This 600 Year Old Fabric Is WATER RESISTANT

With historical fashion, there are generally some commonly recognised fabrics, like wool and leather, which can keep us stay dry up until a certain point. For wool, once it reaches its soaking point, it can become uncomfortable quick. That's where a much less spoken-about fabric, oilskin (or oilcloth) comes in. This fabric is weather-resistant and water-resistant (actually though, I haven't found its soaking point yet.)

Oilskin is not a modern invention. Its earlier forms are said to date back to the 15th century, when sailors turned their oil-treated sails into capes to help stay dry. By the 18th century, the manual oiling of fabric became an industrialised practice, and by the late 19th century (1898) Edward Le Roy created specialised breathable oiled garments just for sailors to stay dry on deck.

Please keep in mind, the materials used to make oil skin water-resistant can be highly flammable. Always keep this in mind and proceed carefully. I am not responsible for any problems caused due to oilskin and its components.

I recently hand sewed a Victorian cape made from oilskin to help my garments stay dry this spring, and I was so impressed by the fabric that I knew more people needed to know about its properties. In this video, I share not only history and background information on oilskin, but also my own personal experience with the fabric, as well as some pros and cons.

All in all, I must say that this fabric deserves more hype in the historical community. It has a lot of potential for garments that could be constructed from spats to outdoor trousers, jackets, capes, cloaks, headwear, and more!

Now after learning all this about oilskin, do you think you'll give the garment a shot? If so, what do you plan to make out of it?

Thank you so much for watching and see you all in two weeks for another video.

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Further Reading:
-Waterproof and Water Repellent Textiles and Clothing. United Kingdom, Elsevier Science, 2017. https://www.worldcat.org/title/waterp...
-Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. World Clothing and Fashion: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2015.
https://books.google.co.uk/books/abou...
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilskin

Sources:
-Rubber Boots:
https://pixabay.com/photos/boots-rubb...
-Gore-Tex:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
alinja, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b..., via Wikimedia Commons
-PVC Tent:
https://flic.kr/p/dKxyFc
-Sailor:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Allen & Ginter, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
-Petroleum:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
-Linseed Oil:
​​https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Handwerker, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
-Beeswax:
https://unsplash.com/photos/u_HjHfkzA...
-Tar:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Jorre, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
-Sea Salt Vector:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
-Sail Cloth:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
-16th Century Sail Ship:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
-Rain Stock Footage:
http://www.beachfrontbroll.com/2014/1...

#historicalfashion #rainwear