Regency Fashion: Purchasing Fabrics

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CHAPTER II A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON PURCHASING GOODS Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths POOR RICHARD It is very bad economy to purchase for articles of clothing cheap bargains They generally consist of damaged goods or are otherwise inferior in their quality as it stands to reason that no mercer would feel inclined to sell his stock at a lower rate than its worth The only parts of dress which it may be sometimes advisable to purchase at a cheap rate are gloves ribbons and such articles as are easily soiled long before being worn out and cannot well be cleaned in large towns and dirty neighbourhoods they are soon discoloured and therefore their durability is of little consequence Linens calicoes woollens prints & c should be carefully chosen from the best as they are in constant wash and wear and would soon become worn and threadbare if not good and strong Two sets of good linen will wear out three or four sets of inferior which when the expense of making up is considered becomes in its turn far more expensive besides the extra trouble and time both of which are well worth saving Observe that the cloth is the proper width for the articles wanted so as to cut out to the best Take notice that advantage Much waste may arise from its being one nail too wide or too narrow the selvages and also the threads are even and good both ways
CALICO Observe that it is free from dress which is a preparation of lime employed by the manufacturers to make it of a better colour as if as is often the case the dressing is too high in proportion to the strength of the threads it becomes rotten tears and wears badly and after washing is poor and thin like canvass choose your calico therefore undressed for then you can more exactly judge of its quality and strength It should be soft without specks and the threads and selvages even It is often cheaper to buy the whole piece if much is wanted as a small allowance is made per yard If a small quantity is wanted for a baby's caps shirts & c it is often good economy to purchase remnants fencings or felts by which means you sometimes get the best qualities for very low prices Calico runs of various widths and qualities the unbleached or grey is the best for shifts boys shirts & c for the lower orders being warmer and stronger than the white The following are the useful widths with the general prices at the present time though of course they are constantly varying Unbleached calico from 13 nails wide to 2 yards 4 nails price from 4d to 1s 6d Fine white calico for caps aprons & c from 12 nails upwards to 1 yard price from 4d upwards Stout calico from 14 nails upwards to 3 yards wide price from 8d to 3s LINEN The Suffolk hemp is considered the best The threads should be particularly even The useful widths are from 134 nails to 16 for shirting The common linen is sometimes as low as 8d or 9d per yard and the best at 2s 9d or 3s Linen should be scalded before it is cut out and made up as it is too stiff to allow of its being sewn with ease LAWN Lawn is merely a finer quality of linen and is sometimes used for the fronts of gentlemen's shirts also for babies night caps shirts frilling & c Its width varies from 13 nails upwards and the price from about 4s to 8s CAMBRIC Cambric is a finer sort of lawn Its width is about three quarters of a yard and the price from 4s to 12s MUSLIN CHECKS The small check which is used for caps generally wears the best Observe that the thin places between the checks are good and the threads even They are generally 14 yard wide and from 9d to 20d or 2s per yard BLUE CHECKS This is very serviceable for aprons and should be entirely linen if wanted to wear well It runs from 1 yard wide to 14 yard and is from 3d to 16d per yard The cotton check answers very well for children's pinbefores though not nearly so durable as the other It is of various widths and from 6d to 1s per yard
PRINTS CHINTZES AND GINGHAMS These often wash very badly if therefore you are buying a doubtful colour it would be advisable to beg a piece as a pattern and wash half of it which when compared with the other half will shew at once whether the colours are fixed or not They are better when the pattern is the same on both sides Dark and light blue lilac buff bright brown red and pink are good wearing colours Green chocolate and violet are very fading colours They vary in price from 3d to 10d or even 1s The usual width for gowns is 11 nails The width sold for aprons is 14 nails FLANNELS The Welsh is far superior to the Lancashire and both washes and wears better the latter is however cheaper It is generally of a yellowish colour while the Welsh is more of a blue grey Purchasing large quantities at the fairs at Welsh Pool Newtown and other Welsh markets is good economy as several yards are often given in to the hundred The common flannels for petticoats are 9d to 14d per yard and the finer upwards to 2s or 3s 8d they vary in width from 9 nails to 16 New flannel should be plunged in scalding water and hung out to dry without wringing CLOTH Cloth should be smooth with a good nap STUFFS Observe that they are evenly dyed as they are often dashed Hold them up to the light that you may better judge of their quality The black dye is apt to decay the stuff Brown and dark green are particularly good wearing colours Width from and yard upwards Price from 8d to 2s CRAPE Crape is often dashed and spotted as it is a difficult article to take dye evenly Have it spread over white before buying it when you can more easily detect blemishes The width is 1 yard and the price 2s to 4s 6d SATIN It should be soft and thick unless for trimming caps when a poorer kind may be used When wanted for trimmings satin should be cut crosswise See the end of Chapter III It is from yard to 10 nails wide and from 2s 6d to 7s 6d SILKS Should not be too stiff thin or papery as they are apt to tear or slit in the plaits and folds See that they are soft without specks or stains and as silk dresses turn well and even dye afterwards it would be advisable to have no wrong side that is the pattern equally good on both sides They are generally yard wide though black silk of 1 yard in width can be bought for aprons In cheap silks a kind of camel's hair is frequently woven to make them appear richer and thicker to the touch but this is highly injurious to the silk as it causes it to wear very ill and cut in all the folds and creases The way to detect the existence of camel hair in silks is to take a little bit in the
hand and pull it gently crossway and if there be any camel hair interwoven with the silk it will spring back as if elastic making a soft kind of whistling sound The Workwoman’s Guide: Containing Instructions to the Inexperienced in Cutting Out and Completing Those Articles of Wearing Apparel, &c. which are Ususally Made at Home : Also, Explanations on Upholstery, Straw-platting, Bonnet-making, Knitting, &c. (1838). United Kingdom: Simpkin, Marshall and Company.

While this book was published a year after the end of the long Regency era, many of the wisdom on fabrics would have been relevant, and is still relevant today.

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