Dark and Stormy Night

Last night was dark and stormy (if slightly unoriginal), and so I was glad to have two metres of wool fabric to play with! Seams are all finished on the skirt section, and now I've started on the bodice section. The skirt seams where done in running stitch with a back stitch every four-ish stitches for stability, but the bodice section will be under a lot more strain, and so it is being backstitched all the way.
Than I will be on to the sleeves, and finally a note of colour. I'm lining the sleeves in blue silk, cannibalised from a pair of pajama pants bought over at the markets in Sydney. The label said 100% silk, but I didn't entirely believe it, and decided to play with matches for an educational cause:

linen: (smell) paper/burning leaves (ignites) Takes a while to ignite. The fabric closest to the ash is very brittle. Easily extinguished by blowing on it (residue) powdery ash

cotton: (smell) paper/burning leaves (ignites) Steady flame. Easily extinguished by blowing on it. (residue) powdery ash

rayon, tencel, viscose: (smell) paper/burning leaves (ignites) Burns readily with a flickering flame that cannot be easily extinguished. (residue) powdery ash

silk: (smell) burning hair (ignites) Burns readily, not necessarily with a steady flame. Not easily extinguished. (residue) ash easily crumbled

wool: (smell) burning hair (ignites) Harder to ignite than silk. Flame is steady but more difficult to keep burning.

polyester, acrylic, nylon: (smell) burning plastic, acrid (ignites) Catches fire fast but sometimes puts itself out. It bubbles, sizzles and melts. (residue) ash is hard

(Burn Test chart from Kass McGann's wonderful introduction to medieval clothing)

Having burnt a scrap of the 'silk' fabric, I can now say with more confidence that it is silk. Which is good, because the colour is a beautiful sky-blue that will look great against the ivory wool. I really do need to get hold of a digital camera to put some pictures up.