Duran Textiles: new silk ribbons

Duran Textiles, the Swedish company producing historical fabric reproductions, has redesigned their website. They're introducing an entirely new range of 5.5 cm (2-1/8") wide silk ribbons with pretty flower designs, at about – gulp – SEK600 (EUR60) per meter ($55/yd). They don't say outright which products are new, but I think there are a few new cotton prints too. 

"Portrait of a Lady", with flower pattern ribbons,
from Anton Raphael Mengs' workshop
(public domain, {{PD-US}} ). Source: Wikipedia .

Blue linen at Ikea

Ikea's "Aina" linen in blue-grey

 We visited Ikea today (we're fully vaccinated, but still very cautious, and do most of our shopping online), and I was delighted to see that their linen fabric now comes in a nice shade of blue as well as the white and natural they've carried for a long time (there are also a couple of other colors, that are less useful for historical sewing). 

It instantly made me think of the extant 18th century blue pocket hoops and panniers in Sweden and Germany, so of course I had to buy some for future needs!

Ikea's linen is 150 cm (59") wide and has 15 warps and 11 wefts per cm (about 38 warps and 28 wefts per inch).

New "18th C" Ikea duvet cover—"Hässleklocka"

"Hässleklocka" duvet cover (photo: Ikea)

This duvet cover is in Ikeas mid price range, and has a slightly higher thread count than the discontinued "Ljusöga" duvet cover. It has 18th century potential, and was probably inspired by period fabrics (if it was more of a reproduction, I think Ikea's website would say so, like for the "Sprängö" duvet cover).

Edit: It's nice to see a print in just red/pink tones for a change—though as usual, the shades are a bit different from period print. 18th century block prints often did incorporate a lighter and darker shade of red.

Ikea discontinues "Ljusöga" duvet covers

"Ljusöga" duvet cover (photo: Ikea)

Ikea is piloting a website redesign on their Swedish site, with a special section listing products that will soon be discontinued. The "Ljusöga" duvet covers are on that list.

This design has been somewhat popular as an affordable fabric option for late 18th century style gowns, and some examples can be seen at 18th Century Notebook: Ikea Dresses. It is also used in the 1780s Italian gown featured on the cover of "The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking". If you've planned to pick up one of these duvet covers, do so now before they're gone!

On a more positive note, Ikea will soon launch a new 18th century print.

My fabric find of the year!

Close-up of today's find

Whenever I pass by my local thrift shop, I check out their fabric section. It's by no means a steady supply of fabrics for historical clothing, but considering how little I sew that's probably just as well. I've found vintage linen yardage there a couple of times, and today I found some really interesting fabric.

It's a pair of vintage window drapes, in a fabric imitating mid-18th century brocaded silk. All in all, I got 5 m (5.5 yd) of 110 cm (44") wide fabric for SEK525 ($55). Not super cheap, but a reasonable price for period appropriate fabric of a very unusual type. I'm especially impressed that they've even copied the use of a solid colored damask patterned ground, as seen in some period silks.

Durán Textiles: new cotton prints in May

Durán Textiles are discontinuing their current line of screen-prints, to introduce a new line of block-prints. Here's what their site says:

New block prints in May
A small scale production of 10 block prints will be available from mid May. The fabric is a light weight 100% cotton quality, 120 cm width, in a varaity of floral designs. This quality is suitable for period dresses from late 18th century- to mid 19th century. The fabrics are also suitable for folk costume (bunad) aprons.

Several of their current fabrics are mid-18th century, but their new line focuses on later eras that are popular in mainstream historical costuming. I look forward to seeing their new fabrics!

Edit:
A couple of months have passed, and the new prints still haven't made it to their website. I hope any issues will be sorted out soon, so we'll get to see their new products.