Loden fabric, or as boiled wool is also called, felted wool, looks like cloth. Natural eco-friendly fabric with high breathability due to unique digestion processing. Additionally acquires heat-insulating and water-repellent qualities.
Currently, manufacturers of textiles have developed all kinds of this material: with embroidery and ornament, with pile, on a knitted basis or bookly. Hats, dresses, costumes and outerwear are made from Loden. The texture of the material is quite dense and allows you to sew fashionable and comfortable products without lining, with seams outward.
History
Boiled wool has appeared on the domestic market recently, but for more than three hundred years the history of its production has been counting. The land of Tyrol, which is located in western Austria, is home to the Loden fabric. Fleeing from the cold in severe snowy winters, residents of the highlands wore rough clothing made manually from sheep’s wool. One of the shepherds once accidentally washed his clothes in too hot water. There was no limit to the surprise of the owner of the thing, since it seemed that it had already been spoiled, but he noticed that the coat became softer, very dense and hardly let air through.
The need for felted textiles began to increase in the second half of the nineteenth century. At the same time, the first loden production plants were built in Austria. Boiled wool began to be delivered to many countries of the world. In Russia, she was bought solely to sew outerwear from her, which was worn in bad weather.
Loden - what kind of fabric? The properties
They make laden from sheep’s wool. In order for matter to be softer and lighter, some manufacturers add mohair to its composition. Loden fabric is natural.
Modern technologies for the production of this fabric do not differ fundamentally from those that were used several centuries ago. Of course, at the present time, the process of its manufacture is fully automated.
This process is as follows: first shear the sheep, and the wool is washed and spun. Then the resulting fiber is felted, from this a woolen loose fabric is obtained. Then boil the fabric in boiling water, using special additives, to the extent that the material becomes dense and smooth. After that, the canvas is stained, dried and combed out.
I wonder what other fabrics like loden are? By its characteristics, this fabric resembles quite a lot of materials: it can be compared with felt due to its ability to repel moisture and density, although it has less weight and thickness; boiled wool is less breathable than drape, but softer than felt.
Varieties of fabric
This antique material is now again at the peak of popularity. The production of this fabric is constantly being improved. All new varieties and methods of felting matter are being developed.
There are several methods for producing loden:
- felting and subsequent impregnation;
- felting and weaving;
- knitting first, and then felting;
- non-tumble method;
- the fabric is formed on a knitted basis;
- polyester is added to the fabric.
The surface of the material is very diverse. It can have short or long pile, textured or embroidered pattern, be booked. There is also double-sided fabric - when the front side is significantly different from the wrong side.
Advantages
The structural feature and natural composition provide the material with many advantages:
- Environmental friendliness. During the production of lauden, all kinds of chemicals are not used.
- It has high thermal insulation and water resistance. The material retains heat long enough, warms well, like any fabric made from one hundred percent wool. In addition, due to the dense structure of the material, the products become impermeable and protect from cold air in windy and rainy weather. They repel dirt and moisture very well.
- Easy tailoring. Due to the fact that the material is highly flexible, during cutting it can acquire the desired shape. At the cut, the fibers do not crumble, this makes it possible to leave the edge unprocessed, this part will be used as a stylish decor.
disadvantages
In addition to its positive properties, like any other material, Loden has disadvantages. These include:
- in the process of wearing, clothes from the loden can stretch and give a strong shrinkage if you wash the item in hot water;
- for products made from this material, only dry cleaning is considered, which leads to the difficulty of caring for the product;
- people who cannot tolerate animal wax (lanolin) are more likely to have allergies.
Cloth loden. How to work with her?
Currently, all types of boiled wool are used in the manufacture of clothing. Warm fashionable coats, hats, capes and jackets, and even shoes are sewn from this material. A thinner fabric is used in the manufacture of skirts, trousers, suits, various accessories.
You need to know a few rules before you start working with this fabric. An important process is the decanting process. It includes the need for washing in warm water, drying and steaming with a hot iron cut material before cutting. This is done because products made of felted wool after washing are able to shrink in a couple of sizes. Therefore, decanting is so necessary.
Seams should be glued with non-woven to avoid deformation of the product. Since the fabric has a high density, this allows you to sew unlined clothes. However, a lining will be necessary if the pile of the product is not smooth enough from the inside.
Care instructions
Quite capricious in leaving the product from a pure-wool loden. Only dry cleaning is allowed for them; they should not be washed by hand or in a typewriter. You can clean clothes at home with a dry brush in the direction of the pile.
In lukewarm water, you can manually wash the mixed loden using a high-quality, well-rinsing product. After that, the product is placed horizontally and given the appropriate shape.
Things from the loden before ironing must be turned out or an additional layer of gauze should be applied. Felted wool products are stored in paper bags separately from other clothes and when folded. Textiles should be carefully protected from moths.
Despite the fact that there are difficulties in leaving, reviews about the fabric of Loden are quite positive. Clothing from it remains quite popular and in demand at all times. Warm stylish clothes from Loden will decorate the wardrobe of the most picky fashionistas.