What I'd like opinions on are:

* Would straight tabby weave or twills be preferred? (Tabby weave is ever so slightly thicker, and certainly stretchier than the twill)

* Preferred colors? Options include- natural, gold, brown, forest green, black, navy blue, royal blue, scarlet, terra cotta, spruce green, cranberry

* What widths? 1/2", 7/8" or 1 1/2" are available

There is no right or wrong answer, this is just a market survey to see what would be the most popular items, since I won't be able to carry *all* options, at least for a while.

Thanks for your input!

Tabby
7/8" inches
Colors:
natural
forest green
black
navy blue
cranberry

Jenn

7/8"

If so, it maybe that is would hold up to a buckle better. The reason I say that is because open weave spur straps have an infinite adjustability for tightening and loosening and they also wear forever. I have a pair that are almost 20 years old and I have replaced leather ones many times in that time frame.

If tabby is an open weave it might do better if you are planning on poking the tongue of a buckle through it. Especially since it would just shift threads to one side or another. With twill, won't you be poking actual holes in the material for a buckle?

Like I said, I'm showing my ignorance about tabby weave...but it might be worth thinking about.

Brenna

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My reasoning for tabby is comfort and a little give, I don't want anything that will cut off the circulation, but if one stands up to a buckle better than the other, I would probably say for longevity of the item to go with the one that meets this criteria.

Jenn

[ 04-23-2001: Message edited by: Fire Stryker ]

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I would be interested if these wool tapes are available in 2.5" - 3" herringbone for a somewhat earlier period. Thanks!

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"Tabby" Actually, the more I looked at it, the more I realized that it's not a tabby weave at all, it looked like a finger woven plait. I went back to the manufacturer, and this is what it is:

... made on a braiding machine rather than woven on a loom gives it a diagonal thread lay that keeps it from cockling when folded around a curve, and facilitates sewing it flat onto fabric in rounded shapes. You can stretch it, you can shape it, or otherwise pull it wider or narrower according to your own design.

It doesn't come any wider than 7/8". I like it because it has a bit of spring to it and seems like it wouldn't cut off the circulation.

Buran- The above comes up to 1.5" wide.

The wool twill is only available up to 7/8", but I can get the following:
Linen webbing is of medium weight in a ridged chevron twill with a lustrous sheen, flexible enough for easy manipulation. 2" wide chevron twill flax

Thanks for the input.

quote:

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Originally posted by Brenna:
Hmm, I'm about to show my ignorance so correct me if I am wrong. Isn't tabby a somewhat more open/loose weave?

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Tabby /Twill has to do with the construction of the weave not directly with the looseness of the weave. Tabby means plain weave, one up one down alternating on every pick. Twill weaves change the patterns of alternating up and down to form diagonal lines. You can have a loosely woven twill and a tightly woven tabby, it depends on how tightly you beat each pick.

In either case the perferable method for using a woven narrow ware in a buckle is to force the tongue around the fibers rather than cutting the fibers to place a hole. So you want a weave that is tight enough not to deform too much but not so tight that you can't force the tongue through. IMO, given two fabrics of equally tight weave, because of its structure a twill stand up to the deformation caused by a tounge better than a tabby. There are a lot of other factors that can come into play and without being there to handle the fabrics it's diffcult to make an informed decision.

My orignal assement was based on generally available fabrics and woven garters & spur straps that I have made in the past. Based on Gwen's subsequent description I would agree that the "tabby" sounds fine.

Mitake.

A faily decent glossary on weaving terminology can be found at http://www.initco.net/~elh/glossary.htm