Where does one buy wool thread -- for regular clothes, and more heavy-duty for sewing gambesons? I handsew clothes, but I want to machine the gambeson; would the thread be strong enough to run through a sewing machine?

Thank you!!

While describing how to make a gambeson someone said to use wool to stitch the padded tubes, so I was primarily wanting it for that. Maybe since wool thread would
be thicker, and more suitable for sewing a thick gambeson, but it does seem that linen thread would be stronger.

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Originally posted by Nikki:
Silk thread, tho, sews beautifully in the machine, especially on woolens.

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Seems that might be the way to go, then. Do you know what thickness would be best for a gambeson -- just the thickest I can find? Also, how is thickness/strength depicted on the spool?

Thank you!

I didn't find any thing in Textile Production but the following section comes from Textiles, Cordage, and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate (AY 17/5):
"The sewing thread of these hems and seams for the most part matches the fibre of the fabric being stitched, ... however, in some cases linen has been used on silk ...
"The silk is of course finer than the other sewing yarns 0.3-0.8mm, and the stitching closer together, 4-6 stiches per cm. The linen plied threads are also mainly fine, 0.4-1.0mm diameter and 3-5 stitches per cm, but wool yarns are 0.8-1.5mm diamter and 1-3 stitches per cm. There was usually too little of the sewing thread to allow a dye test, but it is apparent that occasionally they were dyed, sometimes in a different colour from the ground weave." (pp 408-9)

In terms of finding sources for thread.

Things Japanese sells pretty much the entire range of Tire threads from Japan. They also have quite a bit of information about the threads and such. With my rather in-exact method of measuring -the machine twist (size 50) is about .25 mm. The buttonhole twist (size 8) is more for handsewing and runs about .7 mm. The line stich (size 30) may be the perfect weight for your application.
Another brand of silk thread that can frequently found in up-scale fabric stores is Guttermann.

I don't know of any linen or wool sold for use in a machine. Halcyon Yarn sells a 2 ply wool that might be suitable for hand sewing (it runs about .6mm), but it breaks fairly easily and certainly would not hold up to a sewing machine. Based on the figures in AY 17/5 the 2/8 Maine Line wool may also be suitable on the upper end of the thickness scale.

Lacis is another place to find threads. Their 35/2 linen is very nice for tablet weaving, finger weaving, and hand sewing and comes in multiple colors.

I get all my linen thread there. They also carry wool in various thicknesses as well as silk, hemp and cotton. They also donate wool roving for our demos that we do for schools .

hope this helps,
--Anne-Marie

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If you want to make the gambeson as historically accurate as possible and to that end want to use an historically accurate thread for the quilting, wouldn't it make sense to do the quilting by hand?

If you plan to quilt by machine, it seems rather unimportant to use an historically accurate thread as the look of the quilting done by machine will negate the use of the type of thread; ie hand qulting looks different than machine stitching in that machines do a lock stitching and most medieval quilting stitches are a running stitch.

If you are specifically looking for a thread to quilty a gambeson, silk is perhaps not the best choice, as it degrades quickly with sweat and also sunlight. While it would be strong, I don't think it would last very long in this application.

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If you want to make the gambeson as historically accurate as possible and to that end want to use an historically accurate thread for the quilting, wouldn't it make sense to do the quilting by hand?

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I'm also using the white fibrous by-the-yard padding, since it's cheaper, cleaner, and easier to use. So using modern stitching won't take away too much more authenticity.

Also, since this is my first gambeson, and probably won't turn out too well, I don't want to spend so much time/effort on it by handquilting. After I've made a couple and know exactly what to do, I'll fix the inaccuracies.

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If you plan to quilt by machine, it seems rather unimportant to use an historically accurate thread as the look of the quilting done by machine will negate the use of the type of thread.

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I figure it's better to use accurate thread and modern construction than modern thread /and/ construction.

I'm not willing to handquilt this one, just too much time (and I'm working on chainmail now, too) but if silk won't hold up, I might have to use modern thread.

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Originally posted by 13thCRenMan:
I'm also using the white fibrous by-the-yard padding, since it's cheaper, cleaner, and easier to use. So using modern stitching won't take away too much more authenticity.

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If by this you mean poylester quilt batting I have one thing to say. Don't do it. You will lose all of the benefits that you gain from natural fibers. There are a number of 100% cotton battings out there. This will allow your garment to retain the breathability of natural fibers.

Here's an eaxmple of a product that I am talking about - you can usually find it at JoAnn's, Hanncock, and Wal-Mart http://shop.store.yahoo.com/hancockfabricstore/cotquilbat.html

If you still really want to use linen thread in a sewing machine give one of these from Lacis a try

UN31 * Lin, 80/2, 12.5g, bl (Bockens) 9.00
YK03 * Lin, 100/2, 25g, bl 6.50
TH038 Lin, 120/2, 100 yds, nat, bl 4.50
UN32 * Lin, 120/2, 12.5g, bl (Bockens) 11.00

I had looked at cotton before, but what I had found didn't look like it would work.

I went out tonight and looked again, and while I didn't find the exact brand you linked to it looked the same stuff as the picture. But it was very thin -- it would take maybe 8+ layers to for the padding to be thick enough. Is this the sort of batting you meant? I guess it would just have to be layered, or is there thicker stuff out there?

Thanks!!

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Originally posted by 13thCRenMan:
I guess it would just have to be layered, or is there thicker stuff out there?

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