Blue & White Check Linen, WLG 161

100% Linen, 6.5 oz, 58″ Wide

This check linen is woven based on a pattern of our research of check linens made & used in the 18th & early 19th century America & England. The original was a blue & white linen but this is also similar to several original check linens found in swatch books. Most checks available today are half white & half blue. The majority of checks found in the billet books at The Foundling Museum in London are mostly white with narrower stripes resulting in a check many modern people would think of more as a plaid. Check linen was used to make working men’s shirts & women’s aprons but linings were often made of check especially women’s stays. This fabric can possibly be used to make women’s gowns (usually enslaved). In the 1769 Boston Evening Post, “Run away . . .  two indented Men Servants, the one . . .  Had on when he went away, a check’d Linen Shirt” from personal communication with Mike Barbieri. Off white 35/2 linen thread will work well for hand sewing.