HSM 2022 #2: "Third Hem's the Charm" neckerchief

My completed neckerchief.

A quick and easy project, for a necessary period accessory. I've stitched one before, with a rolled hem that turned out really ugly. This time I decided to do my research first, to get it right.

In "Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns", book one (edited by Susan North and Jenny Tiramani), there is a 17th century linen kerchief, about 68 cm (27") square. The book gives the thread count, hem width and stitch count, and shows how to do the hemming - corners and all. This time I can't go wrong! Or so I thought...

The description in the book says the linen has 50 by 55 threads per inch, and the hems are 1/8" wide. My fabric has 43x61 threads per inch which I thought was reasonably similar (there are linens in "18th Century Textiles" with a similar warp/weft ratio), and I made my hems 3 mm (1/8") wide.

First I made a mockup, and compared the look to Pehr Hilleström's paintings of kitchen maids. Based on this I decided to increase the size, cutting it 75 cm (30") square. Then I folded and hemmed one edge at a time. By the third hem, I had worked out a good method - to fold the hem along the threads, I held a section of the edge taut on the table with both hands while scraping the first fold with my thumbnail, moving along the length of the hem; then repeated for the second fold. I basted the hem, then hemmed it with short, close, stitches (15 stitches per inch according to the book, I managed about 12). The stitching looked nicest when each stitch caught just two threads each from the kerchief and the hem. When I pinned the far end of the hem to the couch armrest or the knee of my pants (re-pinning as stitching progressed), hemming went quicker and easier.

The hems up close.

Everything seemed to be fine. But while I was sewing, it eventually struck me that my hems didn't look quite right. I took another look at the book's close-up photo, and counted the threads in the width of the hems. They were 14 or 15 threads wide; my hems have much fewer threads. It's clear from the other photos that the hem width is correct, so the error must be in the fabric's thread count. Seems that the authors counted the number of threads per centimeter, but wrote "per inch" out of habit - 15 threads at 50 threads per cm is indeed 1/8". 

Oh well, I wasn't aiming for an upper-class impression anyway, and I'm very pleased with the look of these narrow hems!

The facts

The Challenge: HSM 2022 #2 Neck & Shoulders.

My submission: A neckerchief, to fill in the neckline.

Material: 125 gsm (3,7 oz/yd²) linen, with 24 warps and 17 wefts per cm (61 warps and 43 wefts per inch).

Pattern: The hem widths are based on the linen kerchief in "Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns" but I cut mine a little larger.

Year: About 1750 to 1775 (perhaps this size would be plausible earlier/later too).

Notions: 70/2 linen thread, beeswax.

How historically accurate is it? The thread count is much lower than the one I based it on; it seems plausible that coarser neckerchiefs were used too (especially by the lower classes), but I don't know if they would have equally narrow hems. It looks very plausible though. 90 % on the Peacock scale.

Hours to complete: 4½ hours.

First worn: Not yet, I've just tried it on.

Total cost: About $5.