Thankyou all who've responded - I'm learning a lot from this! I went and bought fabric shears today and have begun to search for the ham.......I'm gonna have to make a sleeveboard........I think a lot of people will need some time to gather all this stuff together...........and then where to put it all.............so many projects on the go..........I'm off to try and learn something about dyeing in a natural and affordable way! atb mac
Prepare blanket for Jacshirt sewalong
- Thread starter Macaroon
- Start date
You can make your own ham. Fill with wood chips from pet store, the terrarium kind. Alder's nice. Make an egg like shape that's somewhat flattened. Fill so it is hard. Cotton canvas or linen is good for fabric.
21 mm ply covered in 2-3 layers of wool blanket pulled taught and stapled is a good base for a sleeve board. Cover the blankets with again cotton or linen.
21 mm ply covered in 2-3 layers of wool blanket pulled taught and stapled is a good base for a sleeve board. Cover the blankets with again cotton or linen.
TurboGirl
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Theres often good instructions on dying on 'Ravelry'- its a great knit/ spin forum
And I found a Pinterest board devoted to the subject too. Hope it helps
N
Nomad
Guest
Don't know how I worked out 1300gsm - recalcualation says 770gsm. Anyway, blanket has arrived, and actual stats are 2.08 x 1.37m, weighing 1.85kg, which works out to 650gsm (37% heavier fabric than the Swanndri Bush Shirt, and 88% heavier than the Ranger). A measure with digital calipers, being careful not to compress the fibres, indicates about 4mm thick. Windproofness seems pretty good - way, way better than a normal fleece, although not plastic bag standard. I think it would take a pretty stiff, cold breeze to get through it and be noticable.
Style-wise, I'm leaning more towards a longer cut like the Swanndri Bush Shirt. If anything, I like the cut of my Ridgeline Monsoon smock and am tempted to base it on that, perhaps with different pockets. Not sure yet about whether to have a hood, and whether it should be fixed or detachable.
Well now, I've searched through so much stuff about dyes and dyeing my head's spinning, but can't find a way to dye wool in a washing machine...............my problem is that I've got no space (or time) to set up a dye bath large enough to take a whole blanket and heat it as required...............getting to look as though I may have to buy something suitable and keep this one for a future project............I really have been surprised that nobody has found a solution to this before now, but I'm determined that if there is a way to do it I'm going to find it..........watch this space! atb, mac
N
Nomad
Guest
For anyone interested, the eBay seller I got mine from has more blankets in stock...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Olive-Gre...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item460cbaca94
No association, etc. I should mention that I actually bought three blankets (one for this, two for the Daniel Boone challenge thing, or at least to try out as an alternative to a sleeping bag). Each blanket was different. They are all olive green, but from different makers, and in slightly different shades and sizes. With mine, the colour is pretty close on two, and one is a little paler. One of the darker ones and the pale one both weigh about 1.85kg, while the other darker one is more like 1.55kg. They are also slightly different sizes, and all are larger than the advertised size, except for one that has a length of 2.08m instead of 2.1m. Widths ranged from 1.37 to 1.42m instead of 1.3m.
From what I can tell, they seem to be Croatian, although google struggles to translate some of the words on the labels. The advert says they could do with being freshened up, and they could - they have that unmistakable aroma of natural fibres mixed with army surplus. The blankets are all in very good condition. I'll see if I can post some photos of the labels on the ones I got.
Oh - the seller was very good - very responsive to email, shipped really quickly, and gave a good reduction on postage cost for the multi-buy (10 quid in total for three blankets, compared to £6.50 for one).
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Olive-Gre...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item460cbaca94
No association, etc. I should mention that I actually bought three blankets (one for this, two for the Daniel Boone challenge thing, or at least to try out as an alternative to a sleeping bag). Each blanket was different. They are all olive green, but from different makers, and in slightly different shades and sizes. With mine, the colour is pretty close on two, and one is a little paler. One of the darker ones and the pale one both weigh about 1.85kg, while the other darker one is more like 1.55kg. They are also slightly different sizes, and all are larger than the advertised size, except for one that has a length of 2.08m instead of 2.1m. Widths ranged from 1.37 to 1.42m instead of 1.3m.
From what I can tell, they seem to be Croatian, although google struggles to translate some of the words on the labels. The advert says they could do with being freshened up, and they could - they have that unmistakable aroma of natural fibres mixed with army surplus. The blankets are all in very good condition. I'll see if I can post some photos of the labels on the ones I got.
Oh - the seller was very good - very responsive to email, shipped really quickly, and gave a good reduction on postage cost for the multi-buy (10 quid in total for three blankets, compared to £6.50 for one).
im surprised that no one has pointed you in the direction of toddy one of the mods on this forum. she is a wealth of knowlege on dying processes. she may have even posted on this somewhere before . you could try pm ing her she is very approachable and helpful.