Betsey Potter, owner of The Costume House LLC, and my costume companion around LA last year, has a fantastic collection of travelling salesmen's catalogues from the 1880's through to the 1930's. They are substantial tomes, like old parish bibles, so evocative of the period. It's great to handle the cloths, so many options and such good, heavy, dense quality, particularly the coatings. We make nothing like it now and it only makes me think again about how pointless it can be to try too hard to recreate authentic early clothing for costume. Better to enjoy the effort of a creative response to a period. 

There's an interesting essay on the subject here.

Incredibly fresh for 1823.
The Design Centre, as before.

The Design Centre

Swatch cards for online research through The Design Centre at Philadelphia University

via TextileNerd

Kakishibu Stripes

Kaki-shibu, translates as 'persimmon-bitter', it is a natural dye prepared from the fermented juice of unripe persimmons. Juice is aged for up to five years to acquire the tobacco coloured tones. Unlike other dyes, kakishibu not only adds colour, it coats the fibres with a protective layer that makes the fabric water-resistant. Traditionally the anti-bacterial and waterproofing qualities of kakishibu meant it was also used as a wood preservative, an insect repellent and further utilised for medicinal purposes.

Yarns can be dyed then woven or finished cloth can be dipped and have surface designs applied by any of the traditional methods: painting, tie dyeing (Shibori), stencilling (Katazome), or printing using a rice paste resist (Tsutsugaki).

Sashiko Detail

My current obsession - Sashiko/Boro.

Bamboo Vest

A Juban is an underkimono, I am not entirely sure if that is the correct name for this garment but it certainly was worn next to the skin. The bamboo beading acted the same way a string vest would, helping air to circulate, making the wearer more comfortable in hot weather. This item is apparently around 100 years old.

1850's Schoolhouse Quilt

This beautiful quilt looks so contemporary, it is hard to believe it is more than 160 years old.
More information here.