Blue and White Check Linen, WLG 171

100% Linen, 6.5 oz, 58″ Wide

This check linen is 1/4″ in the weft (side to side) and 3/8″ in the warp (length) and very similar to shirting used in the 18th and early 19th century America and England. This weight is suitable for working class shirts and aprons. Although not copied from any one original, it is extremely similar to samples 31, 32 and 78 of the 1771 Textile sample book of the Manchester manufacturing firm of Benjamin and John Bower. This fabric was commonly made into women’s aprons and men’s shirts but may also be used for linings and occasionally for women’s gowns (usually Negros), trousers or even bonnets. In the 1776 Connecticut Courant, “RAN AWAY . . .  a Mustee Fellow . . .  had on when he went off . . .  a check linen shirt blue and white” from personal communication with Mike Barbieri. Off white 60/2 linen thread will work well for hand sewing.