upholstery project help: 16 oz wool

sheepdoll

I do a lot of doll costuming. (Well 20 years ago I was addicted to ebay buying fabric for dolls.) These are other "sometime I will get back to it" projects like the watches. Perhaps I will combine the two and figure out how to cut watch bands.

The other thing I do is Victorian ladies costuming, which takes yards and yards of cloth. I still have the weakness and purchased several bolts of cloth during the pandemic, just in case.

Most large cities have a garment district. This is a world unto itself. What one really looks for are shops that cater to the automobile restoration crowd. When I was in Kentucky for 10 months, there was a really great distributor for auto upholstery. This is also a great source of high quality leather and felts. I am always keeping an eye out for high quality silks. Gent's ties are a great source of such materials when making doll clothing.

The other place to look for fabric is charity shops like goodwill. Often old suit coats are made out of high grade wool. Of course this is not bulk, but most projects do not require much fabric. Of course we all know how well curtains can be used to make a Victorian era dress. (Something I have actually done.) The big department stores used to have whole selections of interior decorator fabrics. Most of this is special order. And yes shows like Outlander, game of thrones, star wars etc. cheat and do use upholstery fabrics.

I actually did a side project between contracts at apple for a fabric loom. NDA and all the rest. A major use of postscript is controlling fabric looms. This is long expired but having a loom in the corner automatically recycling cloth does seem to be a project I would like to explore again.

I always found it amusing when I bought 15 yards of fabric for a dress the first time. The clerk told me I would not ever need so much. Then told a story about SF costumers wanting to purchase yards of spandex for star trek uniforms.

-j