A survey of the most common support methods used on historical costumes and a preliminary investigation of tests assessing the quality of conserved fabrics.

• ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to find ways of evaluating support methods used in textile conservation. A questionnaire completed by workshops in Sweden and abroad served to identify the most commonly used method of costume support and the main criteria used in determining the success of a conservation treatment. The most common method is for a support to be inserted between the outer fabric and lining and sewn on by laid thread couching. The most important conservation requirements are for the results to be aesthetically attractive and to provide good support.Standard weave silk and woollen fabrics were aged and then conserved using the above method. Five different mechanicaltesting procedures were then performed corresponding to the different stresses a costume might suffer: abrasion resistance,flexometer abrasion, flexometer bending, shear stiffness and tensile strength. The methods for abrasion resistance and tensile strength testing proved to be suitable to allow a comparison between different methods of support. Firmer significant conclusions, however, require a larger corpus of material.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

support

costume

aged

evaluation

silk

wool

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)