Linen vs. Ramie | Which One is Historically Accurate for 16th Century Embroidery?

Ramie is similar and sometimes can be confused with linen (flax). In fact, ramie's nickname is China linen. Both were known in Europe during the Middle Ages. So, which fabric is historically accurate for 16th century blackwork embroidery?

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Join me as I share what information that I have learned so far about this rabbit hole that I have been going down. For years, I simply purchased my linen wherever I could get it for the best price, not necessarily paying attention to the weight (as long as it said "linen", I was happy). However, I have found that some places may sell ramie (voile), while labeling it as linen.

For anyone curious about what exactly the 'SCA' is -- The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international, non-profit educational organization that studies and recreates the medieval and Renaissance years of 600-1600AD.

For more information and to locate your local branch, please check out http://www.sca.org

Works Cited
- “Coif.” Cleveland Museum of Art. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.206.
- “Coif #2.” The Met Museum. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/228945.
- “Coif #3.” The Met Museum. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/228949.
- “Embroidered Coif.” Philadelphia Museum of Art. https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/108118.
- “Man’s Nightcap.” Cleveland Museum of Art. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.352.
- “More About Ramie Voile.” Burnley & Trowbridge Company. https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/pages/more-about-our-ramie-voile.
- “Panel.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O319538/panel-unknown/.
- Preston, Patricia. “TEXTILE TALK ~ Part 1: Linen & Ramie.” https://thefashionarchaeologist.com/blog/textile-talk-part-1-linen-ramie.
- Skoglund, Nockert, & Holst. “Viking and Early Middle Ages Textiles.” https://www.nature.com/articles/srep02686.
- “Smock.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110103/smock-unknown/.
- “Smock Part.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78732/smock-part-unknown/.
- “Stomacher.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O319541/stomacher-unknown/.
- Suomela, Jenni A. “Seeking Nettle Textiles.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00393630.2017.1410956.
- Teniers, David. "Die Bleiche." Staatliche Kunstsammlungen. https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/408705.
- “The History of Linen.” Asket. https://www.asket.com/us/stories/products/the-history-of-linen.

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Music credit:
Adson, John (-1640) English -Courtly Masquing Ayres -Medieval Music by Nesrality. https://pixabay.com/music/vintage-adson-john-1640-english-courtly-masquing-ayres-medieval-music-11519/

#linen #medieval #ramie