Calling all Osnaburgians!!

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

It's osnaburg. It's a town in Sweeden, too, I think.

I have a tunic made from osnaburg cotton that I got on ebay. When I first got it, it was bit stiffer than I wanted. But after I put it in the washer and dryer, it came out all soft and nubbly and a nice Obi-Wan-ish off white. Perfect for a Jedi tunic. I didn't line mine, the fabric was heavy enough for a tunic all by itself. However I did line the silk noil for a tunic. That was just a little light

I absolutely must iron it after I wash it. It wrinkles terribly. I suppose I could save some time by letting it hang dry, but I iron it. My membership picture is of me wearing my osnaburg cotton tunic.

[Nova Darklighter]

from bolt end Osnaburg.

[Col-Mas Anor]

My tunic is made from Osnaburg. I purchased it on ebay from this seller: search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZtrinikwan She does very good work. She only makes one tunic at a time. If you don't see any available under her profile, keep checking back.

The fabric drapes nicely. I do plan to iron the collar of the tunic and use a little starch to make sure it stays put. The tabards are lined with another fabric (not sure what) but it gives them the right amount of stiffness. The only thing I did was sew on some velcro at the shoulder seam, and under the tabards to keep them from falling down. I haven't had to wash mine yet, but I think this fabric (at least the unlined parts) should wash nicely.

[Nova Darklighter]

The unlined parts will wash fabulously.

[Koda Vonnor]

novadarklighter said:

The unlined parts will wash fabulously.

And the lined parts?

/cross fingers

~ Koda

p.s. 'loose-lined', not 'interfaced'
p.p.s. asking for the one I just finished, used no interfacing on it but did use poly-silk lining in sleeves and skirt, and cotton lining in obi and tabs.

[kivaanzion]

Hey Osnaburgians ( )...

Can any of you take a decent close up picture of what the fiber looks like? I've got my eye on another set of Jedi robes that are made of this material (guess I'm never satisfied).

[Col-Mas Anor]

Ki,

Here is a close up of my tunic. Keep in mind that the color may vary on your monitor. The actual color is light tan / beige.

[JediKai]

Done. Emailed to the account listed in your profile here. Also posted here
public.fotki.com/Kait/star_wars/host/osnaburg1.html Use the "get original photo" link under the image to get the really high res closeup.

That gives me an idea. I think I'll do fabric closeups to add to my tutorial.

It just so happens I used my 50% off JoAnn's coupon to buy 10 years at $2/yard yesterday!

[kivaanzion]

Got the email! ;D

Thank you both JediKai and phantom! ;D

[Kryy Jacobi]

Has anyone tried to dye it, and with what result? I'm the khaki/tan/sand Jedi...

[Kryy Jacobi]

kodavonnor said:

Like the gauze, it has a bit of stretch across the grain but almost no stretch with the grain. Overall it has a smooth surface as opposed to the crinkle ridges of the bubble gauze. I'd say it falls somewhere between a gauze and a duck canvas in texture.

Is it less stretchy than calcutta cloth? After Halloween, I'm back to working on my (2 piece) tunic, and I'm making my own "slice and dice" pattern out of other commercial patterns.

If it's less stretchy (and cheaper ) that would avoid a potential problem ("variable") until I get the pattern "tweaked" to my satisfaction. (I know, I know, that will probably never happen....)

And since it's pre-washed (before sewing) with hot water, I'm guessing the finished tunic could be dyed? (As opposed to dying the fabric first)

[JediKai]

It is less stretchy.

Hmmm. I would wash the fabric a couple times in hot water. The finished tunic would have to spend additional time in the hot dye bath so you'd want to be sure it wouldn't shrink. There are cold water dyes, now, though. Try www.dharmatrading.com/

Osnaburg does come in other colors. There was a darker khaki and a burgundy at the store were I bought my natural colored fabric.

[Nova Darklighter]

It will dye,but not evenly if you use the natural, Schph did a dye job, it was very variegated, but I really liked it a lot. The mill dyed fabrics are more even because they dye the thread before weaving the fabric. It's definitly more stable than Calcutta cloth. It is better to dye the fabric before making the garment.

[Kryy Jacobi]

Thank you, Kai and Nova (and Schph, too)! I haven't dyed anything in YEARS (like maybe 25) so I'm a bit nervous about trying it.

Upon Kai's suggestion, I did find some darker Osnaburg here at the local Walmart than I remembered seeing before. So maybe I can postpone the dying issue.

Really appreciate your sharing your experiences. Very helpful to those of us afflicted with "analysis paralysis" )

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

Osnaburg cotton doesn't bleach evenly either.

I think that slight color variations in the tunic fabric photogrpahs a little better. Often, especially with a flash, the shadows get completely washed out on a costume and it looks like one, solid color and somewhat unnatural. With digital cameras, without a flash, this problem is less common, but if there is a little color variation in the fabric, tunics look more natural and well-worn.

Robes, OTOH, look best as one even, solid color. There are so many folds in them, that it's almost impossible to kill all the shadows, so even dying is important for robe fabric.