Red and White Stripe Linen, WLN 579

100% Linen, 5 oz, 58″ Wide

Sometimes red and white stripe linens were used in the 18th century for men’s trousers, jackets or waistcoats but may also be used for linings and for women’s gowns and petticoats. In the book Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls there is an entry for 1773 in The New York Journal, “Ran away . . .  a servant woman . . .  [and] two sailors, who are supposed to have assisted her in robbing her master, and are gone off with her. One an Irishman . . .  he wore . . .  a red and white stip’d waistcoat.” White linen thread will work well for hand sewing.