PDF Digital Download: 158 pages, 232 MB in size (Note: due to size and number of pictures, download may take 10-20 mins)
Publisher: Collector Books (August 15, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1574324802
ISBN-13: 978-1574324808
Written by: Judith Gridley, Joan Kiplinger and Jessica Huey from Fabrics.net

Vintage Fabrics is an identification and pictorial guide to common vintage fabrics of all fibers from 1880 to 1959, with emphasis on history and origins of fabrics, construction, and how fabrics were used for home and fashion. Including vintage advertisements and more than 450 photographs, this handbook fills a void in fabric information. Charts, glossaries, and photos are extended to include a wider range of cotton, silks, and wools, plus early rayons and nylons, with their specific names, which are not featured in most general books on old fabrics.

Further identification covers weave construction, with enlarged surface views of most fabrics, burn tests, microscope views of fibers including rayon and nylon, and information on distinguishing certain look-alike fabrics from dotted Swiss. Secondary history includes cross sections and synopses of mill histories, brand names, and finishes, plus a photo story of the textile process. Also included is a price guide, possibly the first time in print, for yardage of old fabrics. This quick reference handbook will benefit textile collectors in all fields, appraisers, dealers, costumers and re-enactors, textile and fashion students, and seamstresses.