Working with White Fabric

[Vak]

So I've never really done anything with white fabric, but the scraps I have have the problem of being a bit see through. I'd like to make a robe and tunic and pants from white (Yes crazy I know.) But I dont want all my underbits shown to the world. What sort of Fabric should I buy for this? or what techniques do people have to keep white form being see through.

Any advice is good advice, unless its bad advice.

[Peanut of Loderia]

Thicker fabrics like twill wont be see through. Or if you're going with a tunic with thinner fabric a white t-shirt underneath will keep you both not seen and keep your garb from getting so smelly.

[NessiePop]

I have made a whole white outfit before, and it tends to look more see-through than it is in the final form.

[Arrakis]

Get medium-weight white linen for the underlayers and as close as you can get to white worsted wool for the rest. Or you could use a tightly-woven white hemp or cotton fabric, if you can get one in the medium-to-heavy weight range.

Also, medium-weight silk is pretty * opaque and can be got in white more easily than any other color (see: Dharma Trading Company).

[Sir_Mel]

When dealing with "thinner" fabric, line all of your garments with the fabric you're using. I.e. make all of your stuff with the thin white "double thick". It will be a bit warmer since it's multiple layers, but if you follow good construction practices, your pieces of garb should last much longer as there wont be as many exposed seams and they will have some added durability because of the extra layer.

[Tobin]

You have some good options for lining, particularly if you don't care about period materials vs. modern materials. If your outer fabric is something like light cotton, cotton gauze, or lightweight linen, and you don't mind using modern fabric, I would recommend lining it with a polyester suit lining (usually found in its own section at Joann's, etc) in a light, non-white color (buff, beige, gold, depending on your skin tone). If you want it to look unlined from the outside, don't line it with something white.

If you don't want to go the liner route, check out Dharma Trading Company and their collections of heavier silk, cotton, and cotton-hemp blends. Raw silk is machine-washable, heavy and soft, and doesn't look like silk (looks more like linen); it's also significantly cheaper than some of the finer-look silks you can buy. Silk-hemp and cotton-hemp fabrics are going to be more beige in color but gain a lot of opacity from the fiber content. Pretty much all of Dharma's products are sold to be dyeable, so almost everything's going to come in white or off-white for you.

You'll post pics of your garb when you're done, won't you?

[Sir_Mel]

Dear Tobin,

Impart your mystical knowledge of clothing on this unworthy host.

Love,
Mel

[Arrakis]

You have some good options for lining, particularly if you don't care about period materials vs. modern materials. If your outer fabric is something like light cotton, cotton gauze, or lightweight linen, and you don't mind using modern fabric, I would recommend lining it with a polyester suit lining (usually found in its own section at Joann's, etc) in a light, non-white color (buff, beige, gold, depending on your skin tone). If you want it to look unlined from the outside, don't line it with something white.

Don't forget, suit lining is used to line suits because they go over an underlayer and the lining is supposed to help it slide over the underlayers. Polyester will get very hot and not breathe well when fighting, so if this is your only layer on a particular area, I recommend against polyester instead of lightweight linen or silk for lining.

[Shino]

As a member of God Squad I have some experience with wearing white garb.
So, pro tip: Regularly wash your garb
Or: Cheat and make things out of polyester and nylon so it wont stain so easily.
Or: Give up, fail, and accept that after a muddy event you will look like used toilet paper.

So I've never really done anything with white fabric, but the scraps I have have the problem of being a bit see through.

Any advice is good advice, unless its bad advice.

Layers will solve this see through problem too.