Category: Resource

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What are the different weights of linen thread used for?

If you are new to sewing, then the different numbers in front of the linen thread can be confusing. What does it mean? What are they for? We wrote an article about how they compare to sewing machine threads here but that doesn’t really clear up the question of, but what should I use the different weights for? Below, we discuss what we use the different weights of linen thread for

90/2 – What we call “Extra Light”. This sewing thread is very fine and is good for delicate fabrics, like light weight linen, which aren’t going to have a lot of stress put on them. Napkins, veils and cuffs of shirts are where we would use this thread. It’s also good for lace work.

60/2 – What we call “Light” – Slightly heavier than the extra light, and good for construction seams on light linen – such as shirts, smocks and underwear.

35/2 – What we call “Medium” -This is our most common thread and used for constructions seams in linen and medium weight wools.

25/3 – Our “Heavy” thread. It’s what we use for construction seams of wool garments and other medium to heavy weight fabrics.

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Why is our horse shoe pendant upside down?

The modern superstition is that a horse shoe should be positioned such that the horse shoe looks like a U with the ends facing the sky. The superstition is that by tipping the horseshoe – the luck will run out of the shoe, making it unlucky and so the horseshoe is always kept upright.

But the medieval superstition in the late 14th and 15th century is that by having the horseshoe upside down, the luck pours out over the wearer- making the wearer lucky. So good luck tokens such as our reproduction pendant, are always worn so the luck pours out over the wearer.

Why not get a lucky charm of your own with the Keystone Forge horseshoe pendant which is dated 1375-1424 and based on an original found in The Netherlands.

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St Valentine’s Day -it’s always Chaucers’ fault

It’s probably Chaucer’s fault that we associate Valentine’s Day with romantic love.
February 14th was a day to remember the deeds and martyrdom of Saint Valentine, with no particular romantic significance, until Geoffrey Caucer penned ‘Parlement of Foules” (Parliament of Fowles) in 1381. Chaucer’s poem describes all of the birds being brought together by mother nature on Saint Valentine’s Day to choose their mates.

This noble emperesse, ful of grace, Bad every foul to take his owne place,
As they were wont alwey fro yeer to yere, Seynt Valentynes day, to stonden there.

By mid February, as winter frosts thawed, people would see birds becoming more active around them, seeking each other out. Medieval people took to the idea of a day in late winter where we seek out a mate and bring them shiny gifts, and St Valentines Day has become cemented as a secular celebration of romantic love.

The rebrand hasn’t been bad for St Valentine, with many modern people celebrating his saint’s day long after St Frumentius and St Godelva passed into obscurity.

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What do I need to start hand sewing?

Historical hand sewing requires a few different supplies to get started, which might not be easily available from your local sewing store.

That’s why we’ve curated our beginning hand sewing kit with everything you need to start handsewing the medieval way.

In the kit is, high-quality linen thread in the appropriate weight should be waxed with beeswax before use. This helps strengthen the thread and makes it smoother which makes for easier sewing as the thread glides more easily through the fabric. Linen thread, especially hand sewing linen threads, can have slubs and the beeswax helps that go through the fabric more easily as well.

Good quality needles are also worth having for long sessions of hand-sewing and the thimble drives the needle without hurting the fingers, a necessity for a long sewing session.

The tailors awl is for the common task of eyeleting and the snips are for snipping the thread.

The kit contains:

  1. Linen thread – 10m samples of Swedish Bockens Lingarn 35/2, 60/2 and 90/2 on wooden spools
  2. Good quality assorted sharp and crewel needles
  3. Pins
  4. Needle storage cloth
  5. Thimble
  6. Beeswax
  7. Thread Snips
  8. Modern tailors awl
  9. Cotton bag.

Buy your hand sewing kit here

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Comparison of Linen Threads to Sewing Machine Threads

You might have noticed that our linen hand sewing threads have a Nel number code to describe their thickness, like 60/2 for our ‘light’ thread. The first number refers to the weight of each strand, with higher numbers being lighter weights, and the second number being the amount of ‘plies’, or strands, that are twisted together.

A handy way to think about thread sizes is by dividing the weight number by the ply number to get the total weight. A 60/2 linen thread is 2 plies of #60 linen, so 60/2 is the same weight as #30, also known as 30/1.

Standard sewing machine thread converts to be equivalent to 120/2 in the Nel system, so 60/2 is twice the weight of standard sewing machine thread.

90/2 extra-light thread = 1.5x sewing machine threads

60/2 light thread = 2x sewing machine threads

35/2 medium thread = 3.4x sewing machine threads

25/3 heavy thread = 7.2x sewing machine threads

This same handy rule shows us that:

25/3 = 8.3

and

16/2 = 8

So 25/3 and 16/2 are very similar weights, but 25/3 is 3 ply, and 16/2 is 2 ply.

At the extreme end, hand-stitched shoes often use 8/5 to stitch on the sole, so that thread is #1.6, or the weight of 37.5 sewing machine threads bundled together!

Is that any clearer? Do you have a different way of making sense of Nel numbers?

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Extant Examples of Whistle spoons

Whistle spoon

Various examples of whistle spoons can be found, particularly in the netherlands

2 examples of whistle spoons – both have lost the stem/bowl of the find – which can be common in soil finds due to the more fragile nature of the stem in the Rotterdam museum. Both spoons are dated to the 1350- 1450 time period and are made of lead pewter

https://bodemvondsten.rotterdam.nl/objecten/?_object=fluitjeslepel

In this Article from the Dutch Tin Association, whistle spoons are talked about in detail, including a whistle spoon found whole, expected to be dated around 1280. It also have several fragments, including one of the two in the Rotterdam museum.

https://www.nederlandsetinvereniging.nl/wp-content/uploads/001-100/0031/031_Tinkoerier-2012-jrg-20-nr-1.pdf

16th Century English – Pewter

https://ryedaleauctioneers.com/catalogue/lot/6f2090b26541b596041968303f1605cd/9d11f60be671b513983083c71f4b193c/monthly-antiques-interiors-collectables-lot-670

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Lochac Cook’s Guild Symposium – Campfire Cooking and Ceramics (5/8/18)

On August 5th, Company of the Staple member Roxy talked about Campfire cooking and cooking with ceramics on a campfire. These are the notes from that talk. These notes were originally posted to Companyofthestaple.org.au

The above image is of a saucepan with oil, for deep frying cheese fritters. It is in a trivet, and being cooked with charcoal.
Continue reading Lochac Cook’s Guild Symposium – Campfire Cooking and Ceramics (5/8/18)

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Beeswax Linen Covers for Pots

We’ve been offering Beeswax linen covers for pots, cups and jugs for a while now. With the heat of your hand, they can be gently pressed around the container, keeping the inside protected and making it easier for storage and transportation.

Were these extremely handy items a part of medieval life though, or just a ‘re-enactorism’ – one of those things everyone feels is very medieval, without any actual evidence?

We pride ourselves on offering only items which enhance the quality of your re-enactment portrayal and reflect the latest historical research. With no detailed resources available from our supplier, we’ve set out to document waxed linen covers for our readers.
Here are the documented resources that we have so far been able to track down which show what we believe to be linen beeswax covers over the jugs. Any other sources found will be added to this list so that future people don’t need to go nuts trying to track down original extant sources.

Continue reading Beeswax Linen Covers for Pots

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Free Online Resources for Medieval Cooking

While a physical copy of a book is best, sometimes it’s jsut impossible to get your hands on that rare translation.

So here’s a collection of medieval cookbooks online.

Single Books / Translations

 

Forme of Curye

Forme of Curye – Ebook THE 14th century English cookbook.

Menagier de Paris

English translation of Menagier de Paris

I love Menagier de Paris. It’s a story written by an older man for his new young bride. It not only has several very good (and rather plain compared to the fancy dishes often seen) but also talks about basic household stuff – how to remove stains, how to handle the servants, how to tell which fruit is ripe.

 

Collections of Medieval Cookbooks

Medieval Cookery

Medieval Cookery
It’s got several translations of medieval cookbooks with Andalusia, French, Netherlands, Romania, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, England, Italy, Portugal and Spanish texts available (NB: Not everything is translated into English, mostly it’s translated into the modern language)

They also have a statistic page where you can see how many times a food group/item appears in a text to see how common it actually was as an ingredient (for instance with Forme of Currye, fish/seafood is the most common meat at 22% of the 286 receipes while duck is in only 2 or less than 1%), onions are in 15%, salt is in 47% and butter is in just 2%.

Open Hearth Cooking

Open hearth Cooking

3000 vintage Cookbooks

http://www.openculture.com/2016/07/an-archive-of-3000-vintage-cookbooks-lets-you-travel-back-through-culinary-time.html

 

Redactions of Receipes

Roxy’s 20 person lunch – 14th Century
I wrote this document, it’s the receipes I normally use to feed about 20 people for a show event.