I know growing up; I’m 57.  Polyester was consider hot compared to natural fabrics. Has the way that polyester is made changed?

By: Tony

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Hi, I have two viking re enacting tents that are made from non waterproofed of white heavy canvas that I want dyed red. I have been told that I will get better results from dying with ink and I have not even heard of that before. I have a cast iron bath tub over a fire pit I am willing to risk getting stained.

They are very large and I want to ensure an even and lasting colour.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can achieve this please.

Thanks in advance

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hi my name is bro. john i am a Farsistan friar (monk) from Canada and i am in need of help. i would like to make a habit of dark brown fabric traditionally they are wool base but that’s not super important. The problem is i over heat easily. for instance at liturgical gatherings i wear a base layer under this then the habit then an albe (a Wight robe) then a chasuble a garment much like a very large poncho.  I am in need of help choosing a fabric that would help me to eleviate the heat of the seasons, i had hoped to find a merino wool fabric as when i am hiking my socks do an amazing job keeping my feet cool. I wold even have settled for a matted looking sportswear fabric as I like to hike in the mountains. so here it is i need a fabric its main porous is to keep me cool that i can use all the time in any situation that is not to feminine as the rest of my brothers in their coarse wool. Do we have any ideas?

By: Bro. John

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Hello, 

I have just read your fabulous article on Meet the Azlons from A-Z which has great information on these regenerated fibres.

An opportunity has arisen for me to work with a new quilting wadding/batting that is a Milk Protein fibre and is only now being exported out of China.  From reading your article it would appear that the batting/wadding would not be pure milk protein but must be bonded with another fibre?  As this product comes direct out of China the seller does not know the exact composition.  Would you have any idea or would you know how I could find out?

From what I have now read it appears this product will act rather like wool, but from reading your article I am now a little concerned that I will have to be very careful when washing the completed quilt and that I run a risk of it going mouldy if not dried immediately, and also of it potentially having a sour milk smell?

Any information you could provide on this new product would be gratefully received.

Kindest regards and many thanks,

Suzanne

By: Suzanne Butz

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Research is now showing that many fragrance products are toxic.  For those of us who have allergies this is not news! 

Buttoned Up: Still cleaning with toxic chemicals? – Taunton Daily Gazette

news.google.com

Buttoned Up: Still cleaning with toxic chemicals?Taunton Daily GazetteThe National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found that one-third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic. Some of these may be capable of causin …

Fabrics.net - Hand Selected Fabrics, Timeless Elegance

Fabrics.net - Hand Selected Fabrics, Timeless Elegance

My son is getting married in October, and I’m on the hunt for a mother-of-the-groom dress.  Unfortunately, most dresses I like are only available online.  I’m a bit hesitant since I haven’t ordered clothing online before.  One dress that I do really like says it’s made of “elastic woven satin,” and I can’t for the life of me figure out what that fabric is.  Any ideas??  Thanks!!

By: Wendy Clark

Fabrics.net - Hand Selected Fabrics, Timeless Elegance

Image via Flickr

Is using only cold water in our washing machines really saving money and our planet? As usual, there are really no simple answers. If you find yourself pre-treating stains that didn’t come out the first time, using warm water may be the answer. Some stains simply do not come out in cold water.

More information at Dr. Laundry’s blog at http://www.clorox.com/blogs/dr-laundry/2006/09/20/washing-clothes-in-coldwater/

Do your towels have a musty odor when they come out of the dryer? Does the perspiration odor survive washing and drying? Warm water and an enzyme detergent can remove these odors.

Dr. Laundry has tips for these problems too http://www.clorox.com/blogs/dr-laundry/2008/02/01/cold-water-laundry-results/

By regulating the hot and cold mix that goes into your washing machine, you can conserve both money and natural resources. Just adjust the hot and cold water spigot that feeds the washing machine.

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How can I tell what fabric in the fabric shop is 100% linen as compared to those that are mixed? In some cases the store owner was not sure.

Also can all linen fabric be washed?

By: Jenneh

Fabrics.net - Hand Selected Fabrics, Timeless Elegance

NZ63
Prior years entries and winners.  Theme based on the circus.

The main difference between a fashion designer and a costumer is that costumers share their abilities.  They feed each other just by being creative.  Everyone in life has different experiences and costumers get excited when they can share what they have learned.  It’s not just their abilities they share, they also share their ideas and encourage each other by getting excited about another artists ideas.  They ask questions about designs and get each other to think more outside the box than they would have creating something on their own.  This is the energy and excitement I received when meeting up the next day for the International entrants day.

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Prior years entries and winners.  Theme based on the circus.

All of the entrants from all over the world including a couple of New Zealand entrants met up for a tour of local places in Wellington.  It was a great opportunity to visit with people from everywhere.  Joseph Bawar, the first entrant from the Philippines and an utterly sweat gentleman entered a piece called “Silver Belle”, made of pop pull tabs and sequins.  He was fun to talk to and very excited to be in New Zealand and couldn’t stop taking pictures, I think if his camera had not been digital he would have run out of film on several occasions.  Quit often I was feeling a little star struck.  I got to meet last years winners of the supreme WOW award, “Loops”, Yogesh Chaudhary & Manas Barve from India.  Through the course of the day I got to see the piece in person and was really blown away.  “Loops”  is laser cut Marino wool with hundreds of tiny little loops and dots, almost like fabric hooks-N-eyes.  Yogesh told us a funny story of what had happened to the garment before sending it into WOW.  When they had finished the garment and after taking pictures but before mailing it, they had sent it to the cleaners to make sure it was fresh for the contest.  When they got it back, all of the little loops had come undone, so they had to spend a couple of hours redoing everything before hitting their shipping deadline.  They almost missed it.  As a designer who has to meet deadlines I know personally the stress this sort of thing can cause.

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Entry from the extreme bra challenge.  This challenge takes place every other year with the opposite year being the Redefine the Man challenge.  This years was redefining the Groom.  Very funny, wish you all where there to see it.

Our first stop was along the waterfront with a little talk from one of the professional entries, Beatrice Carlson, who lives in New Zealand.  She talked of her work and what inspires her.  We also had a little lecture from one of the folks from the Te Papa Museum about the history of the cloaks the Maori chiefs wore.  The weaving is actually quit beautiful and intricate.  Each weave tells something about the wearer and the tribe.

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A Maori canoe

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We had a boat tour up the length of the reservoir, and met a couple of the permanent locals.

As far as our tour went we visited a little place called Zealandia.  It is a section of Wellington that has been set aside to return New Zealand to the types of vegitation and animal life New Zealand was before whites came with their ships and the different types of animals and plants they brought with them.  A very large fence has been erected around the entire site that is impenetrable.  It was especially created to keep wild house cats, rabbits and other various animals from getting in and hunting the Native wildlife.  A lot of which are having trouble surviving because they have become food for non-indigenous wildlife.  Pigs and such have become wild and eaten Kiwi bird eggs as well as house cats have hunted down some of the other types of birds and lizards native to New Zealand.  The people at Zealandia are working hard to remove from the area several non-indigenous plants and trees.  From listening to our guide we learned that in just the last five to ten years certain areas of the preserve have completely returned to it’s original vegitation, which after seeing the video is kind of amazing.  The area was completely deforested and turned into a water reservoir for the town of Wellington back in the early 1900’s.

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Native flightless birds of NZ.  Mated pair, related to ostrich.

After the boat ride we had a walking tour of a portion of the park.  I was amazed by the vegitation.  I have inspiration for years based solely on this walk.  It felt as though I had stepped back in time to prehistoric world.  I was ready for a T-Rex to come charging through thee brush at any moment.

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Walking through the primitive forest.

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Parrots and Lizards in the sanctuary.

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My inspiration for my next WOW Garment.

We ended out day with one of the best views in the city and a tram ride that was a 45 degree angle the whole way down.  The group photo shows all of the international entrants for 2011.  What a great group of people.

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Best View in the city and a trip down.

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A fantastic group of new friends.

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