Posts tagged with "1940s" | Return to the Archives Listing
Daily Swatch: Ribbons & Bows
Green Tulips and Brown Dots, c.1940s, from the feedsack collection of Just-a-Mere on Flickr.
Daily Swatch: Wool
1940s wool crepe dress fabric, from Donna Flower.
Daily Swatch: Butterflies
1940s butterfly floral from the collection of thefabricofmylife, aka Donna Flower, on Flickr.
Daily Swatch: Words and Letters
Vintage words in lozenges, estimated 1940s by the seller (though that’s doubtful — see comments). Looks like it’s a tribute to an unidentified trivia board game. 13.5 x 17 inches, buy-it-now $6.99.
More About Rayon
Also see part 1: Know Your Rayon
Sewing With Rayon
- Pre-shrinking the fabric is recommended for garments. This can be achieved by pre-washing or steam ironing.
- Universal needles and all-purpose thread are OK for most weights and weaves of rayon.
- It ravels easily, so finish those seams.
- Use the cool setting when ironing. High settings can easily damage rayon.
- Since it’s very drapey, it’s best suited to skirts and less-structured blouses; if you’re making something more tailored/pleat-y, rayon-linen blends are more suitable.
Misc.
- During the WWI era, writes Joan Kiplinger in this article on Fabrics.net, “Rayon jumped to the forefront as fiber of the moment to conserve future allotments of natural fibers needed for military clothing and never relinquished its popularity after that.”
- Rayon doesn’t hold up well over time: it tends to fade and deteriorate when exposed to light.
- It is resistant to static electricity. That’s a good one for me to know — I hate it when I’m all static-y!
- Tencel is another (greener) variety of rayon, manufactured from trees grown on managed tree farms and using a closed-loop system that recycles the processing chemicals. Tencel is a trade name owned by Courtaulds Fibers.
Sources:
- “Rayon – A Love-Hate Relationship,” from Timmel Fabrics
- eHow article: How to Sew With Rayon
- Sew Any Fabric: A Quick Reference to Fabrics from A to Z
More Links
Sewing Guide for Rayon/Lycra Jersey knit fabric on Emma One Sock
Sewing Silk/Rayon blend velvet, on Patternreview
Daily Swatch: Rayon
Floral Climber ~ vintage rayon fabric, circa 1940s, 40 inches x 2 yard 23 inches, $75, from Revival Fabrics.
Daily Swatch: Rayon
Vintage 1940s silky rayon dress fabric – “stylized purple roses with hand drawn black outline against white leaves … on a robin’s egg blue background.” Four yards. On ebay, current bid $50, ends Feb-19-09 21:55:00 PST.
Daily Swatch: Rayon
The Daily Swatch shows one piece of vintage fabric (almost) every day. Themes change periodically. You are welcome to add your own examples of the theme to the True Up and/or Vintage Fabric Flickr Pools.
I don’t know much about rayon other than it’s a garment fabric. It’s high time I found out more! It’s been a while since I’ve done a series of posts on a fabric type (here’s linen), so I’ll be researching and reporting my findings this week.
Above: Soda fountain (or milkshake?) rayon print, 37″ x 2 plus yards, estimated 1940s-50s by the seller. Current bid $20, ends Feb-18-09 08:05:35 PST.
Daily Swatch 4/29/08
People Watching, c.1940s from Revival Fabrics.
Daily Swatch 4/26/08
New feature! The Daily Swatch will feature one piece of vintage fabric every day. It might be from someone’s stash, or it might be on sale somewhere. Enjoy!
Today, a farm animal border print on organdy, on sale at Antiquefabric.com.
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