Middle Earth Ranger Forum

When I make/buy kit items (mainly tunics and pants, I don't worry to much about outer woolens) the question: "Is this/will this be washing machine safe?" is quite high up on my list for the design process, so out of curiosity, is this the same for others or is it just me?

I pre-shrink my linen fabric before sewing, so body linens and thin layers that might be worn against the skin on the move can be washed. I've moved past the old idea that leaving kit clothing unwashed helped ti 'age' it. It's not uncommon with faire-goers, but after miles on the trail, things DO get gross. Medieval-types didn't live in mud and grunge, so I wash them.

I don't touch my wool outer layers, though. They perpetually smell of woodsmoke and are naturally aged.

Greg wrote:I pre-shrink my linen fabric before sewing, so body linens and thin layers that might be worn against the skin on the move can be washed.
Yep, I pre-wash linen on hot-wash so, with any luck it never shrinks on a normal wash

Same here

Greg wrote: I've moved past the old idea that leaving kit clothing unwashed helped ti 'age' it. It's not uncommon with faire-goers, but after miles on the trail, things DO get gross. Medieval-types didn't live in mud and grunge, so I wash them.

Totally agree, I once asked someone at a ren-fair if something they were selling was washing machine safe, the answer I got was "you won't need to wash it, it's not like you'll be wearing it every day"

Greg wrote:I don't touch my wool outer layers, though. They perpetually smell of woodsmoke and are naturally aged.

I've needed to wash my wool over-tunics once or twice, if I didn't get tempted to wear them hiking when not in kit I probably wouldn't have had to

There are some 18th century American sources that mention longhunter-types never washing their clothes except when they get rained on, but those are from a specific context and kind of camp.
I've found that I tend to not wash my items for the first say, six months-to-a-year (to get them some character), and then after that period I will usually wash them after each event. I will sometimes throw my Thorsbjerg pants into the washing machine with a load of moderns, but generally I just handwash everything. I wear my hood throughout the year, so it gets washed more frequently. I've Never washed my braintan shirt, though, but since it's smoked buckskin I *could* machine wash it...It has too much character though, its grime is honestly earned!

For what it’s worth, my philosophy seems to be pretty much exactly in line with Greg’s. Leather stuff never gets washed, naturally, but all the linen and most of the cotton (unfortunately - hopefully soon to be replaced) stuff does. Still haven’t actually gotten around to making my woolen outer tunics (I’ve had the material for literally years but I’m terrible at follow-through), but those will probably be washed on a much less frequent basis. Things like cloaks, hoods, jackets, etc. generally never or almost never get washed.

I have a linen cloak that I hand wash because putting in through the machine will fray the edges even more.

Beyond that everything I wear is machine washable since most of my gear is linen that I pre shrunk. I have some wool outer layers, but I'm in southern California, so wearing them enough to need washing hasn't come up yet...

even here where I use woolens almost every time I go out in kit, I've never needed to wash a cloak, wool doesn't seem to get dirty in the same way as other fabrics

Iodo wrote:even here where I use woolens almost every time I go out in kit, I've never needed to wash a cloak, wool doesn't seem to get dirty in the same way as other fabrics

SO TRUE. My cloak, hood, and wool outer tunic have all been through the ringer, so to speak, and still show very little signs of wear. The cloak has literally been rolled around in on the ground numerous times when used for sleeping, and all it ever picks up are a few leaves that fall off shortly.