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Waxed-Cloth-Cv-art


Waxed-Cloth-Cv-art - 10/19/19

 

"Waxed Cloth Covers" by Lady Marie Hélène of the New Forest.

 

NOTE: See also the files: Waxed-Linen-art, beeswax-msg, Workng-Beswax-art, linen-msg, oilcloth-msg, textiles-msg.

 

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Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

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Waxed Cloth Covers

by Lady Marie Hélène of the New Forest

 

Per my research, as so far, there is no definitive documentation of waxed linen (or any other fabric) covers. There is documentation for waxed linen – in the form of the Scandinavian huras, a woman's head covering. This is mentioned in Medieval Cloth and Textiles, vol. 4 by Robin Netherton and Gail R. Owen-Crocker (2008) page 108. There is also precedent of waxed linen covers used as largess in the SCA in an article on the website Early Sweden by Disa i Birkilundi.

 

As for my own interpretation, I used cotton muslin (because I couldn't get white linen in a timely fashion). I did think that beeswax would work with a similar natural fabric, so on with the experiment.

 

As stated, I used cotton muslin, for practical reasons, and "rescued" and purified beeswax. First thing I did was to grate the beeswax.

 

 

I then washed the muslin to remove any residue and cut my pieces. I won't know how many covers I will be able to make with the supplies on hand, but I managed to rescue about 5 cups of beeswax.

 

 

One method that I favor is the oven method: Place the cloth on a heavily wrapped sheet pan and sprinkle liberally with the beeswax. Place the pan in a 200ºF oven for a few minutes, until all the wax had melted and soaked into the cloth. Remove the cloth to cool and "dry" (harden). Store the covers in a zip-top bag or a cloth bag.

 

 

Success!

 

Here is one of the larger pieces sealing a crock. The crock has little handles, so the seal isn't as secure as I like it. It is moulded onto the opening of the crock by first warming the hands and nd using that gentle heat to shape the cloth. Doing a crimp fold helps seal it more. I surmise that using waced cording would work to help keep it sealed for a longer period of time.

 

 

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Copyright 2017 by Sandi Rust. <feo2mouse at yahoo.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

 

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

 

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Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org