I'm rethinking the fabric a bit...perhaps a good choice would be ponte de roma? That's the stuff that cheerleader uniforms are made from; it's a stable doubleknit.
FFC has some blue poly ponte de roma, so I think we'll be able to get as much as we need.
So, I'll ask a variation on the same question...has anyone sewn w/the FFC stuff? Will it be too stiff/heavy for baptismal robes? We probably need something a bit beefy if we want to reduce the cling-when-wet factor we now have.
I sent the link to the folks who asked me to make the robes and I'm keeping my eyes open for a 'free shipping' sale...40 yards comes with a pretty hefty shipping charge, if I remember rightly.
So, we'll see what happens next. ;)
Yep, sewn with that, too. It is a heavier knit, think more like polyester double knit from the 70's. Jo-ann's also carries it, they might online, too. I'd think it would be pretty heavy, but at the same time less clingy when wet - especially since you're using so many yards per robe.
ReplyDeleteAye, there's the rub. Something heavy enough to not cling would be, well, pretty heavy.
ReplyDeleteBut, we've got two options...it just depends on what is preferred by those who will actually pay for the fabric ;)
Lisa, if you buy it from JoAnn's couldn't you use the 40% off coupon? You might not be able to buy 40 yards all at once but they might let you buy 10 yards at a time and use the discount. Could your local JoAnn's order it shipped direct to the store to save you on shipping charges? Every time I order fabric on-line I'm always aghast at the shipping charges--and this is for three to six yards of fabric at a time. I can't even imagine what the shipping cost for 40 yards of fabric would cost!!! Could your church order it and get some sort of charitable organization discount?
ReplyDeleteKeep us apprised of this situation. I'll be interested to see how this plays out.
I talked to our interested party at church again today; it looks like the nod is going to go to the ponte de roma; yes, it'll be heavy, but it will also be much less clingy, so we'll use that.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's no big rush on it at the moment, so I'm going to be watching FFC for a sale to order it. They've changed their shipping scale; it used to be scaled by yardage, which made sense; now, it's scaled by total sale price...which doesn't make sense. So it looks like that will run about $20 or so in shipping at regular rates.
I'll check Jo-Ann's online, too, and see what they've got...
I don't get JoAnn's flyers, since we don't have one locally (closest one's about 100 miles away)...
I have discovered that Tencel is, for some weird reason, much drapier dry than when wet. I don't know what the pricing or availability would be though...
ReplyDeleteBoth Tencel and rayon are fabrics that are created from wood fibers of some sort and when they get wet, they get stiff and 'woody' feeling.
ReplyDeleteBut they both wrinkle a lot and are somewhat fragile; we need sturdy fabrics. So I'm afraid we're pretty much stuck w/ polyester! It holds up well and doesn't fade.
The crepe we used on the first two dozen or so robes was ordered from Hancock's, and on reflection I think it's probably comparable to JoAnn's 'Casa' crepe, and is a wee bit too light. So now I'm watching my inbox for a sale at FFC that will apply to the ponte de roma knit...