medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Aug 15, 2012, at 8:39 AM, Genevra Kornbluth wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> On 8/15/2012 10:43 AM, Christopher Crockett wrote:
>> http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/images/SensAsc5.jpg [depth of field!]
> Not sure if that's a complaint or a compliment-- I sacrificed sharpness on all but a tiny bit of the textile in order to focus on on the fibers from the top of the loops to the background plane. Choices, choices!
>>
>>> A friend has told me that the design is woven in,
>> i don't understand how that could have been done, on a hand loom.
> I don't understand it either, but I'm no expert in textiles.
>> it certainly looks like cotton --can the technique even be applied to linen?
>>
> Whenever the object has been published (not often), it has been described as linen.
It looks rather as though someone has applied a pattern-woven velvet or velveteen technique to linen -- I forget which is which at the moment, but both involve a (supplemental?) warp or weft thread that is pulled up into loops by a rod (so they are all the same size).
Whether that exact sort of technique dates back this early I don't know, but while most surviving velvets are silk, we know the velvet technique was also worked in wool, so linen isn't an impossible stretch. I'm not by any means a specialist in weaving (as witness my vagueness about details!), but that's the direction where I'd look for more information.
There are other techniques that have a vaguely similar finished "look" to them from a little distance (such as candlewicking and chenille) but neither of them results in rows of small *loops* on the surface of the textile -- in both cases the raised fuzzy appearance comes from other types of effects.
True "chenille" yarn is composed of a central binding thread with short straight fibers inserted into the twist, rather like the structure of a bottlebrush. I don't see anything like that in the detail photo. Terrycloth is a closer modern approximation.
Cotton does tend to become soft and fuzzy as it is worn and washed, but so does linen -- it just takes longer with linen because the fibers start out stiffer and have fewer loose ends sticking out of the thread surface.
____________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning <[log in to unmask]> - Davis, California
+ http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com
____________________________________________________________
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|