Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Project 14: Long Sleeve Osnaburg Shirt


When I was making our Halloween Jedi Knight costumes in 2010, I discovered this incredible textile, of which I had never heard. Osnaburg is named for the city that invented it in Germany, and was historically associated with the slave culture of pre Civil War America. The material is woven from the left-over bits of cotton after making finer weaves. It's thick and fluffy and strong and is usually unbleached and un-dyed. I think it's beautiful, and so did Lingoman. He dropped several hints in November that he would like any article of clothing made with osnaburg.

I decided to try something new to stretch my skills, so I made him a long sleeve version of my standard Seumas Shirt. I had no serious issues, I'm pleased to report! The little placket on each sleeve where the opening is was a little tricky, but both of us were pleased with the result.

2 comments:

Hippy Goodwife said...

He wears it well! And it is lovely to touch. Lucky Lingo Man!

Trapper said...

Once upon a time, I used to be able to buy Osnaburg at Arabesque, a lovely store on the Ave. It specialized in unbleached materials, laces and clothing. Sigh. I think I still have some in my material stash.

Lovely work, Seumas!