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In her book ‘Patterns of Fashion: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c1560-1620’, Janet Arnold makes a tantalizing mention of fabric edges finished with wax while discussing the construction and conservation of certain sixteenth century hats. It was from this titbit, that this possibly period technique of fray prevention was developed. Aside from silk, this method of fray prevention has been successfully used for edging velvet, cotton, linen and wool. And although not particularly suited to areas of hard use, the edge created by wax hemming has proved durable in a variety of hats, slashed garments and fabric covered belts. This particular method was developed by trial and error, and will, no doubt, be refined further as it continues to be used in more projects and by more people.
Equipment: Natural Fibre Brush
As common sense suggests, synthetic bristles often
catch fire, or melt when introduced to the area near a candle flame,
and as such are unsuitable to this method. Cheaper natural fibre brushes, such as those with
uneven and stray bristles, are perfectly good for this technique as
any stray bristles are soon burned away leaving a uniform brush to
use for applying the wax. Candle
Ideally a 12-hour or similar long
burning (i.e. hard-wax) candle. Generally, the harder the candle
wax, the hotter the flame and consequently, the higher the melting
temperature of the wax resulting in a more durable finish.
Tea-lights and other 'full-melt'
candles will work but are not ideal for maintaining a good finish to
the item in the long-term. (see
below)
The Basic Method: Light your candle and allow it to burn until a small pool of wax is formed and maintained. Holding your brush in your dominant hand, and the fabric with the edge that needs hemming in your other hand, dip your brush into that pool and hold then hold the full brush relatively close to the flame until the wax is on the point of boiling. Immediately run the brush along the edge of the fabric. The wax needs to be absorbed into the fabric for about 2-3mm to successfully prevent fraying. This happens by capillary action when molten wax is applied to the cut edge so you do not need to paint the wax onto the fabric (except for some coarser wools). Experiment with the temperature of the wax and the speed you can run the brush along the fabric to achieve a 2-3mm wax hem.
Potential Problems: If the wax is just sitting on the top of the fabric it is because it was not hot enough when applied to the fabric. You can fix the situation and make it soak in by carefully holding the fabric close to the flame and allowing the heat to drive the wax into the weave. Alternatively you can use a bare light bulb or similar source of heat. If the wax is being taken further into the fabric than 2-3mm, use wax directly from the pool without any additional heating near the flame. This is most commonly experienced with fine silk and/or hotter candles. With wool and velvet it is necessary to use hotter wax than for the silk, linen or cotton. You will probably find you will frequently need to re-heat what is on your brush as it quickly cools past the point of absorption by the fabric. Fabric with lots of stray fibres can cause the wax to pool on the stray fibres rather than being absorbed into the fabric. Make sure your brush is in contact with the main fabric edge, rather than just the overhanging fibres. Sometimes you will need to trim the extra fibres off, other times you can simply push the brush past them. If there is beeswax in the candle the edging can sometimes be sticky. While this will hold stray fabric fibres flat, it will also hold stray pieces of lint. Such pieces of lint can mar the finish of the item if bulky or of a dark colour if not removed. |
