The woven sample for the cashmere-silk coat came out nice, but not quite heavy enough to produce the warmth I’d like. So I went looking for some nice warm fabric to put between the outer and inner layers to make it warmer. I wanted something fairly drapey (so as not to interfere with the “hand”), warm, and in a natural fiber. But where to find a fine quality wool fabric, since Joann’s and other shops tend towards cheap fabrics in polyester and cotton?
Of course. Off I went to Britex Fabrics. Britex, of course, sells only the creme de la creme of fabrics, generally at astronomical prices (and I do mean ASTRONOMICAL – they think nothing of $75-150/yard, and some of their laces are even more than that!). However, their heavily-discounted remnant bin does occasionally turn up a reasonably-priced find, and the quality (as previously noted) is impeccable.
And, after fending off a vulture-like saleswoman (they must get paid on commission), I spent about twenty minutes browsing around before finding the perfect fabric: a lightweight, loosely woven, soft brushed mohair in an absolutely HIDEOUS pink-black-white plaid. It was light and drapey and very very warm, awful-looking so I wouldn’t mind covering it up, and discounted so heavily from its original $80/yd(!) price tag that it could (in dim light, and squinting a bit) pass for affordable. I bought a total of 5 yards of that and an identical fabric of a different color, figuring I could piece it together in case I ran out of one or the other. I believe I’ll sew it to the coat fabric and treat it as a single piece when constructing the coat – if there are better options, please let me know!
I have also ordered 7 yards of heavy black silk charmeuse to serve as a lining, from Rupert, Gibbon, and Spider. Between that and the mohair from Britex, I’ve now used up my entire craft budget for the month, but fortunately I don’t need anything more this month, unless by a miracle I finish the entire coat in the next twelve days. (Ha!)
I am now impatiently waiting for my dyes to arrive. UPS says they’re out for delivery, and that usually means around 7pm, so they should be arriving at any moment now. Then I can dye the warp yarns, which are already soaking in a big dyepot. I’ve already finished weaving up the rest of the sample warp (not enough for a scarf, alas), so until the dyes arrive, there’s nothing much for me to do except work on muslins. And I’d rather wait for that until I have some fabric woven, so I know how wide it will be.
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Just a thought…I don’t know what the dyes are that were used on the Britex fabric, and is there even the remotest chance that it could bleed onto your coat (even if it is dry-cleaned only)? Say, if you spilled something on it or got soaked in the rain? Is it possible to pre-treat the fabric to avoid this?
Are you sure you even need an interlining? Cashmere is quite warm. And with a lining of silk, you’ve got a pretty warm combination there.
Tien, I am just in the throes of doing a ‘musln’ of the coat I had imagined for my handspun, not-yet-handwoven fabric to coordinate w/ the gorgeous fox fur cuffs I found in an antique shop in the Upper Peninsula last year. I needed an interlining and so I did trek out to the local Joann’s yesterday to get a couple yards of thinsulate. Most coats only have this layer in the ‘body’ of the coat. Sleeves and other areas will make it too bulky, methinks.
Several years ago I made a long coat w/ a cashmere/wool blend, no interlining, and what I used to call (as a twenty-something sew-ist) ‘sunback’ lining. I wore that coat last week when it was -14 degrees F w/ my cashmere scarf and fulled mittens and I thought the thermometer must be wrong. That lining is still available at Vogue Fabrics. Good luck! I’ll be watching your progress! I LOVE your celtic knots.