About Our Products:

(Scroll down if you already know about fabrics and need help choosing what to buy!)

Fabric 101

Here is a brief description of some of our fabrics, pros and cons for choosing one over the other and some ideas for your selections.

Muslin: 100% cotton - machine wash cold, let drip dry or dry on low/iron. 

This is a thinner fabric, used mostly for shirts, chemises, underskirts and bloomers.  Muslin is available in white (called bleached), cream (unbleached or natural) and tea dyed (this is a tan/brown color).  Muslin is also good for making a less expensive version of  an item (for instance, if you want a velvet bodice, you can make sure what you have cut fits before cutting into the expensive stuff!  Velvets can run over $20/yard!)

Cotton/Polyester Blend: Mix varies - machine wash warm, warm dryer ok

Still a thinner fabric, but wrinkle resistant and easy to take care of.  As you wash it, we find the material softens up nicely.  Plus, we hate ironing with a passion, so this is a good fabric for someone without access to an iron!  This is ideal for chemises, men's shirts, any of our pants and bloomers.

Quilters Cotton, Country Classics: 100% Cotton - machine wash cold, hang dry or dry on low/iron

Both of these are similar fabrics, medium weight cotton, with the potential for needing an iron.  We have found it to be a stronger fabric with nice, vibrant colors.  While the fabric is thicker, it is also cotton, which helps your skin breathe while you are out in the sun at Faire or chasing down bad guys at a LARP.

Gauze: 100% cotton - machine wash cold, hang dry/fluff in dryer NO IRON!

Very thin, works best for chemises, skirts (with layers, otherwise everyone will see through to your bloomers!).  Sometimes there are thicker versions of this stuff available.  We are considering a new design for a men's shirt in gauze.  Again, this is cotton, so it breathes.  Gets very soft with wear.

Osnaburg: 100% cotton - Machine wash cold, hang dry or dry on low/iron

Another cotton fabric.  Rather a light tan color, rougher in texture (but gets soft as you wash it!), great peasant fabric for shirts and chemises.

Cotton Twill: Cotton - machine wash warm/dryer ok

Good Heavy duty cotton.  Great for cloaks, mantles, vests, dresses, bodices.  This is thicker stuff that is far more durable.

Tapestry/Brocade/Velvet: varied material content - usually, dry clean only

This is the material we use for fancier stuff.  Good for bodices, vests, Irish dress, etc.  Very thick.

Fleece: varied content, not usually natural fabric - machine wash warm/dryer ok

We tend to seek out anti-pill fleece (pills are like what happens on the inside of old sweatpants... the little bumpy things that make the insides not soft like they were when you first bought them!)  Not a period fabric, but practical for those of us who are allergic to wool.

Crushed velvet: usually synthetic - machine washable (I recommend delicate) and low dryer

Perfect for cloaks and comfy drawstring wrap pants.  Sometimes stretchy in both horizontal and vertical directions, sometimes not.

Other Considerations

So, you know you want a pair of pants and a shirt...

But what to choose from?  Why would someone pick drawstrings over that modern convenience, elastic?

In previous years at the Virginia Renn Faire, we found that customers preferred drawstring.  Why?  If period is what you are looking for, then elastic isn't even an option!  Technically, grommets as used in most bodices found at Faires today are not historically accurate either.  To make a grommet look correct, you can take embroidery floss and "wrap" your grommets (with a needle!) after your set them into the fabric.

Here are some of our observations for uses for some of the costuming here, and which options you might pick depending on the circumstance:

Details about our work:

*Everything for sale on this site is made by us.

*Seams are made with french seams when possible; this is a seam that encloses the first seam, creating a double stitched, more durable seam with a neater look.

*Sometimes we offer one of a kind finds- fabrics we couldn't pass up, etc.  We will be posting those items for sale on a catalog page in the near future.

Have any more questions?  Feel free to contact the seamstress at MerryJesterSeamstress@yahoo.com !