Linen Ground Fabrics

I am EXCITED to  announce that we have been able  to reproduce both the 40ct Old White Linen and the 20 ct  Montrose Linen with another historic weaver!  They have new names but are interchangeable as they were made to match.

Currently I am offering three hard-to-find high quality ground fabrics for use in making 17th century caskets and mirror frames.

40 ct Restoration Linen = Old White 40 Count Linen

This ground fabric is a nice 40 count linen that is equally good for embroidering upon as well as doing counted work. Great as a ground for stumpwork mirrors and caskets as you can switch between the techniques.

This is a new weaving and the size is different from the old as well as new pricing.  

The piece being offered is a full yard (71" x 36") which is large enough for a full casket with some left over for stumpwork stitch trials.  

24 ct Rain Barrel Linen = Montrose 1750 Linen 

This is a natural linen that is tightly woven. Tightly woven linen is important so that the glue that will be used to attach the embroidery to the box doesn't weep through to the front of the embroidery.  Rain Barrel Linen is approximately 24-count linen. It is sold in 1 yard pieces (71" x 36"). This linen is appropriate for caskets worked in tent stitch, queen stitch and other counted techniques. Because of the tight weave, the entire ground does not have to be covered.  It is the base of the Five Seasons Casket such that the graphs fit the sides of the cabinet.

Sunflower Seed 30 ct Linen

This linen is the same natural color as the Montrose linen but is 30 count and a similar hand.  It is the new substitution for the now sold out Montrose linen (but a different count - so no graphs I have will work).  But it will make a wonderful ground for anyone who wants to trace a design and work it counted.  It is sold in 1 yard pieces (72" x 36").