm bought as part hides of about 20-25 sq.ft
This veg tanned leather was bought (or practically given away) as rejects owing to scars and brand marks on part of each hide. Nevertheless at just £0.80/sq.ft. I was willing to cut around the worst marks, sacrifice about 4sq.ft of each hide and use the rest. It tools beautifully, whilst the graining and natural creasing which add character are something which would normally have gone on to be polished out of many top quality modern veg-tanned hides.

08-Lightweight woollen 2-2 chevron twill

average weave count (warp/weft) 12x12/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
weighing less than 300g/m this chevron twill is a very lightweight cloth making it ideal for summer re-enactment. Whether dyed or not it certainly imitates the colours of natural pigmentation. This cloth was bought for use with my Viking group and although a richer cloth than some is probably within the realms of what a competent home weaver could have produced in period. It was bought as a 3m roll end for just over £20.

09-Pig skin

thickness approx 1mm bought as two hides each of approx. 10 sq.ft.
Theses leathers were nice supple leathers retaining the fairly open grain from the bristly hair of the pig. I can't be certain of the tanning method used but given the graining and colouration it is certainly plausible that it could have been veg-tanned. At a cost of little more than £1/sq.ft. it was a fair price even for chrome tanning given its period look.

10-Unspecified leather

thickness approx 2mm supplied as various small offcuts.
The tannery I used to deal with one day presented me with a bag of off cuts of this they found lurking in a forgotten corner. It is cow or possibly calf skin, seems to have some unfamiliar method of tanning applied but it does have a good characterful surface texture and the smoky yellowish colour is closer in appearance to true oak bark tanning than many of the pinkish chestnut tanned leathers now supplied as the standard "veg-tan"

11-Medium weight linen

average weave count (warp/weft)=18x17/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
If you look to buy pure linen in an undyed state then this is probably what you'll find most often. It's quite hard wearing cloth and whilst not bleached white, processing and washing has faded the natural grey/brown to a paler beige colour. The standard price for this at re-enactment fairs is around £5-6/m

12-Cheap nickel/chrome tanned leather

thickness approx 1mm supplied as hides each of approx. 10 sq.ft.
These were more old hides the tannery was looking to get rid off and would only have gone in a skip if I hadn't taken them. Creased, stiff and cardboard like I got them for nothing and use them for practice projects. Nevertheless, whilst a little too orange in colour these skins do show some surface graining and at a push could be used for period reproductions. I've certainly seen far worse used by re-enactors.

13-Heavyweight linen

average weave count (warp/weft)=16x15/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
Another example of a fairly standard type of linen easily available. The colour of this particular cloth is slightly closer to the original grey/brown showing slightly less fading. This was cloth I picked up just because it was going cheap and it is always useful to have around. It cost less than £9/kg which worked out around £3/m

14-Cheap leather

thickness approx 2mm supplied as a part hide of approx 8 sq.ft
This was another freebie from my favourite tannery. Probably nickel/chrome tanned and polished to within an inch of its life to remove almost all trace of graining. This is a velvety smooth leather which takes a magnified photograph to show what little surface texture is left. I wouldn't ordinarily buy such leather but it had a pleasing colour and cost me nothing.

15- undyed woollen tabby

average weave count (warp/weft)=9x8/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This "off white" cloth may give a reasonable approximation of a typical period wool. It shows the slightly wiry nature of many of the fibres in the threads and has more of a biscuity colour with darker flecks rather than being the brilliant white we now think of as white. This would probably be the colour of cloth used for dying throughout much of English history. This cost me £8/m which seemed reasonable for pure wool.

16-Heavyweight woollen 2-2 chevron twill

average weave count (warp/weft)=7x7/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This thick heavyweight cloth is quite fulled and matted, consequently the weave and pattern are difficult to identify but this leads to a warmer and more waterproof garment. The threads look dyed rather than being naturally pigmented, but are dyed fairly neutral and natural colours so I feel the colour is acceptable. This wool cost £12/m, which given that it was bought from a mainstream retailer was a fairly cheap price for pure wool.

17-Cheap basket weave woollen cloth

average weave count (warp/weft)=9x9/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This was a pure wool cloth bought primarily on price. Though I doubt it would withstand close examination by an expert I wasn't going to leave behind a 7m roll end when it was priced at just £10 for the whole lot. The weave of paired (yet un-plyed) warp and wefts to give a basket weave effect is not one I would commonly associate with any particular period of history, though others tell me it is suitable for Saxon and Viking costume but the colours of grey, beige and brown, are quite subdued and give a good generic period look.

18-Veg tanned calf skin

thickness approx 1.0mm supplied as 3 small hides of approx 8 sq.ft
This was sold to me as calf skin, though it feels more like goat skin. The grain pattern is very clear which should be diagnostic in terms of resolving this but since I'm no expert I can't say for sure. Nevertheless it is very versatile, usable and supple veg-tanned hide which cost me just £25 for about 25 sq.ft. So far I've made shoes and pouches as well as a waistcoat from it.

19-Heavyweight coarse linen

average weave count (warp/weft) 14x12/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This naturally coloured unbleached linen was a tightly woven heavy cloth which looks similar to hessian. It was relatively cheap at just £4/m. and whilst it may be a bit too thick and coarse for ordinary costuming I bought it to use a stiff interlining for quite a rigid and tailored doublet. Given that it would never be seen unless the garment got torn I could have got away with using modern stiffener but I wanted to keep things period.

20-Reproduction Viking diamond twill

average weave count (warp/weft)=8x8/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This was another reproduction cloth, this time based upon a diamond twill. It used naturally pigmented wools sourced primarily from Herdwick sheep but was machine woven on a modern wide loom to keep the cost down. At £18/m it wasn't cheap but still represents good value given the limited market appeal of such specialist cloth.

21-Coarse linen sack cloth

average weave count (warp/weft)=6x6/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This was one of those rare finds from on old linen mill clearing out its stores. This crude, characterful cloth was at least 30 years old when I bought it, and although a bit rough for most period clothing is great for wrapping and sacking and maybe for clothing that ill-treated slave. At just £2/m I grabbed a great length of it to add to the "it'll be useful one day" pile.

22-(Alum tawed?) Goat skin

thickness approx 1.mm supplied as 3 small hides of approx 6 sq.ft each
These small goat skins struck me by how soft and how white they were. I can't say for certain that they were alum tawed but they were a high quality kid leather supplied for book binding. Given that I've seen alum tawed goat skins priced at close to £100 each, it makes me think that for just £10 a skin they must be veg tanned. Nevertheless I was pleased to get such soft, white, supple leathers for such a low price.

23-Thick white linen/cotton?

average weave count (warp/weft)=17x16/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This cloth was given to me as a pure linen and although I can't put my finger on just why there's something about it that isn't right. The weight and weave are fine and it burns like a natural fibre, though it could easily be a linen/cotton mix. Maybe it's the way the threads are spun or the fact it feels a little soft and fluffy, linen is normally a harder fibre. Maybe it's the fact it's such a clean bright white but something isn't quite right about it.

24-Thick white linen

average weave count (warp/weft)=17x17/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
This cloth is essentially the same as the one above but this has got what ever the previous lacks. This cloth feels stiffer and less fluffy, it shows the odd irregular slubs through the weave and the colour is a very pale faded beige rather than a clinical brilliant white. It was also obtained for a very reasonable price as I got 10m of it for just £25.

25-Very heavy linen canvas

average weave count (warp/weft)=12x22/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
the broad discrepancy in the warp and weft count reflects the weft is essentially made from two (un-plyed)thin threads to match the approximate thickness of the stronger warp. As such this is not a standard tabby weave. The thickness and weight of this cloth also make it unsuitable for clothing. Nevretheless for tents, large sacks or even sail cloth it is a very cheap option as it cost me just £2.50/m

26- 100% Pure nettle cloth

average weave count (warp/weft)=22x22/cm. width of cloth 100cm.
Pure nettle cloth is not the easiest thing to obtain, and is usally very expensive if you can find it. Nevertheless keeping my eyes and ears open eventually paid off. I tracked this down on the internet being sold off as a remnant from a designer boutique on New York's Madison Avenue for a fraction of what I'd pay here in the UK. I bought all they had, as at £2.40/m including shipping it was an absolute steal. The reality is though, that except for the slightest green tinge which is only visible in certain lights it looks and feels just like fine linen.

27-Lightweight woollen tabby.

average weave count (warp/weft)=12x11/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
I have a cloth dealer I regularly buy wool from, who willl contact me whenever he get's in anything suitable for my Living History work. Although he has no conection with historical re-enactment he's become quite familiar with the sorts of cloth I use, and cosnsequently I've learnt to trust his judgement. When he phoned to say he'd got in a lightly fulled, pure wool tabby in mottled pale browns which he could let me have at just £4/m I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best and ordered a lot. I wasn't disappointed as this has a multiple of uses across many periods of history. It is just a good generic woollen cloth.

28- Fine 2-2 woollen cross twill

average weave count (warp/weft)=18x16/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
The high thread count probably places this towards the finer quality end of the sorts of woollen cloth avaialble in the past, and the fact it's a kreuzköper or cross twill (constantly broken twill) makes it particularly suited to late dark age. Neverthless I was looking to make a slightly higher status Viking tunic without going to the extent of dyed or coloured cloth and thought this would do nicely. At £5/m it wasn't expensive either.

29- Fine 2-2 twill linen

average weave count (warp/weft)=17x23/cm. width of cloth 150cm.
Finding twill linens is not all that common in the modern world although they were much more common around 1000 years ago. The fairly open warp spacing means that inspite of the weft being a thicker thread it actually has a higher sett than the warp which is not that common.The generally high sett of both warp and weft means that this would possibly be at the finer end of the sorts of cloth being used by everday folk but I wasn't going to turn away the chance to obtain undyed twill linen. At just £3.50/m it wasn't expensive either.

Anyway, that's plenty of samples of wools, linens and leathers, all picked up over the last few years as and when the chance arose. The colours, weaves and fibre types all make them suitable for re-enactment, and the accompanying captions give an idea of those that are particular good choices and those that are merely acceptable compromises. In almost every case these were one off purchases, roll ends and oddments obtained when I found them going cheap which were put away until I had need of them. If you wanted such things immediately many would be difficult to source and would probably cost you a lot more than I paid. However, the point of this was not to provide you with a shopping list and a directory of places to buy from. It was to give you a good flavour of what was probably once commonplace such that when you go shopping you can spot the natural colours or textures that are right for you. Thereby enabling you to shop with more confidence and make the most of opportunities for cheap deals as and when they arise. As I've said throughout this guide we need to research and improve our understanding of what was once commonplace in the past and judge evidence accordingly. Other people may interpret things differently to me, and everybody is entitled to their own opinions. However, if people in your group or society think differently ask them to explain their reasoning. If any society is to give an authentic portrayal of the past it needs good reasons and sound evidence for all it does. The fact that everybody in the group has always done it that way, and new members simply copy the traditions of the group is hardly sound reason for anything. I've argued the case for a far greater prevalance of undyed and natural pigmented materials across all periods of re-enactment. If you agree with all I've said isn't it about time you started making the commonplace more common?