ironing-msg - 10/31/06 Medieval ironing of clothes. Ironing and pressing tools. NOTE: See also the files: felting-msg, brooms-msg, beds-msg, candlesticks-msg, lamps-msg, weaving-msg, looms-msg, Med-Lighting-lnks, p-cleaning-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 14:42:28 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Schuldenfrei To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: irons I wondered if anyone knows the history of irons, as in ironing to take the wrinkles out of clothes. Flat surfaces you can heat up and fire are Period, so are wrinkles. Did any of our Period cultures iron clothes? There are mentions of primary sources that talk about ironing table linen in "Fast and Feast", by Henisch. Tibor Date: Tue, 02 Sep 1997 11:47:25 -0700 From: Brett and Karen Williams To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: irons kathleen keeler wrote: > I wondered if anyone knows the history of irons, as in ironing to take > the wrinkles out of clothes. Flat surfaces you can heat up and fire are > Period, so are wrinkles. Did any of our Period cultures iron clothes? > > Agnes > kkeeler at unlinfo2.unl.edu An interesting question-- cool, an opportunity to learn something. A very specialized iron for finishing ruffs (I think the term was a 'goffering iron') was used in the Elizabethan period, but I've yet to wander across any specific mention of something like the flatiron prior to Victorian times. To summarize, my current opinion is 'unproven' due to my personal lack of evidence, which means I'd be perfectly happy to entertain evidence I haven't seen at this point in time. I personally don't think that extrapolation of the use of one item by virtue of the factual evidence of a similar item constitutes a logical proof. Does anyone on the list have that evidence? On the other hand there are extant linen smoothing 'irons' made of flat plates of bone and (I think) ivory, but I don't know the specific method in which they were used. Incidentally, Regia Anglorum page, located at: http://www.ftech.net/~regia/bonework.htm displays a drawing of a whalebone plaque used on linen. They assert that the bone plate depicted in the middle of the page was used together with a glass ball. Any thoughts on this process? The historical costume list had a recent interesting post on a modern Scandiavian linen tool called a cold mangle, that consists of flat plates and rollers used to press linen under extreme force without the use of heat-- the theory being that crushing and polishing the fiber by physical force makes a superior texture, and ensures a longer textile life than the damaging effects of exposure to a blast of warm heat as found in modern dryers. I can make the roughly parallel correlation that mine own favorite method of 'finishing' linen, ironing the piece dry after removal from the washing machine, produces a crisper, shinier fabric somewhat less prone to wrinkling than removing the same piece instantly from the dryer once dried. I've begun to wonder about the long-run effect of the heat from the iron on the linen fiber, though. ciorstan Date: Tue, 02 Sep 1997 20:18:52 -0400 (EDT) From: ALBAN at delphi.com To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: irons Agnes asked >> I wondered if anyone knows the history of irons, as in ironing to take the wrinkles out of clothes. Flat surfaces you can heat up and fire are Period, so are wrinkles. Did any of our Period cultures iron clothes? << I haven't read it yet, since it just arrived in my mailbox this afternoon, but the newest issue of the Smithsonian magazine has a cover article on irons, which might be useful. Or at least entertaining. Alban Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 17:55:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Saundra Wever Frerichs <00123105 at bigred.unl.edu> To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: irons > Shifting the question slightly to "were clothes pressed smooth during > period?", the answer is yes. I know presses were used by the Romans -- I'm > not sure if this was to press garments, press other finished goods, or > whether it was part of the textile production. Linen smoothers (glass or > other smooth ball and a flat surface) were used by the Vikings. I don't > have sources with me, but I know that several (if not many) have been found > in archaeological sites. > > As far as whether heat was used to assist wrinkle reduction, I have no idea. > > Ailene ingen Aedain > Shire of Shadowdale, Calontir Ailene, I've seen the linen smoothers that you refer to, however, I wonder if it is a jump of modern logic to assume that they were used to smooth fabric. They were found primarily in women's graves, but there really is no evidence to suggest how they were used. I have seen it suggested that they were used in some part of the production process of linen. I have also wondered if they might have been used to put wrinkles into the fabric, i.e. the pleates referred to in Norse women's undertunics. I have no evidence one way or the other and it seems more logical to use them to take wrinkles out, however I have seen how easy it is for archaeologists to misidentify daily use items whose purpose is not immediately obvious. Just an idea to keep us talking. Kyrstin Bjolfsdottir Barony of Mag Mor, Calontir Date: Thu, 11 Sep 97 15:18:53 PDT From: "Tracy Shelanskey" To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Ironing out the wrinkles A bit late I know but a short while ago Mistress Agnes asked about ironing clothes. While reading through "The Domestoi," (Rules for Russian Households in the time of Ivan the Terrible,) I found several passages about taking care of clothes. One example, on page 106, says: "...But even on such occupations, protect your clothes from mud, rain and snow, and when you arrive home, take them off, dry them, iron out the wrinkles, and remove any bad odor, then put the clothes away neatly in their proper place." I don't know if this means an actual hot iron to remove the wrinkles or not, but at least it shows they preferred un-wrinkled clothing. Just thought I'd share, -Tatjana Nikonovna Lonely Tower, Calontir Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 08:59:36 -0600 From: Valerie Robertson To: "'sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu'" Subject: Wrinkles are Period (was Fiber Properties) It helps if you think of wrinkles as wild pleats. I got started from trying to research the bliaut controversy-are the body creases pleats, wrinkles? *I* think they look like the stone carvers were trying to portray smocking, but, hey, it's only an opinion. But I found lots of portrayals of wrinkled cloth, all centering on French and German cathedral sculpture, all 12th and 13th century. When I've got my references handy, I can answer more thoroughly. Briony Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 20:19:13 -0700 From: Brett and Karen Williams To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Fiber Properties Seton1355 at aol.com wrote: > Hello Briony, > Could you please talk a bit about wrinkles being period? I believe you, I'm > not challanging your knowledge of period wrinkles, AND I'm not surprised that > they ARE period. I'd just like to hear more about it. Also, what is "double > weave" please? > > Phillipa > > << wrinkles are period, and I have documentation)..........melton (a felted > double weave, usually twill), Well, as far as wrinkles being a period concept: consider that the earlier period 'iron' was a glass ball and a smooth bone or ivory plaque-- there are oodles of glass balls found in the Coppergate excavations. ciorstan Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:05:43 -0500 From: Roberta R Comstock To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Fiber Properties The smooth plaque = ironing board and the glass (more of a biscuit shape than a ball; rounded top and flat bottom) = the iron. It could easily be heated in an oven or a pot of boiling water. The thing about linen is that no matter how smooth it may be when you put it on, it will wrinkle when you move or bend and the wrinkles will remain until it is pressed again. Hertha Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:09:04 -0700 From: Brett and Karen Williams To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Fiber Properties Teleri wrote: > ciorstan babbled, in part: > > Well, as far as wrinkles being a period concept: consider that the > earlier period 'iron' was a glass ball and a smooth bone or ivory > plaque-- there are oodles of glass balls found in the Coppergate > excavations. > > ------------------------------------------ > > Can you give any more information on these glass balls, or point me to some > references? Do you mean that the ball and the plaque were assembled together > somehow, or are these two different things that were used to press clothes? > How do we know they were used for pressing clothes? Seems like they would > not be too effective without heat.... > > Teleri ferch Pawl Sure they were. What a glass ball and plaque would do is polish the external cells, stuck end to end, making up linen bast. I will point you to: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/linen-msg.html [the new address is: http://lg_photo.home.texas.net/florilegium/index.html -editor] ...which has a section called "irons and linen use/abuse" that's me blathering on about this same topic. The Filing System of Doom has eaten my copy of Penelope Walton's Textile Production, #17 from the York Archaeological Trust's series on the Coppergate finds-- which contains a buncha glass 'balls', even a set of 'em in the colour plates. Oh, from Thora's bibliography: Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, Volume 17, Fascicule 11. York: York Archaeological Trust and the Council for British Archaeology, 1997. They aren't really balls, as another respondent posted-- they're a smooth, flat bottomed glob of glass. "Ball" is merely a convenient word. There's also a reproduction plaque in the boneworking section at the Regia site: http://www.regia.org/bonework.htm This is a start, but it's tired out. ;) ciorstan Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 10:26:33 EDT From: To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Fiber Properties << Well, as far as wrinkles being a period concept: consider that the > earlier period 'iron' was a glass ball and a smooth bone or ivory > plaque- >> And what a pain it must have been to do this "ironing". We just saw a completely preserved Viking "ironing board" at Kirkwall in the Orkneys, and it was about 12"-14" tall. Nancy (Ingvild) Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 11:51:40 -0400 From: capriest at cs.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman) To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: RE: Fiber Properties Teleri asked: >I was curious about the "ironing" implements because I hadn't heard of that >before, and particularly because of the use of glass. Don't mean to dispute >what you say, but still wonder about this. Glass will crack if it's >subjected to a lot of heating and cooling, especially if it's unannealed. My guess is that it didn't have to get very hot in order to be useful: it's more the smoothing action than the application of extreme heat that coaxes out the shine of linen. Also, the glass would cool somewhat slowly, I think, since it wouldn't be touching a heat-sink like metal. (If it were I, the top of the glass would be wrapped in a wool pad to hold it; this would also help it to cool slower.) Further, the abrasion process might serve to keep the heat a while longer. Most of them are black or very dark green glass blobs; the ones from York had a high lead content. Wear marks indicate back-and-forth rubbing (Walton Rogers 1775). If you're interested in a technical analysis of the glass, see C. Mortimer, "Glass linen-smoothers from 16-22 Coppergate, York," _Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report_ 22/95 (1995). I have not read this, but found it in the biblio of Walton Rogers. >And how would they handle the glass object when it was hot? Use a potholder? ;> >Also, I wonder whether wrinkles were really an issue then. As I understand it, the purpose of smoothing the linen is not so much to eradicate good honest wrinkles but to bring up the inherent shine of the fiber. If you beat and polish linen, it gets extremely soft and shiny. (Check out heirloom damask tablecloths for a good example of this phenomenon.) >Can anyone point me to some books/articles/web sites about these glass >objects? Ciorstan already mentioned Walton Rogers, which is the best source I know of in English. Walton Rogers cites J-P Wild's _Textile Production in the Northern Roman Provinces_ for the earliest evidence of their use and then mentions several other sources for individual finds throughout northern Europe into the 15th century. The written Anglo-Saxon evidence seems to support the name "slic"; Walton Rogers calls them slick-stones. Jan Petersen's _Vikingetidens Redskaper_ (Norwegian with brief English summary by tool type) reports on 28 Viking Age finds from Norway. He mentions several finds of whalebone ironing boards (three from the pre-Viking period) and also shows photos of four of them. Greta Arwidsson's article "Glattsteine und Glattbretter" in _Systematische Analysen der Graberfunde_, ed. Greta Arwidsson (Birka: Untersuchungen und Studien, II:1. Stockholm: Almquist and Wiksell, 1986), pp. 199-202, has a section on usage noting it as late as (if I'm reading this correctly) the 18th and 19th centuries. She also lists several finds from Amsterdam, Dorestad, Dublin, and divers Scandinavian locations. Her immediately following article, "Glas," pp. 203-212, mentions them again and notes the four women's graves in which they were found. Some of the Viking coffee table books have photos. Carolyn Priest-Dorman =DE=F3ra Sharptooth capriest at cs. vassar. edu Frostahlid, Austmork http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/thora.html Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 12:11:12 -0400 From: "Terri Morgan" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking smoothing board To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" > What's a "Viking smoothing board"? > An ironing board of some type? A torture device? It is an ironing board of some type - specifically, a lap-sized board (once made of whalebone or like material) that is decorated slightly with a large area left plain. That area is where you lay your linen edges and using a glass , well, blob for lack of a better word (about like a paperweight), fold over the seam edges and rub them. It makes a very nice sharp fold, which helps with sewing a seam. Viking-era women were occasionally buried with their boards, just like guys had their shields. (Women also had their weaving swords, which was a nice contrast to men's war swords.) I scored a very nice one (Linden wood) this Pennsic from those Viking guys under the tree... Hrothny Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:43:29 -0400 From: "King's Taste Productions" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking smoothing board Mistress Philia's String Page has a very good description: http://www.stringpage.com/viking/board.html I'm using a wooden plank rather than whalebone. And the glass glob description just happens to match a green glass glob votive candle holder I bought at IKEA some time back. I am planning on taking some linen and hemp cloth with me to class, and having it as a class activity. We'll try and do some smoothing and pleating. I've also got some large silver discs (big sequins) that we'll try stamping some images into with rubber mallets and simple tools. Christianna Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 06:25:35 -0500 From: "Betsy Marshall" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking smoothing board To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" Since I know from personal experience- you don't need _heat_ to set a wrinkle in linen- mostly I use what my Mom referred to as finger-pressing- fold the edge over once or twice then run your fingers back and forth along it (like putting a sharp crease in paper), the fabric will stay in place long enough to get stitched down, even if working by hand. I can see the boards and blobs (or even a nice smooth river rock!) working well for someone with reduced finger strength, (arthritis?) or a lot of sewing to get through. Pyro -the ever inquisitive after labor saving techniques Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:30:31 -0700 From: "Laura C. Minnick" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking smoothing board To: Cooks within the SCA > Since I know from personal experience- you don't need _heat_ to set a > wrinkle in linen- mostly I use what my Mom referred to as finger-pressing- > fold the edge over once or twice then run your fingers back and forth along > it (like putting a sharp crease in paper), the fabric will stay in place > long enough to get stitched down, even if working by hand. I can see the > boards and blobs (or even a nice smooth river rock!) working well for > someone with reduced finger strength, (arthritis?)or a lot of sewing to get > through. > Pyro -the ever inquisitive after labor saving techniques Bridget Ann Henisch, in _Fast and Feast_ discussed the laundress' use of a 'slick stone', which is essentially exactly as you just described- a slick, polished rock that is used to press linens. Nothing is new under the sun :-) 'Lainie Edited by Mark S. Harris ironing-msg Page 8 of 8