Kate Downham wrote:The linen skirt that I made with an elastic waist got holes quite quickly where the elastic was, but a linen wrap skirt I have is still looking great after two years. The wrap skirt is made from a heavier weight linen, but I suspect that the elastic on the other skirt may have irritated the linen fibres somehow, which could also explain it.
Does mixing up different fibres this way cause the natural one to wear out more quickly?
Hi Kate,
I don’t know exactly, but I am imagining a piece of elastic running down a tube of fabric causing gathering. A contributing factor on the elastic linen situation might have been that the elastic - once in place - concentrated the abrasion on specific spots…. once’s gathered, the little folds in the cloth that makes the gathers don’t seem to shift and reorganize. Secondly, the elastic compresses the linen cloth against the body, increasing abrasion…
A wrap skirt is more likely to not put stress on the fibers, not compress some areas more than others against moving parts, and more easily slide over the body with movement.
Some of my guidelines on durable clothing: tight is going to wear out faster, and to me, is less comfortable.
In knit sweaters larger loops are going to be more vulnerable to snagging.
I wear a lot of cotton, but wool is a much stronger fiber. I think woven wool is stronger than knit wool.
Layers are good,
Thanks for starting the discussion