Abrasiveness of Certain Backing Fabrics for Supporting Historic Textiles

Abstract

Decisions to mount a historic textile to a backing fabric are often made in the conservation, display, or storage of historic textile items. A method for studying the abrasive nature of textile backing fabric surfaces was developed and investigated in this experimental research project. A test procedure was developed by adapting the crockmeter, a textile testing instrument. A test piece of flannel fabric was mounted on the crockmeter and rubbed against the backing fabric, and then the number of loosened fibers transferred to the backing fabric was counted. Four unbleached cotton fabrics—muslin, duck, warp sateen, and sailcloth—were identified as fabrics used by textile conservators and selected for initial study. Of the four fabrics, the muslin caused the fewest fibers to be removed. Differences in abrasiveness related to weight and weave of the four fabrics were analyzed. Although this methodology was accelerated from actual museum conditions, it allows comparision and rating of backing fabrics by providing a test for measuring fiber loss due to abrasive action of fabric surfaces. Further work on additional backing fabrics is planned.

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