Re: Hosen

[Christian Folini]

On Sun, May 25, 2003 at 03:59:07PM -0400, combatantskeep-at-fuse.net wrote:
> I have some concerns about hosen.
>     Our group did an event this weekend and we had several hosen tear.
> >From the pattern book I have (The Medieval Tailors Assistant, Sarah
> Thursfield, ISBN 0-89676-239-4) this is a common issue. Her directions
> for mending showed the exact place we had tears, though some of ours
> were much worse.

I think Dave gave a fine summary of the possible problems with
hosen.

Howeve, there is a point i'd like to add.

Hosen have that tendency to crack one in a while.
Especially when they do not fit 100% which is hard to get.
As you mention 'worse tears' as those described by Sarah
Thursfield it is worth to state you should try to have them
crack within the seam as opposed to somewhere in the middle
of the weave. That way you can resew the seam and off you go.
Usually a matter of minutes.
The best way to achieve this is sewing with woolen thread.
That thread stretches the same amount as the cloth 
(as opposed to linnen thread) and breaks earlier.
Maybe you want to do a testseam and pull it apart until it
cracks. That way you can adjust the strength of your seam
(by using a doubled thread for example) etc.

> How long does a pair usually last?

Hard to tell. Reenacters use their cloths just a few
days or weeks a year, so this is difficult to tell. My
hosen show heavy use on the bum and between the
legs. Unfortunately the bum is where they suffer the
most pull when i bend down, so that is where they will
eventually crack. 

Honour the remarks by Dave on the 2/2 weave of the cloth.
This is quite crucial to the stretching factor, which 
gives them a good fit, a tight look and a longer lifetime.

regs,

christian

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