[Regia-NA] tent fabrics/colours etc

[Chris Boulton]

I'd be a bit slow to dye tent fabric, since it's such a large quantity of
fabric - better to paint it authenticity wise I'd have thought. Rolland
thinks they might have tanned it, giving the reddish colour mentioned in a
will, but this might only apply to the tent that was mentioned....or it
might have been a common thing and done to sails as well.

The word canvas, as I understand it, is generally applied to cotton these
days, but might not have originally meant that. Either way, I'm using it to
indicate a grade of material rather than just saying 'cloth' or 'material'
since we're talking here about a heavy grade close weave cloth suitable for
tents and sails, rather than clothing.

What you're looking for in a cotton canvas, if you're going to use it to
make a tent, is tightness of weave and weight of fabric. You'll need
something reasonably substantial - I wouldn't use anything less than 10oz
myself. Cotton canvas takes proofings quite well - in fact it takes dyes and
paints quite well too - but it does need to have it's bright whiteness toned
down a bit in some way.

You are quite correct that historically the ordinary commoner wouldn't have
been able to afford a tent. On campaign they'd probably have slept under a
hastily constructed shelter wrapped in their cloaks or suchlike, but I can't
really see the modern re-enactor being willing to do that, or the average
show client being able or willing to provide the necessary brushwood etc to
construct such shelters.

Chris.